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Background

The RED Systems Initiative, an international crew of engineers with experience in setting up mission-critical radio networks, has already implemented large early warning systems for radioactivity in several countries around the world. These are usually run by governmental agencies.

Early in 1999, several members of the group began looking for challenging new business opportunities in different fields of public safety. They analyzed the status-quo of real time seismic alert systems around the world and found California‘s seismic systems to be the most advanced.

See also | Introduction |

Then the question arose: couldn‘t these advanced real time emergency management systems be made to perform even faster and return more information by employing the latest achievements in radio technology?

This question has led to a new but consistent engineering approach. Giving high priority to Total Cost of Ownership, RED Systems Initiative has designed a state-of-the-art system that can be implemented and run on today's tight budgets.

This question has led to a new but consistent engineering approach. Giving high priority to Total Cost of Ownership, RED Systems Initiative has designed a state-of-the-art system that can be implemented and run on today's tight budgets.

What does the RED Systems Initiative propose?

The RED Systems Initiative has prepared a systems engineering proposal towards a versatile derivative of today´s real time strong-motion networks, called a Multifunctional Seismic Alert network. The network‘s primary aim is to provide a common wireless infrastructure for the real time acquisition of different emergency-related data.

How can these different parameters, all of which are highly valuable to emergency management, be hosted under the same umbrella? The basic output functions of this concept are depicted in the diagram Multifunctional Seismic Alert System.

The challenge is to integrate the five different output functions into a smart and consistent engineering solution. (See lower portion of Multifunctional Seismic Alert system diagram.)

Ideally, the multifunctional sensor unit of the network should be a really compact, weathertight front-end, easily installed and not too expensive. Thus, extremely dense seismic instrumentation could become affordable in densely-populated areas.

This vision is about to become reality. The RED Systems Initiative is currently working on a pilot system to be set up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the year 2000.

More details available at | See it |

Now, we realize that some of our readers may be concerned about the degree of realism behind our unorthodox proposal. A more detailed desciption of the technology being implemented is available for interested specialists.

Please visit | Technology | for more details.

We invite our readers to take an active role in shaping the innovative features of the RED System. Your comments are welcome!

Dialogue