RFID-based Disaster-Relief System

Abstract

In the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, bills were widely posted as a means of distributing information in the disaster-afflicted area. Resident safety and evacuation information and emergent risk assessment results were directly posted on damaged buildings, and in this manner information was communicated within the disaster area. This example highlights the importance of establishing a system that can be used in rescue operations for the rapid collection of information scattered throughout an affected area; such a system could rely on manpower, rescue robots, or other elements that are independent of existing means of communication. This feature would prove particularly important in the event of a large-scale disaster that would likely cripple the communication infrastructure. An RFID tag (for Radio Frequency Identification, a type of electronic tag) is a small device that can store, input, and output data through non-contact means. In addition to its wide use as a non-contact IC card, the RFID tag is on its way to becoming commercially feasible for attachment to merchandise and cargo in the logistics industry. In addition to logistics applications, a range of uses in other fields, including firefighting and disaster prevention, were recently highlighted in a report by a study group (MIC, 2004Mar) organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Given the anticipated arrival of a " ubiquitous information society" in which RFIDs are embedded in large quantities in house walls, and in traditional utility poles along the road for normal use, the authors are moving ahead with development of an RFID writer/ reader designed to write or read rescue-related information to or from an RFID. This device could serve as an information resource for rescue work in the disaster area and allow disaster victims or rescue workers outside of the disaster area to collect needed information instantaneously, in large quantities, and in a non-contact fashion, informing those outside the afflicted area of the conditions within the region. This chapter describes such RFID writer/ reader, followed by a discussion of an information sharing system using the device and thoughts on the further potential of an overall damage information collection system.