Syrian researcher designs disaster early warning system based on ant mechanism

In order to support the correct decision-making processes at the right time for early warning in case of disasters, and to provide accurate monitoring of the impacts and changing conditions to keep pace with the transformations of the disaster, Dr. Hussein Aziz Saleh, professor at the Department of Seismic Construction Engineering of the Higher Institute of Seismic Research and Studies of Damascus University, Dr. Hussein Aziz Saleh, designed and implemented a technology based on the mechanism of action of ants for early warning about disasters.

This mechanism, as Dr. Saleh explained to SANA, allows the possibility of applying Informatics sciences, applications and tools to Geosciences, such as Satellite System, Remote Sensing, and geographic information systems to collect a huge amount of data related to the disaster, to apply the principle of the Ant working group “based on artificial intelligence” to process and analyze these data and obtain the necessary information about the disaster quickly.

Dr. Saleh noted that this system is an important scientific work to obtain ideal solutions that help reduce the level of alarm jamming and speed up the process of getting information to rescue teams in a timely manner, noting that the time of disaster warning is changing according to the type and nature of disaster to be encountered, and the aim of AI applications is to improve the duration of the alarm and maximize its usefulness.

“Early warning is used for all natural disasters “such as forest fires, floods, tsunamis, environmental pollution, etc.”, and technology such as “fires, oil leaks in refineries, electrical diversion plants, etc.” According to Dr. Saleh.

Regarding the possibility of applying the invention by the competent authorities, Dr. Saleh said: “work is being done to develop this invention in the design and implementation of the early warning system for disasters in the industrial city of Adra once it is fully completed”.

It is worth mentioning that the subject of Dr. Saleh’s research study in the first PhD from Britain in 2000 was about the application of artificial intelligence algorithms in the design of massive Geomatic networks. The research study in the second PhD from Belgium 2017 on the development of these algorithms and Geomatic networks in the field of regional environmental planning and disaster management of various types, and their application on the ground.

Dr. Saleh is one of the researchers and experts who contributed to the establishment of the master of Disaster Management at Damascus University in 2010.  One of the researchers contributing to the formulation and implementation of the “national policy for science, technology and innovation”, which relies on the application of scientific research and technological development to upgrade the productive and service sectors through mitigating risks and disasters using advanced technologies.

Amal Farhat