Building a disaster rescue platform with utilizing device-to-device communication between smart devices

Recently, the world is facing more risk of natural disasters as a result of ongoing climate changes. One of the most critical obstacles in disaster mitigation (especially rescue operation) is lack of communication and localization of survivors in disaster sites. This article develops a disaster rescue platform for quick and accurate rescue operation with utilizing direct communication on smart hand-held devices such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Specifically, we attempt to design an application-layer ad hoc network over smart devices without relying on centralized cellular networks or wireless access points. This study also incorporates a mobile localization algorithm to effectively perform disaster rescue objectives. Specifically, it aims (1) to accurately locate survivors, (2) to help rescuers to find victims quickly, and (3) to minimize calculation overheads for power saving on smart devices. This article verifies the proposed approach with presenting simulation and implementation results compared to other studies.