WORKSHOP: Strategic Devices and Technologies for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR’21)
18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM 2021)
Sunday, May 23, 2021 | Online workshop — 17:30-19:30 CEST (11:30-13:30 EDT)
INTRODUCTION TO THE WORKSHOP
According to The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), 235 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2021. This is a rise from 1 in 45 people worldwide in 2020 to 1 in 33 people globally. This assistance effort requires a large amount of funding, personal, and strategic initiatives. A critical accelerator of this effort will come from strategic devices and technology for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), especially as assistive technologies for underrepresented groups. The workshop discusses the design challenges, technology requirements, innovative devices, and emerging research into this domain. The objective is to gain an understanding of how to integrate the needs of those that are underrepresented and to accommodate various social groups and conditions. The discussion will range from digital technologies such as computer vision to physical infrastructures ranging from Strategic Habitats, a temporary shelter device to house families with members that face disabilities, homelessness, extreme poverty, to HADR-POD’s (Portable Operations Devices) that help deliver remote healthcare to underrepresented locations such as tribal areas, disaster zones, or refugee camps. A blend of technology and structural innovations creates a new opportunity to access and serve the growing amount of vulnerable people. The session will address how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight the need for coordinated localized responses in regions that are underrepresented and underserved. The current efforts by workshop speakers and their representative organizations will serve as the framework to launch audience discussion. Workshop participants will be given an exclusive view into emerging products, current research, and global initiatives from the private sector, non-profits, government, and academia.
The HADR workshop is supported by the Transnational Partnership for Excellent Research and Education in Big Data and Emergency Management (BDEM) project.
WORKSHOP CO-CHAIRS
Prof. Rajendra Akerkar, Western Norway Research Institute, Sogndal, Norway
Dr. Akshay Pottathil, Intelligence Research Institute, San Diego, USA
TOPICS & PRESENTERS
Dr. Ilona Heldal, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway
Humanitarian Challenges and Underrepresentation
Mr. Cory Segall, Strategic Operations, USA
Strategic Habitats & Relocatable Habitat Units
Mr. Jerry Joaquin, Intelligence Research Institute, USA
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief - Portable Operations Devices (HADR-POD)
Mr. Jan Phillip Mohr, Darvis, Germany
Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Powered Computer Vision Driven Assistive Technology
WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
The workshop will be held as a Zoom webinar with a select panel of experts including the co-chairs covering the workshop topics. The session will be moderated by co-chairs and will include 4 other panel members presenting for 15 minutes each and an open discussion for 25 Minutes.
Please note that the time slots shown in the following agenda is in Central European Summer Time (CEST).
17:30 – 17:35 Welcome & Introduction — Rajendra Akerkar
17:35 – 17:45 Opening Remarks — Akshay Pottathil (Moderator)
17:45 – 18:00 Humanitarian Challenges and Underrepresentation — Ilona Heldal
18:00 – 18:15 Strategic Habitats & Relocatable Habitat Units — Cory Segall
18:15 – 18:30 Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief - Portable Operations Devices — Jerry Joaquin
18:30 – 18:45 Machine Learning Powered Computer Vision Driven Assistive Technology — Jan Phillip Mohr
18:45 – 18:55 Short Break
18:55 – 19:20 Open Discussion: Audience Members / Moderator Questions
19:20 – 19:30 Closing Remarks
The panel members will be sent questions during the entire workshop by audience members anonymously or with name identifier that the Moderators will review and present. Some members may be selected to join live to ask the questions directly (depending on their connectivity and interest).
There will be a workshop monitor during the session to compile the questions and prompt audience members for their interest in asking directly on video / audio.