National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) exhibited five of its cutting-edge disaster prevention and mitigation solutions at Secutech Thailand 2019 to increase scientific and technical cooperation.
National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) exhibited five of its cutting-edge disaster prevention and mitigation solutions at
Secutech Thailand 2019 to increase scientific and technical cooperation.
Secutech Thailand recently concluded its 7th edition last October 28-31 at the Bangkok International (BITEC) in Bangkok, Thailand. With smart city solutions as its core theme, the 4-day event served as an important networking platform for security, fire safety and smart city professionals in the region. Visitors from across Thailand as well as buyer delegations from Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Laos converged at the show to discover the latest technologies and connect with new business partners.
National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs), was one of the featured exhibitors on site. Founded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology, NARLabs came to the show to build on its close relations with Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) to explore avenues for new partnerships and opportunities.
“Thailand is one of the most important countries in Southeast Asia. We hope that through the establishment of our first overseas office here, we can expand areas of our cooperation beyond space technology,” said Kuang-Chong Wu, VP of National Applied Research Laboratories. “Two of our research centers – the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) and the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) – came to Secutech to exhibit smart technologies related to disaster prevention and mitigation. We hope that by showing our technologies, we can enable and initiate more cooperation between our two countries.”
In line with Secutech Thailand’s smart city solutions week, NARLabs showcased five of its cutting-edge disaster management solutions – SmartES, Safety and disaster prevention management system for intelligent bridges, On-site earthquake early warning system (OEEWS), Integration platform of multi-dimensional information fusion and Smart flood proofing. Leveraging the latest in IoT technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, these solutions offer decision makers real-time information vital for dealing with hazardous situations as they arise.
“The major theme of this conference is smart city, but smart city related to disaster prevention is an important issue, especially for safety. In Taiwan, we have a lot of disasters like floods, landslides and earthquakes. These are also important topics in Thailand. We can exchange our technology, share what we have in Taiwan and hopefully, through this exhibition, establish future cooperation,” said Shyh-Jiann Hwang, Director General for NARLabs’ National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering.
Among the many solutions on display at the booth, NARLabs showcased its smart city earthquake disaster simulation platform. The software creates a 3D model of the whole city and can simulate disasters such as earthquakes and floods. Data gathered from sensors around the city can enable authorities to predetermine flood-prone areas and buildings vulnerable to earthquakes, making this platform a potentially important tool to enhance safety in smart cities.
Also, every second counts in disaster management. NARLabs’ onsite earthquake early warning system (OEEWS) can detect tiny P-waves (which usually heralds an incoming earthquake) and estimate the magnitude of the next seismic wave, either automating or alerting authorities to initiate emergency response measures if it passes a certain threshold. The applications of which are more wide-spread than initially thought.
“With just a couple of extra seconds, high speed rail operators will have time to reduce train speeds and increase passenger safety. For high-tech companies, they can minimize costly damages if production lines can be shut down normally beforehand. This is something that we can also introduce to home security, and that’s why we are introducing this at Secutech Thailand,” said Hwang.
NARLabs’ solutions are already being used in the region in countries like India, Indonesia and New Zealand. With disaster prevention and management increasingly becoming a priority for both the government and the private sector, the organization aims to continue to strengthen and seek out cooperation opportunities and partnerships in the industry and across Asia.
Secutech Thailand is organized by Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd and Worldex G.E.C.Ltd. The next edition will take place in late 2020. For more details, please visit
www.secutechthailand.com. Alternatively, please call Mr Jason Cheng at +886 2 8729 1099 ext 215, or email jason.cheng@newera.messefrankfurt.com.