●Messages from Departments and Centers of NILIM

Reliable ICT in an Emergency
UEDA Satoshi
Director, Research Center for Advanced Information Technology(Keywords) disaster prevention/mitigation, ICT, ITS, information‐oriented construction, unmanned construction,CALS/EC

1.

the earliest stages of the disaster. Large amounts ofIntroduction
One year has passed since the Great East Japanprobe data have been collected by ITS Spots (RoadEarthquake. During that time, investigations ofSide Units): ITS spot services have just started

rebuilding/rehabilitation and the state of damage havenationwide in August 2011, and it was hoped thatbeen vigorously carried out in many areas. As a result,probe data would be utilized as “bond links”, as it

details about the situation during the disaster have

were, by combining their capabilities to help people inbeen revealed .

an emergency.
theBecause people are now accustomed to using

information and communication systems, creating anTwitter, Facebook and other social networking

information vacuum. It is impossible to prevent andservices, they served as effective platforms for people

mitigateandto contact each other and to undertake rescue

various

operations even though ordinary telephone call

proposals from related institutions. Dr. Toshitaka

communication was shut down. People also madeKATADA, a professor at Gunma University, refers togood use of Google Person Finder 1 (whereabouts

three major rules for surviving catastrophes: “Do notinformation) whose capabilities were enhanced by

be shackled with assumptions, do your best, and try to

combining it with digital mapping information.

Theearthquake

disasters

communicationandtsunamiwithout

systemssmashedinformation

confirming

tobe the first person to run”. Information andIt is also necessary that “Road Stations” (rest areascommunication technology (ICT) plays importantalongside roads) be renewed as recovery bases during

roles in this regard.

disasters. For instance, Takehara(Hiroshima Pref.)Road Station was allocated as a recovery base. A

2.

stand-alone power generation facility and a water

ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems)
The information in “Traffic Availability andreceiving tank have been installed at this station.

Suspension Information” proved useful at the initial“Connected” has become a keyword of the ITS

stage of the Great East Japan Earthquake. This

world recently, especially in an emergency. For

information consists of probe data (travel records)

example, V2I stands for vehicle to infrastructure

androadcommunications and several abbreviations’, such asadministrators, which is available on the internet. ItV2V, V2H or V2G, are used to represent the idea oftraffic

suspension

information

fromattracted great attention at international conferences on
ITS. It helped people take first action in the midst of
widespread disruptions and information shortages in1

Google person finder helps people reconnect withfriends and loved ones in the aftermath of natural andhumanitarian disasters

●Messages from Departments and Centers of NILIM
two-wayconnections (H: Home,electricity).

G:

GridofThe ITS world is going into a newRiver disaster, 1969). These unmanned construction
technologies

weredevelopedforuse

in

the

phase: vehicles, houses and the smart grid are allreconstruction after the eruptions of Mt.Unzen byconnected by means of IT technologies to deal withcombining

energy issues as well as traffic issues. There is also aequipment.

wireless

technologies

andimagingJapanese version of the global navigation satellite

The development of robots could easily besystem project centered on launching the quasi-zenith

abandoned because research work tends to be isolated

satellite in an attempt to link up with space

due to uncertainty that it will ever be practicallyinfrastructure.

applied. Fortunately, construction sites are real, notasvirtual. Thanks to this environment, when they are

vehicle-oriented policies to some extent. The new ITS

needed, they will be used because people in the field

services for cyclists and pedestrians should beareconsidered to deal with the problem of the difficulty

technology by promoting R&D, building equipment

people face in returning home from their offices in an

maintenance systems and educating operators.

ITS

initiatives

have

been

considered

continually

involvedinencouraging

theemergency. To make that happen, it is also essential to

A few issues remain to be tackled. These include

use personal probe data more efficiently. This directly

the fact that the range of their operation is limited.,reveals people’s movements obtained by mobile

And electrical wave interference, work inefficiency

phones or transportation IC cards such as SUICA,and construction accuracy (finished work quality)

PASMO or ICOCA to enhance emergency support

undermeasures.

environments

theeffects
alsoofproblematic

remain

tobe

radio

wave

dealtwith.

