| Network
of Excellence |
CARiMan |
The
Internet Portal for Computer Aided Risk Management |
Responsible:
TUC
Assistance: all
partners
Natural and man-made
disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, plane crashes, high-rise building
collapses, or major nuclear facility malfunctions, pose an ever-present
challenge to public emergency services. In order to cope with such disasters in
a fast and highly coordinated manner, the optimal provision of information
concerning the situation is an essential pre-requisite. Police, fire
departments, public health, civil defence and other organizations have to react
not only efficiently and individually, but also in a coordinated manner. This
results in the need for both intra and inters organization coordination at
several hierarchy levels. Since coordination requires current information, and
such information must be communicated upstream and downstream within and between
organizations in real-time, the need arises for an integrated communication and
information system for disaster management that provides efficient, reliable and
secure exchange and processing of relevant information.
The NoE CARiMan aims at
the determination and development of a common risk management system at European
level, which will be able to handle a wide range of applications. In order to
achieve this goal effective system architecture has to be developed. The CARiMan
System CARiManS is depicted in the Fig.
B.3.1. as
Computer Aided Risk Management System (CARiManS)
JPA
C:
Communication
can be considered as the most critical aspect in
CARiMan’s structure. Every component of the system relies on fast, accurate
and secure communication links. In order to better handle the Communications
tasks, they have been divided into several meaningful entities, as follows:
C1: Communication Monitored System – Risk Manager direct or on the UI
C2: Communication Risk Manager – CARiManS for
acquisition of the knowledge of experts using the UI
C3: Microsystems
and Sensors for the signal acquisition with CARiManS
C4: Communication CARiManS – CARiManS for
distributed operation
C5: Communication Risk Manager – Risk Manager /
student for teaching and knowledge transfer
C6:
Communication Monitored System - CARiManS using the UI
These communications aspects are handled by
different components of CARiManS as described in the following. More
specifically, the Communications component of CARiManS involve:
·
UI
User
interface: The User Interface
support the communication between the Monitored System and the Risk Manager
(C1), the communication between the Risk Manager (C2) and the CARiManS, aiming
at transferring the expert’s knowledge to CARiMAnS operation. It also enables
the communication between the Risk Manager and the Monitored system (C1). Thus,
the UI unit handles and support the communications aspects between humans and
the CARiManS (C1, C2, and C6).
·
MS:
Microsystems and sensors: The unit Microsystems
and Sensors handles the communication (C3) between each sensor/actuator used in
monitoring with the CARiManS System.
· SA:
System Architecture:
The System
Architecture essentially handles all issues for the distributed operation of
CARiManS systems (C4). This operation is necessary as to allow the Communication
network to be web based, scalable, platform independent and easy to use. SA includes also the peer-to-peer
System Architecture (SA P2P) that handles the communication aspects among different CARiManS systems
viewed as peer-to peer systems. This JPA enhances the divergence of C4 and
allows inter-operability of the distributed CARiManS units.
·
Finally, the Risk
Manager/Student communication (C5) is essential for training and dissemination,
as analysed in B4.3.
Further components in CARiManS are
·
KM:
Knowledge
Management and Data Base System;
·
PD: Portable devices, signal conditioning and conversion;
·
TI:
Transmission and interfaces, security of data transmission;
· SP:
Signal processing, classification, recognition and evaluation.
In this Network of Excellence, responding to the related Call, we
identify central design issues and architectural concepts for an integrated
disaster management system, providing an infrastructure that allows for
horizontal and vertical information flow from the risk situation - the patient
in risk or the fire-fighters on the scene - up to the Risk Manager by means of a
multi-level wireless signal and data transmission and communication
infrastructure, as well as integrated applications that reflect the currently
organizational structure adequate to the rescue effort. At all levels, we must
provide for recording and analysis of the current situation, Computer Aided data
aggregation and de-aggregation, resource scheduling, and access to services,
Database & Knowledge Management Systems (KM or DB&KMS).
Signal Transmission and
Interfaces (TI) include terrestrial trunked radio or satellite technology
for wide area communication, wireless LAN adhoc networks for disaster site hot
spots, and personal or body area networks for frontline personnel, allowing them
to act as data sources and sinks by means of smart connected devices, e.g.
robust mobile terminals and sensors.
Applications are to be designed
around flexible information and work flow concepts based on templates for fast
adaptation to modifications of the organizational structure due to situation
changes. Distributed, redundant, and mobility adequate DB&KMS provide for
access even in unreliable or low bandwidth environments through pre-fetching and
caching; service discovery and auto-configuration schemes reduce the need for
manual administration in hectic situations. GIS and cooperative command
environments aid operations staff in their facilities or vehicles. We devise
“information environment portability” for added flexibility and mobile
operations.
All
the components of the systemic design of CARiManS are described in detail in the
following sections.