DISANET: Keypoints

DISANET

› DISANET-Information Network for Natural Disaster Mitigation and Recovery, a joint research project between the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT-H) and Japanese universities.

› The objective of the DISANET is to monitor natural disasters and to evolve an emergency communication system with the help from Information technology tools.

› As part of the Indo-Japanese collaboration, the Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST) awarded the five-year project to IIT-H with a total funding of Rs 20 crore.

› Thus the cost of DISANET project is Rs.20 Crore.

› Hyderabad-based National Geographical Research Institute and Earthquake Research Institute of the University of Tokyo will also be part of the project.

› Under DISANET project Automatic Weather stations would be set up to monitor rainfall, humidity, temperature, wind and atmospheric pressure.

› The DISANET will also set up a sound network for pre-disaster monitoring and utilizing communication and database systems to provide post-disaster relief.

› The project will also analyze earthquakes in Himalayan belt.

› The design has four subsystems — WiFi, a satellite link, single-carrier GSM and LTE (Long Term Evolution) which is a standard for high-speed wireless communication for mobile phones and data terminals.

› The compact system can be easily transported in trucks to the site of the Master Operation Centre within a few hours of the disaster.

› The wireless system should provide coverage over an area of approximately 1,000 square kilometers.

› The compact system can be easily transported in trucks to the site of the Master Operation Centre within a few hours of the disaster.

› The wireless system should provide coverage over an area of approximately 1,000 square kilometers.

› Rescue workers with GSM handsets, WiFi cameras and WiFi nodes can spread out over an area of 12-25 square kilometer to form the primary deployment area.

› These workers supply communication between the affected area and the Master Operation Centre (MOC).

› The MOC has pico- or micro-sized LTE-Base Stations which are mounted at a height of 15 to 20 meters.

Advantages of DISANET

› The rescue team can directly communicate with citizens about the arrangements using FM broadcast, which citizens receive on their mobiles.

› This enables the flow of authenticated information from the authorities to the citizens and prevents rumor-mongering during times of disaster.