{"69356":{"#nid":"69356","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Demo Disaster Communications System","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the aftermath of most disasters \u2013 from the terrorist\nattacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to this year\u2019s earthquake in Japan \u2013 communication\nsystems have been overwhelmed, leaving people without phones and Internet when\nthey need these tools the most.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFortunately, Georgia Tech College of Computing\nresearchers have developed a possible solution. It\u2019s an innovative wireless\nsystem called LifeNet designed to help first responders communicate after disasters.\nLifeNet is a mobile ad-hoc network designed for use in highly transient\nenvironments that requires no infrastructure such as Internet, cell towers or\ntraditional landlines. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s an independent network you can join,\u201d\nsaid Santosh Vempala, Georgia Tech distinguished professor of computer science\nin the College of Computing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt doesn\u2019t need wires, antennas, cell towers\nand so on, and it works across platforms like laptops and smart phones. We\nimagine relief agencies would be able to set up a network right away and\ncommunicate about what\u2019s needed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVempala and his graduate student, Hrushikesh\nMehendale, will demonstrate the LifeNet system at the ACM SIGCOM conference from\n3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. today in Toronto, Canada.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe standard for post-disaster communications\nis the satellite phone, which, at $600 or more per unit, can be expensive to\nown and, at 50 cents per text, costly to use.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELifeNet, however, bridges\nconnectivity between a satellite phone or other Internet gateway and a\nWiFi-based network on the ground. It extends the coverage of a satellite phone\nor a service such as SMS from one computer with access to the entire\nindependent network in the field. Essentially, that means several people in the\nfield who may not have satellite phones but have smart phones or laptops with\nWiFi capability can connect to the LifeNet network, communicate with each other\nwith no other infrastructure and use the Internet as long as any one of them\nhas access.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCurrently available options such as satellite\ncommunication are expensive and have limited functionality,\u201d Mehendale said. \u201cIf\nyou use LifeNet, the cost savings per text message is 100 times less than a\nsatellite phone.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELifeNet is also easy to set up. The network starts\nas soon as a node is put in place. Each LifeNet-enabled computer acts as both a\nhost client and a router, able to directly route data to and from any other\navailable wireless device.\u0026nbsp; Nodes can be\nmoved from location to location as needed, and the network remains intact.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe software developed by Vempala and Mehendale\nfor LifeNet provides basic communications that are low bandwidth and reliable. \u0026nbsp;It doesn\u2019t allow users to stream video, for\nexample, but it can send text messages for basic communication needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cIt\u2019s a trade-off of performance for\nreliability,\u201d Vempala said. \u201cReliability is really what you need the most in\nthese situations.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring the demo at SIGCOMM, conference\nattendees will be able to see the Atlanta-based LifeNet network via a web-based\ninterface in Toronto. They will be able to log into the network, send messages,\nmove nodes and see how communication is affected.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers are currently ready to\ndeploy LifeNet for field testing and are looking to expand beyond crisis\ncommunications.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EVempala\u2019s team recently partnered with Tata\nInstitute of Social Sciences India, which has a disaster management center.\nTogether, the researchers identified cyclone-affected areas without\ncommunications infrastructure that could benefit most from LifeNet. As a\nresult, researchers will be deploying LifeNet in the Mohali region of India\nover the next several months.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn an area without any other connectivity, we\nwill establish a set up that could be used daily and could also be specifically\nhelpful during a disaster,\u201d Mehendale said. \u201cWe need to make the solution a\npart of their daily lives since people cannot afford costly equipment like\nsatellite phones in third-world regions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also hope to pitch LifeNet as a\npackage to FEMA, the Red Cross and other U.S. relief agencies soon.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere are many recent situations, like the\nMississippi floods this summer, where this would have been valuable,\u201d Vempala\nsaid. \u201cPeople were trapped. Cell phones were not working, the Internet is down and\npeople don\u2019t have a way to communicate. . . . LifeNet can be the solution.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing researchers\nhave developed an innovative wireless system called\nLifeNet designed to help first responders communicate after disasters. The researchers will demonstrate the LifeNet system at the ACM SIGCOM\nconference from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 16 in Toronto, Canada.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"College of Computing researchers have developed an innovative wireless system, LifeNet, designed to help first responders communicate after disasters."}],"uid":"27462","created_gmt":"2011-08-16 09:31:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:09:55","author":"Liz Klipp","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-08-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-08-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"39933":{"id":"39933","type":"image","title":"Klaus Advanced Computing Building","body":null,"created":"1449174136","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:22:16","changed":"1475894241","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:37:21"},"62585":{"id":"62585","type":"image","title":"Santosh Vempala","body":null,"created":"1449176382","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:59:42","changed":"1475894544","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:24","alt":"Santosh Vempala","file":{"fid":"191645","name":"SVempala.gif","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SVempala_0.gif","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SVempala_0.gif","mime":"image\/gif","size":12637,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/SVempala_0.gif?itok=8OnyF7eU"}},"69357":{"id":"69357","type":"image","title":"Hrushikesh Mehendale","body":null,"created":"1449177252","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:14:12","changed":"1475894606","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:26","alt":"Hrushikesh Mehendale","file":{"fid":"193405","name":"hrushi.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hrushi_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hrushi_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":121658,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/hrushi_0.png?itok=hd0HcsR5"}}},"media_ids":["39933","62585","69357"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/gtsigcomm.com\/","title":"GT SIGCOMM website"},{"url":"http:\/\/conferences.sigcomm.org\/sigcomm\/2011\/","title":"ACM SIGCOMM 2011"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.scs.gatech.edu\/people\/santosh-vempala","title":"Distinguished Professor Santosh Vempala"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/~hmehenda\/","title":"Georgia Tech graduate student Hrushikesh Mehendale"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.tiss.edu\/","title":"The TaTa Institute of Social Sciences"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"14014","name":"College of Computing; LifeNet; Santosh Vempala; SIGCOMM"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["klipp@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}