Emergency responders navigating collapsed buildings and flooded streets need reliable communication to coordinate rescues and save lives. But the wireless networks designed for these scenarios may be missing a crucial element: realistic assumptions about how rescue teams actually move.

An international research collaboration led by Ikenna Uzoma Ajere has developed a theoretical framework that promises to make mobile emergency networks more dependable by better representing the complex movement patterns of search-and-rescue operations.

The Communication Challenge

When disasters strike and conventional telecommunications infrastructure crumbles, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks become essential lifelines. These self-organizing wireless systems allow devices to connect directly without relying on cell towers or internet cables. Rescue personnel, medical teams, and command centers can maintain contact even when everything else fails.

But designing these networks presents a challenge. Engineers must predict how well communication protocols will perform before deploying them in actual emergencies. This requires computer simulations that model how rescue teams move through disaster zones.

Current simulation models oversimplify reality. Some assume each person moves independently with no coordination. Others assume teams move as single rigid units. Neither captures what actually happens during search-and-rescue operations, where personnel coordinate closely but also separate, regroup, and adapt constantly to changing conditions.

A Hybrid Solution

Ajere’s team, working through the PENKUP Research Institute, proposes combining elements from both approaches. Their hybrid mobility model recognizes that rescue operations involve fluid transitions between independent action and tight coordination.

The framework incorporates role-based differentiation, acknowledging that team leaders, field operators, and medical personnel move differently based on their responsibilities. It allows dynamic switching as teams shift between coordinated searches of dangerous structures and independent surveys of wider areas.

Spatial constraints vary by disaster type. Urban earthquake zones filled with unstable rubble impose different movement limitations than rural flood regions or wildfire evacuation routes. The model adapts to these different operational environments.

Flexible cohesion parameters determine when team members must stay together versus when they can operate independently. During dangerous building entries, tight cohesion is critical. During area-wide survivor searches, teams can spread out while maintaining network connectivity.

International Expertise

The research team spans multiple countries and disciplines. Beyond lead author Ajere from the Federal University of Technology in Owerri, Nigeria, contributors include Celestine Emeka from Family Health International in Ukraine, Oluwafemi Emmanuel Ooju from the World Health Organization in Nigeria, and several researchers from UK institutions.

All team members are affiliated with the PENKUP Research Institute, founded by Dr. Kennedy Oberhiri Obohwemu, a prominent public health researcher and influential advocate for international research partnerships who gained widespread recognition for his critically acclaimed novel psychological theories [the Self-Comforting and Coping Theory (SCCT) and the Self-Comforting Attitude Theory (SCAT)].

The collaboration reflects PENKUP’s model of bringing together scholars from diverse backgrounds to tackle complex problems. Kingsley Chimaobi Akabuokwu from Results Consortium Limited, Mary Oluwayemisi Akadiri from Global Banking School, and Syeda Morsheda Sogra and Syeda Faiza Sogra from Scholars School System contributed business management and health care perspectives alongside technical expertise.

“This project exemplifies how PENKUP brings together diverse expertise to address complex real-world challenges,” Dr. Obohwemu said. “Combining insights from computer science, emergency management, and communications engineering, we’ve developed a framework that better represents the reality rescue teams face in disaster zones.”

Practical Impact

The framework’s immediate value lies in improving how engineers test network routing protocols before disasters occur. Routing protocols determine how data packets travel through ad hoc networks, finding paths between devices as people move and network topology constantly changes.

Testing with oversimplified mobility models may miss critical problems. A protocol that works well when assuming independent individual movement might fail when teams coordinate tightly. One designed for rigid group movement might break down when teams temporarily split up.

More realistic simulations can reveal these vulnerabilities during development rather than during actual emergencies. Engineers can refine protocols to maintain connectivity across the full range of movement patterns rescue operations involve.

The research also informs emergency communication planning. Understanding how different disaster scenarios affect movement patterns helps agencies choose appropriate network technologies and configure them for expected operational conditions.

Building on Previous Work

Earlier MANET mobility models provided valuable foundations. Entity-based approaches like Random Waypoint and Random Walk captured individual autonomy. Group-based models like Reference Point Group Mobility and Column Mobility represented collective movement.

Each approach offered insights but proved incomplete. Real rescue operations resist simple categorization as either individual or collective behavior. A team might maintain tight formation through one phase of an operation, then disperse during another, then regroup for extraction. The hybrid model accommodates this complexity.

The framework also draws on documented disaster responses. Analysis of actual search-and-rescue operations reveals patterns that purely theoretical models might miss. Teams adapt to terrain, adjust to discoveries of survivors or hazards, and shift strategies as priorities evolve. Capturing these dynamics improves simulation realism.

Technical Considerations

Implementing the conceptual framework as working simulation software requires addressing several challenges. Parameters controlling behavior transitions, cohesion thresholds, and role-specific movement must be calibrated using data from real operations or realistic exercises.

Computational requirements need assessment. More sophisticated models demand more processing power. Engineers must balance realism against simulation speed and resource consumption. Optimization techniques can help make complex models practical for large-scale testing.

Validation against real-world data is essential. The model’s value depends on genuinely improving realism rather than just adding complexity. Comparison with movement data from actual rescue operations or training exercises can confirm the framework captures relevant behaviors.

Future Directions

The research team identifies several opportunities for extending this work. Collecting detailed movement data during rescue training exercises could refine parameter settings and validate model accuracy. Partnerships with emergency management agencies could provide real operational scenarios for testing.

The hybrid approach may apply beyond search-and-rescue. Military operations, wildlife tracking networks, vehicular ad hoc networks, and other applications involve similar mixtures of individual and coordinated movement. Adapting the framework to these domains could broaden its impact.

Long-term research might incorporate additional factors like fatigue effects on rescue team movement, communication load variations during different operational phases, or multi-level coordination involving air and ground assets.

Why This Matters

Climate change is increasing disaster frequency and severity worldwide. Growing urban populations in vulnerable regions heighten the stakes. More people live in earthquake zones, flood plains, and wildfire-prone areas than ever before.

Reliable emergency communication systems are not luxuries but necessities for disaster resilience. Research improving the fundamental tools for designing these systems contributes directly to saving lives.

The international nature of this collaboration reflects the global scope of disaster challenges. Solutions developed through diverse partnerships can benefit emergency responders worldwide, regardless of where disasters strike.

As wireless technology advances and new network protocols emerge, frameworks like this ensure testing keeps pace with innovation. Engineers can evaluate new approaches under realistic conditions, identifying the most promising technologies for deployment in actual emergencies.

The research appears in the International Research Journal of Advances in Engineering and Technology, providing detailed technical specifications for the research community working on mobile network design and disaster communication systems.

Check it out here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399544426_A_Realistic_Hybrid_Mobility_Model_for_Search-and-Rescue_Teams_in_Mobile_Ad_Hoc_Networks

https://aimjournals.com/index.php/irjaet/article/view/446