F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T E O F O P T R O N I C S , S Y S T E M T E C H N O L O G I E S A N D I M A G E E X P LO I T A T I O N I O S B
PRESS INFORMATION
PRESS INFORMATION
January 31th 2013 || page 1 | 5
Water – force of nature and elixir of life
Without water, there can be no life. The development of all forms of life on Earth is based on this
simple equation. But water can also become a deadly threat when storm surges or tsunamis destroy
inhabited areas, or when our drinking water becomes contaminated. More than one billion people
around the world still do not have guaranteed access to clean water. At the Hannover Messe 2013
trade show, the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB
will present its new projects and research findings on the subject of water and security.
Since the disastrous 2004 Asian tsunami in the Indian Ocean, researchers and
public authorities around the world have been working to improve prediction
models for such catastrophes. They have since collected an enormous amount of
data from the ocean floor and surface, as well as from the air, different satellites in
outer space, climate models, simulations, and weather forecasts. To use this data
to generate forecasts, IT platforms are needed that can compile and evaluate this
information, and make it available to the relevant parties.
Redaktion
Dipl.-Ing. Sibylle Wirth | Fraunhofer-Institut für Optronik, Systemtechnik und Bildauswertung IOSB | Telefon +49 721 6091-300 |
Fraunhoferstr. 1 | 76131 Karlsruhe | www.iosb.fraunhofer.de | sibylle.wirth@iosb.fraunhofer.de |
F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T E O F O P T R O N I C S , S Y S T E M T E C H N O L O G I E S A N D I M A G E E X P LO I T A T I O N I O S B
The TRIDEC Command and Control User Interface in the North East Atantic Tsunami.
TRIDEC - Collaborative, Complex and Critical Decision-Support in Evolving Crises,
is a European Union project that focuses on the use of new technologies to enable
intelligent information management in real time. The biggest challenge is
constructing a communication infrastructure with interoperable services that
makes it possible to efficiently find, merge, evaluate, and manage huge amounts
of information and data that are growing dynamically, both in terms of number
and size. Groups of decision makers located in different places are then able to
cooperate in an environment that supports the decision-making process. This
allows them to respond to looming natural disasters such as tsunamis at an early
stage, and enables them to successfully carry out all phases of complex and critical
operations such as deep drilling.
The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam coordinates the
consortium of ten partners from six European countries. Fraunhofer IOSB is
involved in the »Architecture« and »Knowledge Database« work packages, and
heads the »Service Orchestration and Decision Support Workflows« work package.
The TRIDEC exhibit shows the latest developments in the area of intelligent data
processing for crisis management systems. One example of this is an early warning
system for maritime disasters resulting from leaks in deep water drilling. Such leaks
are common in oil and gas drilling operations, and can potentially cause serious
environmental damage. Another example is the tsunami early warning system
currently being developed for the Mediterranean and northeast Atlantic. The ways
in which these systems work will be shown in live demonstrations and films, and
the sensors are on display at the trade show booth. Visitors at the booth will be
offered the unique opportunity to make a globe oscillate and to assess the results
in a seismological correct manner.
Partners:
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F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T E O F O P T R O N I C S , S Y S T E M T E C H N O L O G I E S A N D I M A G E E X P LO I T A T I O N I O S B
GFZ Potsdam, Joanneum Research from Austria as drilling partner
Further information: http://www.tridec-online.eu/
Clean drinking water with AquaBioTox
Water networks are put at risk through deliberate or accidental contamination.
Public health hazards must be recognized at an early stage, particularly where the
supply of drinking water is concerned, which also constitutes a potential target for
terrorist attacks.
For this reason, German drinking water standards require that routine checks are
carried out for certain pathogens and chemical substances. Such analyses are
carried out offline in special laboratories, and take too much time, meaning that in
the event of contamination, the public cannot be informed of potential risks
quickly enough, nor effective corrective measures (e.g. cutting the affected areas
from the water supply network) be initiated in time. Moreover, such analyses are
limited in scope, and do not take unknown or unexpected toxins into account that
would also pose a risk to human health.
To recognize contamination in drinking water that poses a threat to health, a
broad-based test method is needed that can be applied online. The method must
respond very quickly and reliably, must be able to recognize false alarms, and it
has to be user-friendly, for use by people without a specialist qualification. Finally,
the method must be available at an affordable price, and maintenance costs
should be reasonable. At the moment, no such broadband sensor systems suitable
for online use are commercially available.
AquaBioTox is an online broadband sensor system that features a camera with
automatic image analysis. The system can be used to monitor the vitality of highly
sensitive and fast-acting microorganisms that are exposed to drinking water in a
stable biological process. The camera makes it possible to quickly diagnose
significant changes to their fluorescent properties online. The AquaBioTox system
is being developed in cooperation with Fraunhofer IGB and the Berliner
Wasserbetriebe (Berlin Water Works: BWB).
The sensor system's capabilities have been tested under realistic conditions in the
BWB's test water network.
The exhibit at the Hannover Messe showcases the AquaBioTox online broadband
sensor system as well as a tool for simulating the spread of substances in drinking
water networks.
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F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T E O F O P T R O N I C S , S Y S T E M T E C H N O L O G I E S A N D I M A G E E X P LO I T A T I O N I O S B
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Security Research at Fraunhofer IOSB http://www.iosb.fraunhofer.de/servlet/is/12622/
The Security business unit focuses on the security needs of people, companies,
and public authorities that want to protect themselves from natural and
deliberately planned hazards. A broad range of interrelated projects address
several competencies, including sensor-sphere optronic aspects and multimodal
surveillance robotics (on land, at sea, and in the air). Work also focuses on the
development of state-of-the-art analytical processes, and on supporting
interoperable standards for real-time information exchange in situations where
risks must be identified or managed. The unit is also developing ways to assist
situational analysis and human-machine interaction in situation centers.
The activities of IOSB are based on the concept of "privacy by design". In light of
the controversial nature of surveillance in the balance between security and
freedom, it is especially important that data protection and privacy considerations
be taken into account in the system design phase of new technologies.
IOSB's range of services includes studies (e.g. for evaluation purposes) and
realizing experimental systems or prototypes, among other things. The institute
also develops complete systems in certain individual cases. Typically, Fraunhofer
IOSB's security researchers work on projects that support customers in their efforts
to strengthen their competitive position, by helping them solve challenges they
F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T E O F O P T R O N I C S , S Y S T E M T E C H N O L O G I E S A N D I M A G E E X P LO I T A T I O N I O S B
believed to be nigh impossible to overcome with new generations of products that
feature cutting edge research innovations.
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