A linked-data based virtual repository for disaster management tools and applications

Abstract

Nowadays, developed regions in the world, including Taiwan, have a wealth of data and information, which if made available in time for disaster preparedness and response purposes, can help save lives and minimize damage. With a few exceptions, however, state-of-the-art data management information systems (DMIS) available in most countries do not provide adequate support for search, discovery, access and use of data and information residing in independent sources across institutional boundaries. This paper describes architecture and design of a distributed middleware-level framework, called Virtual Repository (VR), together with functionalities and structures of its key components. By leveraging linked data and related technologies and tools, VR aims to eliminate this limitation. Two applications, Mobile Assistant for Disasters (MAD) and Automatic Disaster Alert System for Tourists (ADAST) are described to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of VR

A virtual repository for linked-data-based disaster management applications

“…Mobile Assistant for Disasters (MAD) [2] is the basis of the case study described in the next section. It is a service designed to make emergency preparedness information and data (EPID), including data on locations and available resources of emergency response facilities (i.e.…”

“…While the RDF model and format(s) are a design choice of internal data for applications such as MAD, they are essential for applications that must be able to discover and access as soon as possible data from sources not contained in the official DMIS. Automatic Disaster Alert System for Tourists (ADAST) [2] is such an application: In response to an alert declared by a responsible authority (e.g. the Central Weather Bureau) warning of an imminent calamitous event (e.g.…”

“…This article first presented an overview of a middleware-level system of resources, services and tools called VR [2]. A VR facilitates the access and use of data by its client applications from independent sources and provides the applications with interface services to support their own models and views of the data.…”

“…The virtual repository (VR) described in Ou et al [2] is a part of a middleware-level framework for building open information systems that are free of these limitations. Generally speaking, a VR provides client applications (and services) served by it with interface services and interoperability tools to hide the fact that data and information brought to the applications may reside physically in multiple and diverse (information) sources, some of which may be owned by non-government entities (e.g.…”

Trustworthy emergency information brokerage service (TIBS)

“…It functions as the frontend as well as the backend of an emergency information management framework, known as the Virtual Repository (VR) [5]. By itself, VR is a distributed survivable Linked Data framework that provides services and tools for publishing information relevant to disaster mitigation and response.…”