ERI: Advancing Spontaneous Volunteer Coordination and Guidance for Effective Disaster Response

Kennesaw State University Research And Service Foundation, Kennesaw GA

Investigators

Abstract

Disasters create chaotic and unpredictable environments where traditional response mechanisms could be easily overwhelmed. In the aftermath, communities frequently experience an influx of spontaneous volunteers, eager to contribute to relief efforts. The challenge, however, lies in ways in which their capabilities and services can be best harnessed. This Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) project supports the research on the use of natural language processing and artificial intelligence to analyze and interpret social media data for dynamic volunteer coordination. It also develops disaster response strategies with an innovative search and rescue knowledge graph, enriched by augmented reality for situational guidance. It aims to transform multi-source, unstructured datasets into actionable insights, thereby enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of volunteer efforts and advancing intelligent disaster management solutions. The broader ambition is to cultivate a community ethos of preparedness, engagement, and resilience, empowering individuals to contribute meaningfully to disaster response and recovery. Planned research is founded on integrating natural language processing and spatiotemporal reasoning with social media analysis, alongside developing a search-and-rescue knowledge graph for enhanced situational guidance through augmented reality. These advanced tools and methodologies play a central role in harnessing vast, yet underutilized, reservoir of real-time data generated during disasters to inform and guide volunteer actions where they are most needed. The project intends to establish a dynamic system for volunteer coordination that is adaptive to the unfolding realities of disaster scenarios. Furthermore, by constructing a comprehensive knowledge graph that encapsulates the complex interplay of factors in search and rescue operations, the project attempts to offer situation-specific guidance through an interactive augmented reality interface, thereby enhancing training’s effectiveness and safety. Ultimately, the integration of these technologies is expected to result in a more agile, informed, and cohesive mobilization of volunteer resources. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.