Intelligent Disaster Management System (IDMS) for

Remote Villages in India using IEEE 802.11b/Wireless LAN

Arthi Kothandaraman
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Sriram Engineering College
Perumalpattu 602024, India
Phone: +91-44-28535634; E-mail: artemis_rt@yahoo.com

Abstract

India is a land of natural calamities .The catastrophe might take any form, be it an earthquake, a
cyclone, an epidemic / endemic out-break or a volcanic eruption. And more often than not, these
disasters strike at places where they are most difficult to handle- remote villages that lack even basic
communication facilities such as the telephone, rendering emergency communication during a disaster
quite impossible. Also, the viability of using the satellite telephones installed by the government during
a mob or panic ridden situation is quite less, as individuals lose the ability to think in terms of common
good and take intelligent decisions when their own safety is at stake. Hence, through this paper, I
propose the use of intelligent systems to alert public rescue services and forewarn people regarding
impending disasters.
This paper will take you through the technical know-how behind this smart network, its working
and its various features which make it attractive, feasible and highly indispensable. The plan is to set up
a wireless LAN based on the latest in WLAN protocols-the IEEE 802.11b standard. The networking is
done between critical points in the village. Sensors that can identify the:
¬ current seismic status of the topography of the area
¬ current water level in any water body in the locality
¬ emergency exit situations in public buildings
¬ fire during huge gatherings such as local carnivals/festivals
are installed in all the vital places. These sensors ring the alarm if the seismic status, water level etc
increase beyond a point and send real-time information about the current situation to the nearest rescue
station, thereby preventing panic and averting the loss of hundreds of lives. The intelligent devices are
powered by solar cells. This eliminates the need for any dedicated 24-hour power supply. Absence of
human intervention also has no effect whatsoever on the communication. The security of the data
transmitted has been discussed. A schematic block diagram of the WLAN structure proposed has also
been provided for clarity.

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Introduction:

Over recent years, the market for wireless communications has enjoyed tremendous growth. No
longer bound by the harnesses of wired networks, people will be able to access and share information
on a global scale nearly anywhere they venture. However even advancement on such a grand scale has
failed to have any positive effect on our rural community. This article will try to answer some basic
questions of why and where wireless local area networks can be used in our villages, and present a brief
description on the protocol that can be used for this purpose-IEEE 802.11.
India is a country where frequent disasters occur. The sub-continent has a coastline of about
8000 km, which is extremely vulnerable to cyclonic formations. In spite of the government’s best
efforts at disaster management and information handling, the information may at times be faulty or too
late to be of much use. Moreover, some systems are quite primitive in this information age and require
human intervention. The highlight of the proposed system is that it needs no initial human intervention
and can effectively convey real-time information about the disaster. During a catastrophe, there is a
high risk of failure of basic phone services and power, causing panic. Also, the viability of using the
satellite telephones installed by the government during a mob or panic ridden situation is quite less, as
individuals lose the ability to think in terms of common good and take intelligent decisions when their
own safety is at stake. Hence the need for unmanned intelligent wireless-communication devices that
can convey the current status to the nearest rescue station enabling appropriate action at the
appropriate time.

The IEEE 802.11b standard:

Approval of the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networking (WLAN) and rapid
progress made toward higher data rates have put the promise of truly mobile computing within reach.
While wired LANs have been a mainstream technology for at least fifteen years, WLANs are uncharted
territory for most networking professionals. For our purpose i.e. disaster management in hard-to-reach
places, it is more economical to use a wireless LAN. For instance, in old buildings, the cost of asbestos
cleanup or removal outweighs the cost of installing a wired LAN solution. In other situations, such as a
factory floor, or fields, it may not be feasible to run a traditional wired LAN. Wireless LANs offer the
connectivity and the convenience of wired LANs without the need for expensive wiring or rewiring.

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IEEE 802.11 Architectures:

In IEEE's proposed standard for wireless LANs (IEEE 802.11), there are two different ways to
configure a network: ad-hoc and infrastructure. In the ad-hoc network, computers are brought together
to form a network "on the fly." As shown in Figure 1, there is no structure to the network; there are no
fixed points; and usually every node is able to communicate with every other node. A good example of
this is a meeting where employees bring laptop computers together to communicate and share design or
financial information. Although it seems that order would be difficult to maintain in this type of
network, algorithms such as the spokesman election algorithm (SEA) have been designed to "elect" one
machine as the base station (master) of the network with the others being slaves. Another algorithm in
ad-hoc network architectures uses a broadcast and flooding method to all other nodes to establish who's
who.

The second type of network structure used in wireless LANs is the infrastructure or client/server
mode. This architecture uses fixed network access points with which mobile nodes can communicate.
These network access points are sometime connected to landlines to widen the LAN's capability by
bridging wireless nodes to other wired nodes. If service areas overlap, handoffs can occur. This structure
is very similar to the present day cellular networks around the world. This is the structure this paper
proposes to use for the Intelligent Disaster Management System (IDMS).

