ITR: RESCUENET -- Embedded In-Building Sensor Network to Assist Disaster Rescue

Portland State University, Portland OR

Investigators

Abstract

The vision articulated in this proposal calls for embedding sensors with UWB (Ultra Wide-Band) radio and other sensing capability in walls of buildings. Upon collapsing due to natural or manmade causes, the radios are deployed to form an ad-hoc sensor network that determines the internal composition and structure of the collapsed pile. This information is relayed to external rescuers in the form of 3-D reconstruction of the interior structure (including key features such as air cavities) that can speed up rescue efforts and save lives. Adding additional sensing capability, such as heartbeat, voice, heat, and gas sensors will provide information about the location of other survivors and any fires or gas leaks. The role of such technology in mitigating the impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes (e.g. the 1999 earthquake in Turkey killed as many as 18,000 people, many due to the slow process of excavating rubble blindly) as well as manmade causes, will constitute the primary outcomes of this work. Overall, this project represents a unique confluence of new science (ad-hoc networks) contributing to the maturation of a new technology (UWB) in the service of some of the most critical national imperatives (disaster recovery). The research component includes development of material sensing algorithms exploiting the good propagation characteristics of UWB signals. In addition, data regarding UWB propagation in rubble will be used to develop rate/energy/range adaptive networking protocols to enable the buried sensors to communicate with rescuers. Visualization software will use knowledge of building collapse scenarios, structural mechanics, and on-site data of interior composition obtained from UWB sensing, to create 3-D models of the ruin. The project will rely on a combination of measurement, analysis, and experimentation to realize the vision. Detailed UWB propagation measurements in various types of rubble will be carried out as a precursor to developing material sensing algorithms and networking protocols. Sensing algorithms will be evaluated in new laboratory setups of rubble as will the rate/energy adaptive networking protocols. Visualization software and related algorithms will be developed to fuse data collected by buried sensors into three dimensional maps. A formal characterization of error in sensing, localization, and visualization will be concurrently developed.