Escalating post-disaster rescue missions through ad-hoc victim localization exploiting Wi-Fi networks

Area of Science:

• Disaster Management
• Emergency Response Technology
• Global Health

Background:

• Increasing global disaster frequency and casualties highlight limitations in current emergency rescue operations, particularly in the Global South.
• Traditional victim localization methods often require pre-established infrastructure, which is lacking in many developing regions like Bangladesh.
• Significant loss of life and resources occurs due to delays in locating disaster victims and executing rescue operations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the challenges of victim localization in emergency rescue operations.
• To develop and evaluate an adaptable solution for victim localization that does not rely on prior infrastructure or pre-calibration.
• To enhance the efficiency of emergency rescue efforts in resource-constrained environments.

Main Methods:

• Design and development of an infrastructure-independent victim localization system.
• Deployment and testing of the developed solution in simulated disaster scenarios.
• Analysis of experimental results to assess system performance and identify design implications.

Main Results:

• The developed system demonstrated effectiveness in victim localization within emulated disaster environments.
• The solution successfully operated without requiring pre-existing infrastructure or calibration.
• Experimental data provided insights into the practical application and limitations of the system.

Conclusions:

• An infrastructure-independent approach can significantly improve victim localization in emergency rescue.
• The developed system offers a viable solution for enhancing disaster response in regions with limited infrastructure.
• Further research is needed to refine the design for extensive and robust emergency rescue systems.