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IEEE 802.11 Layers:

The specifications of IEEE 802.11 define two layers: layer one is called Physical Layer
(PHY) and layer two is called Media Access Control (MAC) layer. Layer one specifies the
modulation scheme used and signaling characteristics for the transmission through the radio
frequencies, whereas the layer two defines a way for accessing the physical layer [7]. The
specifications of the IEEE 802.11 layer two, called MAC layer, define also services related to
the radio resource and the mobility management [13].
The IEEE 802.11 standard places specifications on the parameters of both the physical (PHY)
and medium access control (MAC) layers of the network. The PHY layer, which actually
handles the transmission of data between nodes, can use either direct sequence spread
spectrum, frequency-hopping spread spectrum, or infrared (IR) pulse position modulation.
IEEE 802.11 makes provisions for data rates of either 1 Mbps or 2 Mbps, and calls for
operation in the 2.4 - 2.4835 GHz frequency band (in the case of spread-spectrum
transmission), which is an unlicensed band for industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM)
applications, and 300 - 428,000 GHz for IR transmission. Infrared is generally considered to be
more secure to eavesdropping, because IR transmissions require absolute line-of-sight links (no
transmission is possible outside any simply connected space or around corners), as opposed to
radio frequency transmissions, which can penetrate walls and be intercepted by third parties
unknowingly. However, infrared transmissions can be adversely affected by sunlight [5], and
the spread-spectrum protocol of 802.11 does provide some rudimentary security for typical
data transfers.
The MAC layer is a set of protocols that is responsible for maintaining order in the use
of a shared medium. The 802.11 standard specifies a carrier sense multiple access with
collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol. In this protocol, when a node receives a packet to be
transmitted, it first listens to ensure no other node is transmitting. If the channel is clear, it then
transmits the packet. Otherwise, it chooses a random "backoff factor" which determines the
amount of time the node must wait until it is allowed to transmit its packet. During periods in
which the channel is clear, the transmitting node decrements its backoff counter. (When the
channel is busy it does not decrement its backoff counter.) When the backoff counter reaches
zero, the node transmits the packet. Since the probability that two nodes will choose the same
backoff factor is small, collisions between packets are minimized. Collision detection, as is
employed in Ethernet, cannot be used for the radio frequency transmissions of IEEE 802.11.

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The reason for this is that when a node is transmitting it cannot hear any other node in the
system which may be transmitting, since its own signal will drown out any others arriving at
the node.

Whenever a packet is to be transmitted, the transmitting node first sends out a short
ready-to-send (RTS) packet containing information on the length of the packet. If the receiving
node hears the RTS, it responds with a short clear-to-send (CTS) packet. After this exchange,
the transmitting node sends its packet. When the packet is received successfully, as determined
by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), the receiving node transmits an acknowledgment (ACK)
packet. This back-and-forth exchange is necessary to avoid the "hidden node" problem,
illustrated in Figure 3. As shown, node A can communicate with node B, and node B can
communicate with node C. However, node A cannot communicate node C. Thus, for instance,
although node A may sense the channel to be clear, node C may in fact be transmitting to node
B. The protocol described above alerts node A that node B is busy, and hence it must wait
before transmitting its packet.

Security:

IEEE 802.11 provides for security via two methods: authentication and encryption.
Authentication is the means by which one station is verified to have authorization to
communicate with a second station in a given coverage area. In the infrastructure mode,
authentication is established between an AP and each station.
Authentication can be either Open System or Shared Key. In an Open System, any STA

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may request authentication. The STA receiving the request may grant authentication to any
request, or only those from stations on a user-defined list. In a Shared Key system, only
stations that possess a secret encrypted key can be authenticated. Shared Key authentication is
available only to systems having the optional encryption capability.
Encryption is intended to provide a level of security comparable to that of a wired LAN. The
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) feature uses the RC4 PRNG algorithm from RSA Data
Security, Inc. The WEP algorithm was selected to meet the following criteria:
 reasonably strong
 self-synchronizing
 computationally efficient
 exportable
 optional

Timing and Power Management:

All station clocks within a BSS are synchronized by periodic transmission of time
stamped beacons. In the infrastructure mode, the AP serves as the timing master and generates
all timing beacons. Synchronization is maintained to within 4 microseconds plus propagation
delay. Timing beacons also play an important role in power management. There are two power
saving modes defined: awake and doze. In the awake mode, stations are fully powered and can
receive packets at any time. Nodes must inform the AP before entering doze. In this mode,
nodes must “wake up” periodically to listen for beacons that indicate that AP has queued
messages.

Roaming:

The standard does identify the basic message formats to support roaming, but
everything else is left up to network vendors. In order to fill the void, the Inter-Access Point
Protocol (IAPP) was jointly developed by Aironet, Lucent Technologies, and Digital Ocean.
Among other things, IAPP extends multi-vendor interoperability to the roaming function. It
addresses roaming within a single ESS and between two or more ESSs.
Also, with cross vendor interoperability assured, WLANs are now able to fulfill the promise of
high speed mobile computing.

