Development of human machine interface for supporting the disaster mitigation system in the city using wireless sensor network

Abstract

Disasters that include building fires, earthquakes, and floods are the inevitable things in city life. Disaster mitigation should be undertaken to mitigate the adverse impacts of the disaster. Its activities span from an early warning system until the evacuation of the victim to a safer place. With the advancement of information technology, an integrated system can be built to support the disaster mitigation system in the city. This paper describes a development of a prototype of human machine interface for supporting the disaster mitigation system in the city. This prototype comprises sensors, microcontroller, communication module, and information system to capture and display the disaster location. Three parameters including smoke concentration, room temperature, and vibration are sent to the monitoring room at any time using the wireless sensor network framework. The building fire indicators are rendered by raising a smoke concentration and temperature up to the certain level, while earthquake indicators are provided by vibrations sent by vibration sensors. The location of the disaster site is displayed in the monitoring room and delivered to the city authority who handling the disaster via mobile phone. Disaster management office could work more effective due to the information on disaster locations and types of disasters could be known quickly.