Research topics addressed in this laboratory
In our laboratory, we are working daily on various wide-area natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and landslides, aiming at the advancement of wide-area damage assessment technology using satellite images, smartphone GPS, and SNS data, research on the advancement of decision making by various stakeholders during disasters, and the construction of disaster-resistant social systems based on these technologies.
1.Assessing wide-area damage using satellite images
We will work on the development of technology to identify these damages at an early stage through satellite images and drone aerial images. We consider it an important research theme to build models that use these images as input data and the extent of damage as output data, as well as to explore the physical basis behind these models and the relationships among the data.
2.Grasping the situation of disaster victims through location-based SNS
We consider SNS information transmitted by individuals at the time of the disaster to be an important clue to information about the disaster area. since SNS text contains a variety of information, technology is needed to extract the content and location of information that can lead to support for the disaster area among them.
3.Human Flow Analysis by Smartphone GPS
When a disaster strikes, the flow of people changes dramatically as roads become unusable and hazardous areas become inaccessible. We consider these changes to be information that can provide clues when assessing the extent of damage in disaster-stricken areas and evaluating the impact that is difficult to see. Extracting information from the large amount of GPS data that can lead to support for disaster-stricken areas is one of our important tasks.
4.Various decision-making support for disaster management
Overcoming the above technological challenges alone is not sufficient when aiming to improve the disaster preparedness of society. We must also consider how to support decision-making based on the above technologies and their social implementation. In this theme, we will explore methodologies for integrating the above technologies and linking them to decision-making through a knowledge science approach, as well as ways to disseminate these methodologies.
