Multi-Agent Base Evacuation Support System Using MANET

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an evacuation support system that provides evacuation routes in case of disasters, and verify the usefulness of the system. Current popular wireless communication infrastructure is supported by a series of base stations and one base station handles a lot of communication. Therefore, when communication base stations break down due to disasters such as an earthquake, it may become difficult for people to use their smartphones based on the Internet. When the communication infrastructure is paralyzed, people will have great difficulty collecting information about the conditions of transportation systems and about the safety of family and friends using smartphones. Our proposed system addresses this problem by using multiple kinds of mobile agents in addition to static agents on smartphones that use a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). The proposed system collects information with mobile agents and diffuses information via mobile agents so that the system is able to provide an optimized evacuation route for each user in a dynamically changing disaster environment. In this paper, we extend our previously proposed evacuation support system to consider elevation information when constructing evacuation routes. When a tsunami or a flood tide occurs, low elevations may be under water. Therefore, this revised evacuation support system helps people to move to safer places by selecting higher elevation routes when warranted by the situation.