University of Technology Sydney researchers are leading a trial of technology that could help protect communities during severe weather events by harnessing artificial intelligence and the mobile phone network to predict the possible impacts of flooding.
Transcript
[Music]
flooding stands as one of the most
prevalent natural disasters confronting
New South Wales and Australia flooding
has inflicted profound damages on our
economy Community well-being and human
lives one critical unmet challenge to
mitigating flooding risks is the lack of
Technologies and realtime data that can
be used to monitor localized rainfall
and predict flooding with sufficient
accuracy and granularity
the recent flooding incident in Gold
Coast exemplifies this issue as flash
flood alerts were disseminated to
Residents a day too late when some
victims were already strangled by floods
an emerging technology offers a
promising solution to address this
challenge it is called Network sensing
one of the issues uh with flooding right
across New South Wales that we have at
the moment is limited ability to have
real-time data so the research that's
been done with the University of
technology and that state emergency
service will allow us to make better
predictions on the consequences of
flooding and warn communities in a much
faster time frame this Innovative
approach extracts the changes in
Wireless signals caused by rainfalls and
water flows the information is then
translated into localized rainfall and
flooding data through machine learning
unlike traditional sensor networks
Network sensing technology utilizes
existing mobile mobile networks thereby
minimizing the need for additional
infrastructure and facilitating rapid
deployment across New South Wales and
Beyond the University of Technology
Sydney stands at the Forefront of
network sensing research pioneering
groundbreaking advancements in the field
since 2017 it's easy to find researchers
but it's difficult to find researchers
who can translate results into practical
real world impacts we chose UTS because
they're world leaders in this field and
have that ability in 2023 the New South
Wales government funded an audacious
project called smart flood and storm
intelligence through its smart places
acceleration program this project is led
by the New South Wales State emergency
service and conducted by the UTS
research team it aims to prove at a
fundamental level that the network
sensing technology works for
environmental sensing and realtime
localized flooding can be effectively
visualized by a digital twin thanks to
the dedication and creativity of our
researchers and the great collaboration
with sces we have made significant
progress already so this new technology
has the potential to make all the
difference in keeping people's homes and
people's lives safe during major flood
events tpg Telecom has two motivations
first of all we have a business one and
secondly we want to make a positive
difference in the world we see this as
an exciting new technology that will
transform our Communications oriented
Network into an integrated sensing and
Communications network with multi-year
funding from tpg Telecom UT's World
leading capabilities and the New South
Wales government's commitment to
transform Frontline Services the tpg UTS
Network sensing lab stands to Herald a
new era of innovation and collaboration
offering hopes for a safer and more
resilient future for communities in New
South Wales and
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Beyond
The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has partnered with UTS researchers and TPG Telecom to develop and test network sensing technology, which extracts localised weather information including rainfall, water levels and river flows using signals transmitted on the communications network.
Artificial intelligence can then be used to predict risks to infrastructure and communities, paving the way for the SES to potentially use the data for the rapid dissemination of information to affected communities through targeted alerts.
While still in development, the technology could be transformational for emergency services. Currently, accurate real-time information can be challenging to obtain due to the number of flood sensors, sensor network coverage and network outages during weather events.
Testing of the technology is underway along Sydney’s Parramatta and Georges Rivers and will continue as a centrepiece project of UTS and TPG’s new Network Sensing Lab which, which was officially opened recently by NSW Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib.
“Researching this technology is an opportunity to pioneer a new era of flood and storm intelligence. This work represents a significant step in the NSW Government’s efforts to combat risks to lives and properties during severe weather events,” Mr Dib said.
“This landmark partnership between UTS, TPG Telecom, NSW SES and the NSW Government has the potential to place NSW and Australia at the forefront of how new telecommunication technologies can help in addressing climate challenges and saving lives.”
UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Parfitt
“As we face increasingly severe weather influenced by climate change, we are supporting the NSW State Emergency Service with technology that could help communities access important storm and flood information quicker.
“The new technology will improve data-driven decision-making for first responders, filling an information gap that could make an important difference in emergency situations.”
University of Technology Sydney Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Parfitt said the project was a manifestation of UTS’s mission to translate research into societal impacts, contributing to NSW and Australia’s economic sustainability, prosperity and community resilience.
“Thanks to NSW Government support, our world-leading wireless research team, led by Distinguished Professor Jay Guo, can build on six years of research establishing the foundation for the flood and storm intelligence sensing system now in development,” Professor Parfitt said.
“Network sensing can potentially transform the way our emergency personnel manage and mitigate flood and storm risks, but there are other applications for the technology that also will be explored in the new TPG-UTS Network Sensing Lab.
From the left: Distinguished Professor Jay Guo, TPG Telecom Chief Technology Officer Giovanni Chiarelli, NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York, Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib, UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Parfitt and Dean of the UTS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology Peta Wyeth. Picture by Andy Roberts
“This landmark partnership between UTS, TPG Telecom, NSW SES and the NSW Government has the potential to place NSW and Australia at the forefront of how new telecommunication technologies can help in addressing climate challenges and saving lives.”
“The TPG-UTS Network Sensing Lab will translate research into industrial solutions,” said Distinguished Professor Jay Guo.
"There are limitless opportunities for network sensing technology aside from rainfall monitoring and flood protection.
“They include traffic management, object and intruder detection for smart transport, collision avoidance, search and rescue and health and sports monitoring.”
The Flood and Storm Intelligence Sensing project is funded through Transport for NSW’s Smart Places Acceleration Program, a special reservation of the Digital Restart Fund, administered by the Department of Customer Service.
The project builds on cross-agency work on improving flood warnings, and the State Disaster Mitigation Plan which flags early warning systems as a priority for the NSW Government.