Controls and intelligence behind “NISTARA-2” — A disaster management machine (DMM)

Abstract

Evolution comes before survival only in dictionary. We are creatures of reason, programmed to preserve energy and maintain equilibrium. However in this era of electronics and communication it is important to not merely survive but to thrive, we must occasionally consider the role of autonomous machine at times of disaster. Having a disaster management machine will help us through early evacuation which will eliminate panic situation and reap the ultimate rewards in saving precious lives. This paper discusses NISTARA (which is a Sanskrit word meaning rescue and pronounced as Nistar), a system built to detect and handle disasters in physical environments. It is based on different sensors (water, fire, seismic) deployed at different vantage points, which send their signals to a base computer which implements fuzzy logic based detection and evacuation response. It sends camera images to output displays, and information to end user cellular phones through specially designed android app. This paper also discusses the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing this device in premises such as schools, offices, colleges and hospitals.