Emergency communication Researchers developing wireless emergency network for disasters

Published 16 March 2012

University of Arkansas researchers are developing a solar powered wireless emergency communications network that can be deployed during major disasters to transmit critical warnings and geographic information

University of Arkansas researchers are developinga solar powered wireless emergency communications network that can be deployed during major disasters to transmit critical warnings and geographic information.

The network, which researchers call an emergency “mesh,” is entirely self-sustainable so even when power and the Internet has been knocked out, residents affected by a disaster can still receive information on their computers, smartphones, and other digital devices.

“Deployment of this system could warn people to get out of harm’s way and could help emergency services personnel reach victims much faster. This last part is critically important because we know that many deaths occur in the minutes and hours after a disaster strikes,” said Nilanjan Banerjee, an assistant professor of computer science and computer engineering at the University of Arkansas.

The mesh functions similarly to a network of servers with each element containing data that can be downloaded by a user or communicated to other nodes. In the event that one node fails, it can simply transfer that information to another and redistribute data to ensure that the network does not crash.

The mesh will include data like maps which show areas which have been affected by a disaster and routes to avoid these areas.

Banerjee is working with a team of other University of Arkansas professors to deploy a forty-node test network in Fayetteville by the end of 2012. Before the team can begin testing the emergency mesh, they must first resolve several issues like efficient solar panels and geographic distribution.

Jack Cothren, an associate professor of geosciences and the director of the university’s Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, is leading a team to assist Banerjee in creating sophisticated GPS software that can function on a low power device.

Meanwhile Pat Parkerson, an associate professor of computer science and computer engineering and the co-principal investigator on the project, is developing and testing different hardware systems that consume low quantities of energy but are still powerful enough to send data to users.

Banerjee’s work is made possible with the help of a $485,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.