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Fire Safety in Metropolitan Areas in Europe

Effective communication to the broader public following disasters

Agnès VoisardFraunhofer-Institut für Software- und Systemtechnik ISST

November 2005

Effective communication to the broader public following disasters

Agnès VoisardFraunhofer-Institut für Software- und Systemtechnik ISST

November 2005

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Road Map

Brief introduction to our institute

The Problem: Disasters and Information Disasters

Our Solution: Information Logistics

Example: Early Weather Warning System (WIND)

Future Projects: From Research to Application

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The Fraunhofer Society

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The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: Short Profile• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der

angewandten Forschung e. V. (»Fraunhofer Society

for the Promotion of Applied Research«)

• Named after the researcher, inventor and entrepreneur Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787-1826)

• Founded in 1949

• Headquarter in Munich

• 80 research units including 58 Fraunhofer Institutes

at over 40 different locations in Germany

• Around 12.700 employees

• Branches in Europe, the USA and Asia

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The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: Profile

Europe’s largest organization of institutes for applied research and development (R&D in all fields of natural sciences and engineering)

Tasks and Customers:Contract research for small, medium-sized and large businesses in industry and the service sector: “Know-how Transfer” into the private sector

Strategic research projects commissioned by national and regional government

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The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: Key Figures 2003

operational budget

contract research

basic funding

industrial earnings

employees

other project earnings

defense research

building construction andinvestment in equipment

1048

925

362

287

-27

-2

+6

+11

Changeon 2002

in Mill. Euro

2003in Mill. Euro

12 750 -125

276

39

84

-18

+2

-27

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The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft: Financing

Researc

h

ori

en

tati

on

Technical pilot plants, prototypes

Development

Applied research

Application-orientedbasic research

Basic research

100%public

100%private

Industry

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Universities

Balance between financing and research orientation

Financing

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Fraunhofer ISST

The Fraunhofer Institute forSoftware and Systems Engineering ISST

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Locations

Berlin BranchMollstraße 110178 Berlin

Dortmund BranchEmil-Figge-Str. 9144227 Dortmund

www.isst.fraunhofer.de

Founded in 1992

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Master Themes

Information Logisticsprovides customers with solutions that enable an individual and active information flow

Continuous Software Engineeringdevelops concepts, methods, and architectures for the construction of long-lived software systems

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International Partners of Fraunhofer ISST

Jönköping University, Sweden:ISST-Project Group Information Engineering

ICT of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing:Sino-German Joint Laboratory SIGSIT

ICICI, India, Karnataka:Indo-German Technology Bridge

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Location-based Services Group of Fraunhofer ISST

Focus on:

- Early warning systems

- Personalized information supply in mobile applications

For instance in:

- Transportation Information Systems

- Early Weather Warning Systems

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The Problem:

Disasters and

Information Disasters

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Motivation: The Storm Disaster of December 1999 in Europe

•First warnings have been available on the Internet 7 hours prior to the storm

•Warnings over radio and television

came too late for any precautions

•Damage could have been avoided if individuals would have been warned

early enough

•The weather disaster was in fact an information disaster

•First warnings have been available on the Internet 7 hours prior to the storm

•Warnings over radio and television

came too late for any precautions

•Damage could have been avoided if individuals would have been warned

early enough

•The weather disaster was in fact an information disaster

Bildquelle: Bayerisches Landesamt für WasserwirtschaftBildquelle: Bayerisches Landesamt für Wasserwirtschaft

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Key Points

-Technical infrastructure is there but logistic is missing

-Importance of informing the public – masses and individuals

-Importance of a reliable information system, accurate information

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The Solution: Information Logistics

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Motivation of information logistics

Too much information

• Information flooding (paper, e-mail, web, ...)• Which information is important, which is irrelevant?• Information is required at a different time

Too little information

• Where and how do I find the information I require?• Information is not available at a given time• How is information kept up to date?

In many cases, the way information is supplied and usedis neither purpose-oriented nor timely.

The problems involved:

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An Example: WIND

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Evolution of the WIND-System

May 2002 First demonstrator with 5.000 users of an insurance company

January 2003 Start as a commercial service in Germany

March 2003 WIND gained the Innovation Award of the insurance sector in Germany

October 2004 Start of WIND in Austria

2005 – 2007 Establishing the service for 1.5 Mill.Users in Europe

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WIND: Warning Map on the Internet

No Warning

Long term Warning

Short term WarningLow Risk

Short term WarningHigh Risk

Short term WarningExtreme Risk

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WIND: General Overview

WIND ensures timely information supply

Data Prognosis und Logistics Users

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Example: Precise Radar Based Warning with WIND

Data basis:

• Intensity of rain fall and hail

• Radar picture every 5 minutes

• Granularity of 1x1 kilometers

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Example: Precise Radar Based Warning Supported by AI-Prognosis

Prognosis:

• Estimating the direction of the storm supported by expert systems

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WIND: Warning on Mobile Devices

ab 18.2.14:00 Uhr

Um 21:00 Uhr hat das Nieder-schlagsradar 1 Gewitterzelle(n)im Bereich Berlin registriert.Der Schwerpunkt des Unwettersist etwa 20 km von Ihrem abo-nnierten Ort PLZ: 10435entfernt, kommt aus Süd-West

Akute Warnung

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Example: Precise Radar Warning via E-Mail/Fax

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Example: Precise Radar Based Warning Via GPS-Coordinates

• Precise location-based and individual warnings within seconds

• Local map with risk areas (MMS and E-Mail)

• Update information in case of changes

• Additional information for precautions

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Experience from WIND

• Awareness

• Precautions

• Responsible Acting

=> Reduction of damage

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Future Projects: From Research to Applications

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EU InitiativeSubmission, FP6:

RAPID: Rapid Deployment of Wireless Communications in Mass Emergencies and Post Conflict Situations

Partners: Queen Mary, University of London (Coordinator), Epsilon S.A.3, Siemens PSE Romania , Fraunhofer ISST, Space Applications, Institute of Communication and Computer Systems / National Technical University of Athens

Goal: deploy the most suitable wireless communication channels in disaster situations.

Designed to be used by both the emergency services and civilians

Enables:

- dynamic, communications resource management and prioritisation - context dependent information services.

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Pilot Projects

On research and commercial basis

Possible collaborations:

Insurance Companies, Fire Brigades, Public authorities

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Summary

The technical infrastructure is there – The logistic is missing

Importance of accurate, reliable information offered to the public

In the near future, new ways of „intelligently“ and individually informing the public will be crucial in disaster management

ISST: expertise in „Information Logistics“ which can be used in pilot projects in disaster information management