TECHNOLOGY THRUST AREAS

Technological thrust areas can be inter se distinguished, marked and identified in the following three divisions:

Relevant Frontier Technologies

Artificial Intelligence. Much work has been done on application of AI in C3I and weapon control in the US. We may lend a humane perspective to these technologies to assess their relevance to decision making, rescue superintendence, resource management, conservation and therapic applications. Computer-based ecology and cyber environment that engulf our lives, offer greater fulfillment if there is harmonization between scientific inquiry and social purpose.

Bluetooth. Robot using blue tooth to communicate across concrete is an idea worth probing. Bluetooth is a short range 10 m omni directional radio technology operating in 2.4 GHz band with low power and frequency hopping to avoid interference. Apart from replacing cables as connectors to computers and cellular phones, it enables any device with a chip to communicate seamlessly, even if there are non-metallic walls or other object in the way. It can be used for communication between computers and cellphones in disaster hit areas and through GPRS enabled 3G phones connected to wireless Internet to anywhere in the world.

Fire Fighting Helicopter. A giant Sikorsky helicopter has been successfully utilized in fighting major remote-area blazes. 80-foot-long Sikorsky Super Sky Crane (SSSC) can be outfitted with a huge storage tank that allows it to make 10 trips and drop ten 30,000 gallon loads of water including computerized additions of fire retardant. The SSSC can fill up water in 45 seconds.

Global Positioning System (GPS). The GPS is a satellite based system used for navigation, positioning and synchronization. A GPS receiver obtains transmissions simultaneously from three to four satellites having GPS transponders and can then calculate its position in geographical reference system.

Geographical Information Systems (GIS). GIS is the digital geographical location map, which gives latitude, longitude, height above mean sea level, climatic conditions, connecting roads, and statistics about population, education, buildings, and civic amenities. These maps are made with the help of GPS and data provided by on-site agencies. It can provide vital inputs about population vulnerability and exposure with a view to planning structures and laying building regulations. It can also help in relief operations, preparing logistics for response scenarios, e.g., location of areas of crisis or disaster, identification of safe havens for evacuation, provision of food, medicine and shelters to the disaster effected populace and initiation of public education programmes.

HAM Radio. Amateur radio operators are a constant and invaluable resource for passage of vital information. It is vital that adequate assets are acquired and training facilities created in HAM operation.

Internet Enabled Disaster Warning System. For the last five years, California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the US Geological Survey (USGS) have been upgrading Southern California's network of quake detection stations. It is a system of sensors that digitally transmit the magnitude and velocity of earthquakes to Caltech or the USGS. 700 stations have come up making Southern California the best-monitored earthquake zone in the world, with sensors located every nine miles. Caltech is currently working on software to broadcast quake warnings over the Internet to emergency workers and local authorities, almost at the speed of light. The time lag between knowing what is going on and the ground motion may yield lead-time to get a warning out. For instance, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake at Bombay Beach on the San Andreas Fault would take about 75 seconds to reach metropolitan Los Angeles some 130 miles away. Arrangements can be made to shut down vulnerable segments of the power grid and get the children out in the open, provided, of course, that everyone's Internet connection is working. However nearer a quake's epicentre, no warning is early enough. The USGS and Caltech are conducting a survey of potential users, focusing on schools, emergency services, transport, utilities and health-care institutions. It is expected that an alert system could be in place within a decade. A similar system can be planned for vulnerable areas in India. It may not be that sophisticated, nonetheless it is worth the effort.

Nuclear. With India and Pakistan entering nuclear arena, the chances of accidental release of nuclear energy have become a veritable possibility. In Sandia Laboratories an Accident Response Group (ARG) was created in 1970 to provide technical expertise and capabilities to address nuclear emergencies. The ARG's deployable capabilities include nondestructive evaluation equipment, weapon diagnostics, robotics, numerous specialized tools, communications equipment, personal protective equipment, contamination control stations, personnel decontamination stations, hazardous materials detectors, radiation monitors, ground and soil contamination monitors and equipment, air, soil, and water analysis equipment, weapon packaging equipment, and ground transportation capabilities for damaged weapons and components