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The Network Planning Process:

This section describes the corner stones for the network planning process of a cellular
network, which is typically a land wide network, planned for both outdoor and indoor use. The
targets of the network planning depend on the offered services, the user needs and therefore
expected traffic load. Also the frequency band available and the chosen infrastructure outline
the structure of the network. The main target of the network planning is to guarantee service
with good enough quality and to offer capacity with a sufficiently low congestion. Network
planning is an ongoing process, which has to be optimized economically. However, one target
is also to take into account the possible capacity need in the future right from the beginning.
The different steps of the planning process are listed below:
¬ Coverage planning
¬ Capacity planning
¬ Frequency planning
¬ Parameter planning and follow-up

The Disaster Management System

Our intelligent system primarily consists of a device that alerts the computer by giving
a signal when the seismic levels or the water levels exceed a critical point. These signals might
be data such as the Richter scale reading or the water level in that area. This is then converted
into plain text format by using relevant software and then conveyed to the nearest rescue
station and the appropriate government offices via mail.

Figure 5: Illustration of an IDMS

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According to our plan, during an earthquake, when the Richter scale reading goes
beyond a critical value, the system attached to the Richter scale gets invoked and this gives out
a signal to the computer through its communication ports. As soon as the computer receives the
signal, an alarm is set on and the programmed software automatically receives the current
value of the Richter scale reading. The system mentioned above is an embedded computer,
which takes care of invoking and sending of the signal. It consists of sensors connected to the
Richter scale and memory for storing the value. The data is sent to the main computer in a raw
form. A Java based software is written for capturing the raw data from the embedded computer
and converting it into user-friendly form (text form). This software also takes care of sending
the text data as an instant message to the nearest rescue station, which is connected using an
IEEE 802.11b / wireless LAN to another computer installed in the rescue station.

Figure 6 : Block diagram of the Intelligent Disaster Management System

A digital water level indicator is kept at four critical points in the village. During a
possibility of heavy floods, when the water flowing on the streets exceed a critical value, the
embedded computer connected to the digital water level indicator sets on an alarm and then
gives the raw reading of the meter to the main computer. As already described, this raw data is
captured using the Java-based software, converted into text format and automatically sent as an
instant message to the nearest rescue station.
As shown in the figure, in all, four critical points are identified in the village for
installation of this intelligent system, which are centrally connected to a dedicated computer at
the rescue station and to government offices.

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These intelligent systems are powered by solar cells and has a back up power supply
powered by a battery for a period of 48 hours. Hence, our IDMS system is both eco-friendly
and utilitarian.
We use the infrastructure or client-server mode of IEEE 802.11 for our IDMS. The
WLAN set-up or basic topology may be described as follows:
A Basic Service Set (BSS) consists of two or more wireless nodes, or stations (STAs),
which have recognized each other and have established communications. The stations may be
located at the afore-mentioned ‘critical points’ of the village. The BSS contains an Access
Point (AP). The AP might be located at a central office. The main function of an AP is to form
a bridge between wireless and wired LANs. The AP is analogous to a base-station used in
cellular phone networks. When an AP is present, stations do not communicate on a peer-to-
peer basis. All communications between stations or between a station and a wired network
client go through the AP. APs are not mobile, and form part of the wired network
infrastructure. The Extended Service Set (ESS) shown in Figure consists of a series of
overlapping BSSs (each containing an AP) connected together by means of a Distribution
System (DS). The DS in our case would be a much larger wired network infrastructure such as
that of a nearby town or city. Although the DS could be any type of network, it is almost
invariably an Ethernet LAN. Mobile nodes can roam between APs and seamless campus-wide
coverage is possible.

Figure 6: Basic Topology of the WLAN

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Conclusion:
The proposed system enables instant identification of disaster and helps save hundreds
of lives. It also alerts the villagers, warning them against impending disasters such as floods or
earthquakes. An important highlight of this system is that it is powered by solar cells and
requires no other power supply, which makes it extremely desirable and compatible with
general rural conditions, and more so at times of disaster, when normal communication
mechanisms such as telephones become unusable. An added advantage is the fact that it
requires no initial human intervention whatsoever.
Up till now, we have not been very successful in coping with calamities as becomes
evident every time there is a major flood or earthquake in some part of the country, in spite of
the fact that these catastrophes usually occur in well-defined areas. Hence, disaster mitigation
plans and programmes must be extensively taken up on a large scale at the national level to
minimize the damages. There should be greater emphasis on development of new technologies
that lessen the effect of natural calamities on normal life. “Perceive, plan and pause not until
the danger is averted” should be our slogan for the future … and this is precisely what this
paper tries to put forth. ‘A simple plan with widespread effects’ is how I would like to describe
this small effort. I sincerely hope that this little drop in the ocean would lead the way for a
great future for “Intelligent Disaster Management Systems”.

References:
¬ Sinha, Anil & Sharma, Vinod K., (1999),Culture of Prevention, Government of India,
Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Disaster Management Division, New Delhi.
¬ Mandal, G. S. (1999), Forecasting and Warning Systems for Cyclones in India, Shelter,
October, 1999, pp. 24-26.
¬ Schiller, Jochen- Mobile Communications
¬ www.iec.org

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