Geo-intelligence for Disaster Management: Opportunities from DTI Perspective

Abstract

The talk describes the project that integrated three target technologies of Defence Technology Institute (DTI), namely military simulation and training, information and communication, and unmanned vehicle to come up with an application for military assistance in time of communication blackout. The research project took four years from 2018 to 2021 with objectives of adopting the geo-spatial data for 3D flood simulation and the realm of command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ($C^4ISR$) for disaster management. That ISR initiative engaged the project researchers with the process of capturing geo-spatial data, handling geo-informatics and extracting geo-intelligence for damage assessment, forcible entry, locating victims, search and rescue, and evacuation. The project gained recognition from various Thailand’s Defence and security agencies. Currently, DTI has been contacted by Directorate of Joint Civil Affairs that is a major co-player on disaster management of the ministry of Defence to renew the project and extend the area to cover Thailand’s central river basins of 91,731 sq.km. The project will serve more than 20 million people of central Thailand who live their lives familiarizing with annual and frequent floods. The project researchers will engage with big geospatial data and need to embrace national and international collaboration. Opportunities are open for DTI to have agreements and cooperation, to generate joint venture, holding companies, or to partner with both domestic and international juristic entities organizations. Where disasters know no boundaries, this disaster management project is expected to take geo-intelligence to another level among Thailand’s agencies of Defence technology and industry.