A 5D platform for earthquake prevention and control

A five-dimensional (5D) smart city earthquake simulation platform was exhibited by its developer, the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE), at a press conference in Taipei on Tuesday.

According to the Research Center of the National Institute of Applied Research, a 5D smart city platform named SmartES enables screening of buildings that need to be strengthened and simulates the impact of post-earthquake damage on buildings.

NCREE research fellow Wang Ren-zuo (王仁佐) said at the press event that the platform was designed to show the degree of earthquake damage to buildings using a five-color system -- red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. On the five-color scale, red color indicates the most serious damage that will likely cause a building to collapse, while blue color means minimal damage, according to Wang.

The geographic information system (GIS)-based platform integrates a structural monitoring system for buildings, the Taiwan Earthquake Loss Estimation System (TELES), satellite images, models created via modeling by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and LiDAR point clouds. It could be used for pre-quake preparations to reduce earthquake damage and for post-earthquake emergency responses, Wang said.

Earthquake simulation platform could reveal the seismic fragility of the structures of buildings and bridges that are susceptible to earthquake-induced damage and need to be strengthened, he said. The platform can also detect seismic events and provide real-time earthquake notifications, he added.

Once an earthquake occurs, data and information issued by the Central Weather Bureau, such as seismic waves, can be input into the platform to allow users to understand the possible loss caused by the earthquake and get information about the nearest fire departments and hospitals for post-disaster relief, according to Wang.

In addition, post-earthquake UAV patrolling, instant imagery of damaged buildings, information about relief planning, and dangerous buildings required to be immediately repaired to prevent potential casualties in the event of earthquakes will also be made known via the platform, he said.

NCREE Director Chou Chung-che (周中哲) said the center is capable of producing an assessment report in 10 minutes following the occurrence of an earthquake.

SmartES has been linked to the government's mapping database and databank of images collected by Formosat-5, and would likely be linked with the Ministry of the Interior's collection of 3D maps in the next 1-2 years to make the platform more comprehensive, Chou said.

In the future, the platform will combine IoT (Internet of Things) information, monitoring data, and surveillance images of various parts of every city and county in Taiwan to enable it to be applied to other natural disasters such as typhoons, flooding, and mudslides, he said.