# Relief Aircraft Dispatch Strategies Based on Different Levels of Information Sharing Systems
## 1 Introduction  
During the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011, communication between the disaster response headquarters and the aircraft was through voice wireless communication devices [1]. Then, information was collected and aggregated on the whiteboard in the disaster response headquarters. Finally, mission assignment and aircraft operation were performed based on personal judgment and experience. This kind of information sharing hinders quick and effective execution of mission assignments. Moreover, in widespread disaster areas, obstacles such as mountains could obstruct communication between the operation base and the aircraft, thus hindering relief activities. In addition, during the Sendai Airport disaster, which was at the operating base, lead response headquarters could not receive information about the affected areas; this made air relief more difficult. Based on the experience of the 2011 earthquake in Japan, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) developed the Disaster Relief Aircraft Information Sharing Network (D-net) in 2012. This network can share necessary information between the rescue aircraft and the response headquarters during disasters to foster rescue activities via aircraft such as helicopters [2]. This example indicates that new communication technologies are being applied in air relief activities. However, even in Japan, not all relief helicopters can be equipped with new communication devices. Communication technologies and devices are very different over different regions and may even differ in same disaster-affected areas, according to the damages caused by different scales of the disaster level. As communication devices are updated, relief aircraft dispatch strategies differ, and geographical factors and population distribution may affect aircraft dispatch strategies. Therefore, after the development of new communication devices, it is necessary to train new devices in different strategies and places [3]. There are different communication devices applied in relief activities, and dispatch strategies can be affected by both the different communication devices and demand characteristics when disaster occurs. In this research, we plan to establish a framework for analyzing the effect of different communication devices on relief activities by combining the factor of demand distribution, as shown in Figure 1. The purpose of our study is to assist in determining the optimal dispatch strategy based on the different levels of communication and demand characteristics in disaster relief. Our research aims to analyze the effects of different communication methods on relief aircraft dispatch, the efficiency improvements of new communication devices for relief activities, and the effectiveness of the communication devices in dealing with different relief scenarios. We first define different information sharing levels in air relief activities and then propose aircraft dispatch methods based on these sharing levels. Finally, we analyze the effect of different transport methods in different disaster relief scenarios. The application of communication technology has a role in all four distinct phases of disaster management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. However, in this research, we focus specifically on the response phase, which has a direct relationship with aircraft operations and is also the most critical phase for rescue activities. We define the information sharing levels based on three main types of information used in air relief activities, as shown in Figure 2.  
* _Information about injuries from shelters_: the information about injuries in shelter sites should be sent to response headquarters in a timely manner. * _Information about injuries and corresponding flight routing before takeoff (at the airport)_: this information is the flight routing plan that response headquarters design for aircraft, based on received information regarding injuries.