Manipulation from a more remote place will be
3.

UnmannedConstruction(Construction

necessary when it is necessary to deal with radiation.
Also the market is not large enough for every privateRobots)
Although Japan has the world’s highest level ofentity to make profits even if there are real sites in

how useful theplace. Therefore we need to find a way to build arobots are is still controversial. The practical usabilitysystem which enables us to maintain long-termof robots has not been as efficient as expected,

operations by taking measures such as applying theconsidering the situation at Fukushima Daiichi

technology to a wider range of situations.

robot manufacturing technology,

Nuclear Power Plant, which was damaged by theearthquake.

4.

Unmanned

automation

technology

hasCALS/EC

Reconstruction should be executed quickly andbeen
inpublic works should play the major role. CALS/EC2

emergencies where it can manipulate robot-like

is a system intended to drive productivity bymachines. It is particularly advantageous to make use

converting information created by each process,of these devices under the harsh conditions where asurvey, designing, work executions and maintenancesecondary disaster is highly likely to follow an initialmanagement of public works, into electronic data, anddisaster.

by sharing the information using communication

introducedtoconstruction

Unmanned

remote-controlled

sites,

vehicles

using

wired

especiallywereinitiallycommunication2(amphibious bulldozers applied to the Joganjigawa

Continuous Acquisition and Life-cycle Support/Electronic Commerce

●Messages from Departments and Centers of NILIM
networks. This system must be used to speed up theputting it into full use in the case of an emergency.

process of reconstructions.
Data distributions related toelectronic bidding andelectronic delivery are successfully progressing interms of the data distribution speed. On the other hand,5.

the data stream for designing and work executions“Only providing precise, prompt and detailedare(Building

information would be not enough to promote

Information Modeling) has been in progress in theevacuation actions. In addition, it is reported that toobuilding construction world. The purpose of BIM is tomuchenhance

information was found only to deter evacuating

not.

Theintroduction

productivityofBIM

byleveraging

which

consistbuilding

Conclusion

enhancedfunctionalityofevacuation

threeactions (“Tsunami Disaster” by Yoshiaki Kawada,

dimensional building models built on computers andIwanami Paperbacks (in Japanese)). “Information andcombinedincluding

communication technology” may be imagined as

specifications/performance of materials/components“highly state-of-the-art technology”. ICT issues areor cost information at each stage: construction

usually discussed only from a technology standpoint

designing,rather than from a user standpoint. We must not forget

information

modelsattributework

dataexecutions

andofmaintenancethat it is humans who use either information ormanagement.
utilizing

communication technology. We are now determined

three-dimensional design data necessary to recognize

to squarely meet requirements by various people andfinished work quality control (earthwork) by Total

regions in the society to actually implement the PDCA

Stations and the machine control of motor graders.

cycle.

Civilengineers

have

been

Electronic data conversion is important because it
enables us to facilitate linkage with information‐[References]oriented construction and unmanned construction.

1) “Urgent Recommendations-Disaster Mitigation

Electronic data conversion also strengthens risk

(Disaster Prevention and Disaster Reduction)

management by enabling us to get quick access toUsing ICT-, Integrated Research & Survey Team”

backup data. A disaster could damage a lot of

by Japan Society of Civil Engineers/Institute ofprecious paper information such as plans of buildings

Electrical Engineers of Japan, July, 2011 (inwhich are required to manage

English)rebuilding orrehabilitation. Therefore performing electronic data
conversion and backups could

support BCP2)“Unmanned Construction Technology Well
Utilized for Disaster Restoration” by Kenichi(Business Continuity Planning) by using cloudFujino

computing.

Research Institute, Construction Robot Forum,At the same time, it is also important that, byOctober, 2011 (in Japanese)valuing speed up conscious perception, we makepractical efforts by beginning with what is possible
while keeping in mind the ideal

construction flow

process CALS/EC. This will help diffuse CALS/EC
throughout local municipalities resulting in them/ Masaharu

Moteki, Public Works