GDIN Application
This page shows a simulation using stratospheric
balloons to achieve Global
Disaster Information Network objectives. GDIN
is the "Global Disaster Information Network,"
a voluntary, independent, self-sustaining, non-profit
association of nations, organizations, and professionals,
from all sectors of society including NGO's, Industry,
Academia, Governments, and International Organizations
with an interest in sharing disaster information.
The aim of GDIN is to provide the right information,
in the right format, to the right people, in time
to make the right decisions.
In this simulation, we have a network of balloons
operating between +/- 20 degrees latitude. The
network adapts to disasters, mobilizing the assets
of the network to provide observations of the
event and to provide communications options to
relief workers on the ground.
The network consists of 100 balloons floating
at 35 km, each is labelled for identification.
Winds are provided by UKMO assimilations, and
the start time for the simulation is 2000-01-01T00:00:00
GMT. The simulations lasts 365 days, the command
synchronization interval is 4 hours, and the integration
time step is 1 hour. The position of each balloon
is represented by a red dot. Yellow circles represent
the locus of points that emit to the balloons
with an elevation angle of 2 degrees or more.
The green areas indicate overlap. Each frame of
the simulation represents 4 hours of the evolution
of the network.
The control forces for the balloons are provided
by a StratoSail(R) Ballon Guidance System.
|