Fujitsu Optimizes Evacuation Center Management to Mitigate COVID-19 Risk with AI in Joint Field Trial in City of Kawasaki

TOKYO :The International Research Institute of Disaster Science at Tohoku University, Earthquake Research Institute at the University of Tokyo, the City of Kawasaki, and Fujitsu Limited have today announced that they will conduct a joint field trial of AI-based technologies to optimize disaster evacuation center management in Kawasaki City, Japan, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic with a drill on Monday, August 31. This project marks the latest milestone for the four parties, which have been promoting their Joint Project Aiming for Tsunami Disaster Risk Reduction Using ICT in the Kawasaki Coastal Area since November 2017. The field trial will rely on crowd flow simulation technology and AI image analysis to identify measures to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 infection for evacuees by helping decision-makers reduce exposure to the “three Cs”: closed spaces, crowded places, and conversations in close proximity.

Ahead of the trial, the four parties will use crowd flow simulation technology developed in advance to visualize infection risk, which varies depending on the volume and proximity of people entering the evacuation center. The simulation assumes that a certain number of evacuees are infected with COVID-19, offering disaster management decision-makers insights into how to alter their evacuation center management plans accordingly. On the day of the trial, Fujitsu’s AI image analysis solution will be deployed on-site to automatically collect information including the number of inbound evacuees and their attributes from video data captured by cameras installed near the evacuation center entry points, delivering real-time information on the level of crowding at the evacuation centers. This data will be transmitted to the City of Kawasaki Disaster Response Headquarters, enabling early and appropriate responses to reduce infection risk from the “three Cs.”