DISASTER RESPONSE SYSTEM

• US 20130036175A1
• Filed: 08/03/2011
• Published: 02/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Lau, Samuel
• Granted Patent: US 8,769,023 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/001 Signalling to an emergency team, e.g. firemen
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/005 with transmission via computer network
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72424 with manual activation of emergency-service functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A disaster response system receives location data and status data from participating devices in an area affected by a disaster. The disaster response system provides data to client devices outside the affected area. The data indicate statuses of people within the affected area. Disaster response system also instructs routers to perform actions to adjust bandwidth available for a particular use during and after the disaster.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a disaster alert message at a participating device;

in response to receiving the disaster alert message, sending location data to a coordination data center automatically, the location data indicating a geographical location of the participating device;

receiving a post-disaster message at the participating device after the disaster has stopped actively affecting an area that includes the current geographical location of the participating device;

in response to the post-disaster message, sending new location data from the participating device to the coordination data center, the new location data indicating a new geographical location of the participating device; and

in response to the post-disaster message, sending status data from the participating device to the coordination data center, the status data indicating whether a user of the participating device needs emergency assistance.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving guidance data at the participating device before the participating device receives the disaster alert message;

storing the guidance data on the participating device before the participating device receives the disaster alert message; and

in response to receiving the disaster alert message, using the guidance data to present response instructions to the user, the response instructions indicating how the user should respond to the disaster.

3. The method of claim 2,

wherein the guidance data includes map data;

and

wherein using the guidance data to present response instruction to the user comprises using the map data to determine an escape route for the user.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising in response to the post-disaster message, prompting the user to indicate whether the user needs emergency assistance.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending location messages to the coordination data center repeatedly prior to the participating device receiving the disaster alert message, the location messages that indicating geographical locations of the participating device.

6. A computing device that comprises circuitry configured to:

send location data to a coordination data center automatically in response to receiving a disaster alert message, the location data indicating a geographical location of the computing device;

send new location data to the coordination data center in response to receiving a post-disaster message after a disaster has stopped actively affecting an area, the new location data indicating a new geographical location of the computing device; and

send status data to the coordination data center in response to the post-disaster message, the status data indicating whether a user of the computing device needs emergency assistance.

7. A computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions to cause a processor to:

send location data to a coordination data center automatically in response to receiving a disaster alert message, the location data indicating a geographical location of a participating device;

send new location data to the coordination data center in response to receiving a post-disaster message after a disaster has stopped actively affecting an area, the new location data indicating a new geographical location of the participating device; and

send status data to the coordination data center in response to the post-disaster message, the status data indicating whether a user of the participating device needs emergency assistance.

8. A method for adjusting bandwidth available for a particular use during and after a disaster, the method comprising:

receiving a disaster profile at a router, the disaster profile specifying a threshold bandwidth level in the event of a natural disaster;

after receiving the disaster profile, receiving a reconfiguration message at the router, the reconfiguration message indicating an occurrence of the disaster in a specified area; and

adjusting the bandwidth available for the particular use by modifying data in a routing information base (RIB) based on the disaster profile.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein adjusting the bandwidth comprises:

modifying the RIB such that the router routes packets having destination addresses outside a set of addresses associated with the specified area through routers that are outside the given area.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the disaster profile comprises:

receiving data indicating the set of addresses associated with the given area; and

receiving data indicating routers in the specified area.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein adjusting the bandwidth comprises:

after modifying the data in the RIB, generating forwarding rules based on the RIB;

receiving a packet at the router after generating the forwarding rules; and

applying the forwarding rules to the packet after receiving the packet, wherein applying the forwarding rules comprises;

determining whether the payload of the packet belongs to an essential protocol associated with communications of the emergency response personnel; and

prioritizing the packet after determining that the payload of the packet belongs to the essential protocol.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein adjusting the bandwidth comprises:

after modifying the data in the RIB, generating forwarding rules based on data in the RIB;

receiving a packet at the router after generating the forwarding rules; and

applying the forwarding rules to the packet after receiving the packet, wherein applying the forwarding rules comprises;

determining whether a source address or a destination address of the packet is in a set of addresses associated with the emergency response personnel; and

prioritizing the packet after determining that the source address or the destination address of the packet is in the set of addresses associated with the emergency response personnel.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein adjusting the bandwidth comprises:

after modifying the data in the RIB, generating forwarding rules based on the data in the RIB;

receiving a packet at the router after generating the forwarding rules; and

applying the forwarding rules to the packet after receiving the packet, wherein applying the forwarding rules comprises dropping the packet in response to determining that the payload of the packet does not belong to an essential protocol and that either the source address or the destination address is in a set of addresses associated with the given area.

