Toi Ohomai Student Builds Mobile App To Speed Emergency Response
Thursday 5 April 2018, 10:27AM
By Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology
553 views
As global warming subjects our country to more and more catastrophic weather events, a Toi Ohomai IT student is hoping a new app will help regional co-ordinators respond more quickly to civil emergencies.
Brijesh Donda has been working with Rotorua IT company ITCo to develop the mobile app as part of a summer research scholarship offered in partnership with Callaghan Innovation. Brijesh is studying towards his graduate diploma in Computing and Information Technology at Toi Ohomai’s Rotorua campus.
The app, currently called ASH (Asset Support Hub), would be used by organisations to offer resources in the event of a regional emergency situation. In advance, they would identify useful assets they could contribute, such as trucks, bulldozers, emergency shelters, trained first-aid staff or people with SAR skills, and upload this information with contact details to the app. In a real event, a regional emergency controller could quickly identify what resources are available and call them in.
“In any kind of emergency situation this app will be able to manage the assets that are available,” said Brijesh. “It will make a make a big difference to the emergency controller who can quickly allocate resources to a particular situation.”
Brijesh and ITCo co-director Mark Wilkinson say they’re not aware of any similar mobile technology in New Zealand, where one click can bring up a map showing what emergency assets are available and where, and who to contact. The app can also be scaled up or down for national, regional or local co-ordination requirements.
“We’re talking about a very large quantity of up-to-date and accurate data that can quickly be viewed on-screen and acted upon,” said Mark. “It’s going to offer a much faster response rather than wasting time trying to find out what resources are available once an emergency event is already underway. Brijesh has done an excellent job of pulling together large data sets into a modern mobile application and it’s looking really promising.”
The app idea was the brainchild of Toi Ohomai Health and Safety Manager Jason Pore who realised there was a big gap in the country’s emergency management processes to quickly mobilise assets.
“By speeding up response times in an emergency this app could potentially save lives. It’s a great opportunity for Toi Ohomai to support the community and, if it’s successful, will lead to more projects for our IT students,” Jason said.
Brijesh, 27, from Gujarat, India, worked as a software developer for seven years before deciding to extend his learning in a new area. He arrived in Rotorua last May – his first time abroad – to study at Toi Ohomai, and by December had been offered the scholarship. He has spent 10 weeks over summer working with ITCo to complete the app.
“This mobile technology is new for me, so I thought it would be good to learn something new. The opportunity to work with a New Zealand company has taught me a lot, and will open new doors into mobile development,” he said.
ITCo, which offers cloud and on-site computing services for businesses, has worked with Toi Ohomai since 2005 and has previously taken on students to work on specific summer projects. With assistance from a Callaghan Innovation research and development experience grant, ITCo has been able to employ Brijesh for 400 hours to work on the app and gain valuable real-world experience at the same time.
Brijesh is now making final adjustments to the app while completing his one-year graduate diploma. ITCo expects to be ready to demonstrate the new technology by the end of March for organisations interested in finding out more.