Global Digital MOJO has chosen the area of Disaster Management to be the concept to develop for the 2021 “3D Innovation Application” proposal submission hosted by National Land Surveying and Mapping Centre Ministry.

Disaster Pain points & Requirement (Prevention, Respond, Rebuild)

According to the report released by the UNDP in 2204. It stated the four main types of disasters (earthquakes, tornados, floods, drought) linked to the 1.5 million deaths in the past 20 years. On average, there will be 200+ people suffering or dying from the condition that those disasters caused.

In the economic aspect, natural disasters had significant impacts on the ecosystem. Yet this phenomenon is rapidly growing every year. The statistic has shown with every decade as a unit the cost of damage from natural disasters reached 75 billion in the 60s; it reached 138.4 billion in the 70s; it reached 213.9 billion in the 80s; and it reached 659.9 billion in the 90s. The number has grown 9 times since the data started being collected.

The Taiwan island is surrounded by seas and located right on the Circum-Pacific seismic belt. In 2005, the World Bank published “Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis”. Pointed the risk that Taiwanese citizens face. Out of the six natural disasters (drought, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions.), over 90% of Taiwan’s population is under at least two types of potential risks, with 70% facing three types or above threats on a daily basis.

Aside from new inventions and technology, disaster management is also an area that’s becoming increasingly important. The world’s leaders are exploring solutions for preventing disaster events, reducing the impact of the damage, and responding swiftly to unforeseeable occasions. Taiwan has gained a great deal of knowledge through dealing with colossal disasters like the 921 Jiji earthquake in 1999 and Typhoon Morakot in 2009. Authorities have put their focus with disaster management on “Preventing is better than rescuing; distancing is greater than preventing.”, making this the central idea to drive all departments to combine resources and information, to develop various management tools for different stages of disaster events.

The latest technology in Disaster Prevention application

Taiwan is also advancing its disaster prevention standards alongside Smart City planning. Government-led development of applications enabled many organisations and companies to take advantage of the open-source data to create integrations to add value and an increased understanding of the data. The future of technology development will lay on data analysis and prediction.

Taiwan National Science and Technology Centre for Disaster Reduction began collaborating with LINE, Taiwan’s most popular communication service provider in 2019, to distribute emergency alarms and information. In-depth coverage of earthquakes, typhoons, and traffic conditions. In addition, the Taiwan government is developing a Public Warning Cell Broadcast Service in conjunction with telecommunication service providers. The information is categorised into disaster levels according to the level of disaster in the entire nation, emergency response stations and various bureaus such as the Central Weather, Water Resources, Highway, Disease Control and 17 more. Sending messages to the citizens within certain regions with 4G signals.

In recent years, we have seen events like the 2018 Hualien earthquake, the Yilan train derailment, the Nanfang’ao Bridge collapse in 2019, and the 2021 Hualien train derailment. During the aftermath of major disasters, the Spatial Information Department uses Lidar scanning and data processing to reconstruct the scene and gather information quickly. It is critical to gather as much accurate information as possible for future reference, as well as to help disaster control centres make better decisions. Now, drones are not only equipped with heat sensors and LiDAR scanners, but also can deliver life-saving equipment, enabling the rescue mission to be assisted and rescue risks reduced.

Rescue training programmes are adapting the latest AR/VR technologies, to provide realistic simulations and immersive experience to help the rescuers to react more precisely and be-fitting to the real world scenarios. Moderators are able to track the live data and adjust the event setups according to the trainees’ performance.    

Future trends and technology development

We are now seeing more technologies are being modified and integrated to be used in Disaster Management. With the technologies that were mentioned above, Taiwan Government is also looking into IoT, automation, open-source data driven solutions. Aim to bring the creation of disaster management applications to the next level. Provide assistance in a variety of disaster scenarios with swift, accurate response.

NCX (formerly Silvia Terra) is a US-based company specialising in using artificial intelligence to conduct land surveys and map out forest landscapes. The system uses satellite images, UVA scan results, and laser scanning technology to monitor the growth situation in the forest. Through visualisations and machine learning, the system is able to categorise different sectors of risk and to predict which areas will be at risk for wildfires and help authorities manage and plan improvements.  

For the occasion of earthquakes and volcano eruptions, Tohoku University’s R&D team is developing an artificial intelligence system capable of making accurate and quick predictions on the impacted areas and damage areas. This report can be used by the disaster management to distribute manpower and resources. Meanwhile, Carnegie Mellon University is undertaking research to develop retrieval robots that can operate in narrow or dangerous areas (e.g. radioactive). 

Across the world, governments are focusing more attention on disaster management-related technologies and investing more in research teams to continue developing integrated hardware-to-software systems. To measure, track, and manage potential threats to reduce the impact of disasters and costs.

R3 Disaster Management Platform

As part of the digital transformation underway at the National Land Surveying and Mapping Centre, the Ministry of the Interior has set 2020 as a milestone for the beginning of data construction. In the “3D Innovation Application” contest, Global Digital MOJO selected disaster prevention and disaster management as its technology development area.

After brainstorming, the MOJO Catalyst Team created the project roadmap. A decision was made to turn one of the “Future Scan” topics into a disaster prediction, on-site response and action, and environment recovery system. The team looked for new ways of integrating smart technologies as well as applying previous experience and self-own technologies. 

In order to understand the operational procedures and information collection process, MOJO conducted an exclusive interview with Section Head, the fire bureau of the local city government. During the interview, a number of difficulties facing all departments of disaster control were discussed in depth. Hence, the development objective is to provide solutions towards these pain points. To make the current system in use more systemised, digitalised and automotive. 

Rescue teams can gather more precise geographical information about a subject by visualising the spatial information in 3D. Faster decision-making processes and easier cross-departmental collaboration are direct effects. By establishing a reporting channel to civilians, a passive information flow becomes a two-way conversation. A later stage can be utilised as an educational tool, a training material or an immersive interaction experience.

Response, Rescue, and Recovery (R3) is how this Disaster Management Platform is named. It represents the power of this system to handle every phase of disaster events. Primary objective is to provide information to the Disaster Control Department for them to review and help them focus on the actual mission itself. 

Several sections are included in this concept proposal to handle before, during, and after a disaster event. They include prevention, rescue, learning and improving in preparation for the next one to come.

1. Disaster Prevention and Prediction (Key technology: Machine Learning and 3D Simulation) 

Public-sector platforms shared by government agencies are becoming more complete. Through the sharing and gathering of 3D spatial information, the government expects to generate more accurate estimations and predictions. In which to raise the awareness of the general public and corporations. The information can be used in urban planning to avoid high-risk areas, or to be aware of the risk involved. 

2. Emergency Response (Key technology: Drone, 3D Simulation, 3D Map)

The emergency response plays a vital role in disaster management; this proposal included a great deal of improvement on drone technology’s functionalities, beginning with automation. Upon receiving a rescue signal, drones can be activated automatically to gather first-hand visual images of the scene. The rescue team can then project the analysed data on the existing 3D map for a quick overview of the affected area, the rescue conditions, and the precise location for navigation using augmented reality.

3. Training Purpose (Key technology: 3D Map, AR/VR Application)

After collecting data via AR scans and drones, the training centre can re-import all documented information that gathered previously then develop further training in AR/VR. In this way, the simulation will become more realistic.

META:XR Technologies, a new brand of Global Digital MOJO, will continue to develop the immersive technology used in this concept after the contest is concluded. The commercialisation process carries on with a focus on identifying technology co-development partners and planning the business strategy together.

Continue to read: 

MOJO Disaster Management Platform “R3” Concept Has Been Shortlisted Top 10 In Gis Contest