14. A router comprising:

a computer storage medium that stores a disaster profile received by the router; and

circuitry that, after receiving a reconfiguration message, modifies data in a routing information base (RIB) based on data stored in the disaster profile to adjust the bandwidth available for a particular use during and after the disaster, the reconfiguration message indicating an occurrence of a disaster in a given area.

15. A method for adjusting bandwidth available for a particular use during and after a disaster, the method comprising:

sending a disaster alert message to a participating device in an area affected by a disaster;

receiving a first location message from the participating device after sending the disaster alert message, the first location message indicating a location of the participating device;

sending a post-disaster message to the participating device after sending the disaster alert message to the participating device;

receiving new location data and status data from the participating device after sending the post-disaster message, the new location data indicating a new location of the participating device, the status data indicating whether a user of the participating device needs emergency assistance; and

providing an interface to a user outside the area affected by the disaster, the interface containing data indicating whether the user of the participating device needs emergency assistance.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

before sending the disaster alert message to the participating device, identifying the participating device as being in the area affected by the disaster.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising sending a message to a router, the message instructing the router to perform actions that adjust bandwidth available for the particular use.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the actions that adjust bandwidth available for the particular use include dropping packets that have payloads belonging to non-essential protocols and also have either source addresses or destination addresses in sets of addresses associated with the area.

19. The method of claim 15, the non-essential protocols including protocols that carry voice data.

20. A coordination data center comprising a processing system configured to:

send a disaster alert message to a participating device in an area affected by a disaster;

receive a first location message from the participating device after sending the disaster alert message, the first location message indicating a location of the participating device;

send a post-disaster message to the participating device after sending the disaster alert message to the participating device;

receive new location data and status data from the participating device after sending the post-disaster message, the new location data indicating a new location of the participating device, the status data indicating whether a user of the participating device needs emergency assistance; and

provide an interface to a user outside the area affected by the disaster, the interface containing data indicating whether the user of the participating device needs emergency assistance.

21. A computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions to cause a processor of a computing device to:

send a disaster alert message to a participating device in an area affected by a disaster;

store data indicating a location of the participating device after sending the disaster alert message, a first location message received by the computing device indicating a location of the participating device;

send a post-disaster message to the participating device after sending the disaster alert message to the participating device;

store new location data and status data received from the participating device after sending the post-disaster message, the new location data indicating a new location of the participating device, the status data indicating whether a user of the participating device needs emergency assistance; and

provide an interface to a user outside the area affected by the disaster, the interface containing data indicating whether the user of the participating device needs emergency assistance.

22. A system comprising:

a plurality of participating devices;

a plurality of client devices; and

a coordination data center that comprises a processing system configured to execute instructions, execution of the instructions by the processing system causing the coordination data center to;

send disaster alert messages to applicable participating devices, the applicable participating devices being ones of the participating devices that are in an area affected by a disaster, the client devices being outside the area;

store initial location data for the applicable participating devices, the initial location data indicating locations of the applicable participating devices, the initial location data based on data received from the applicable participating devices after the coordination data center sends the disaster alert messages;

send post-disaster messages to the applicable participating devices after sending the disaster alert messages;

store new location data and status data, the new location data indicating new locations of the applicable participating devices, the status data indicating whether users of the applicable participating devices need emergency assistance, the new location data and the status data based on data received from the applicable participating devices after the coordination data center sends the post-disaster messages; and

provide to the client devices data indicating whether the users of the applicable participating devices need emergency assistance.

23. The system of claim 22,

wherein the system further comprises a router, the router comprising:

a computer storage medium that stores a disaster profile;

a computer storage medium that stores a routing information base (RIB); and

circuitry that uses data in the disaster profile to modify the RIB in response to the router receiving a reconfiguration message from the coordination data center; and

wherein execution of the instructions by the processing system of the coordination data center further causes the coordination data center to send the reconfiguration message to the router in response to the coordination data center receiving input indicating that the disaster has affected or is about to affect the area.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the router comprises circuitry that, after the router receives the reconfiguration message, drops packets that have payloads belonging to non-essential protocols and also have either source addresses or destination addresses in sets of addresses associated with the area.