Schulich School of Engineering explores cutting edge technologies to respond to climate-related disasters
The University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering is expanding a conversation on tools and technologies to prevent, mitigate and respond to natural disasters.
A Schulich Connects panel discussion held Thursday morning explored cutting edge technologies and strategies that engineers are developing to adapt to the growing threat of climate-related incidents such as the 2013 Alberta floods and the more recent Jasper wildfire.
Schuyler Hinman, an assistant professor at the U of C department of mechanical and manufacturing engineering, says it's important to put Alberta firefighters out of harm's way.
This can be by expanding research into the design and performance of drones that could extinguish flames without the risk of human lives.
“So, we’re looking at what this would look like in terms of configuration, Is it big? Is it small? Is it a quadcopter? Is it a fixed wing? And sort of, we're kind of just living in that design space to try and quantify what the performance might be,” he said.
“Not to design one ourselves, but to maybe learn some things that could inform the people who actually fight wildfires, if they ever wanted to procure one, they could maybe look at our research and say, ‘Oh, well, this research has shown that this type of aircraft will be the one that might suit us best.'”
Meanwhile, experts like Alex (Sandy) Cummings, who formerly worked as a Parks Canada project manager for over three decades note that new materials for infrastructure and fire-safe protocols are at the forefront of conversations with engineers.
“The biggest thing that we're seeing is switching from roofs that are prone to burning, so going away from materials like cedar shade or actual shingle and going to something more fire resistant, such as metal,” Cummings said.
“We're also looking at fire-resistant siding, such as going to the Hardy board from the vinyl siding, and all that sort of stuff because we’re always looking at changes in the industry that are coming up with more fire-resistant materials that we can apply.”
Other up and coming applications to respond to disasters include the use of three-dimensional maps which could be generated through artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to provide life-saving information.
Shabnam Jabari, an associate professor in geomatics engineering at the University of New Brunswick, has been researching how flooding in different regions of Atlantic Canada has helped provide data on flood levels. This helps detect damage on key pieces of infrastructure while working with experts in hydrodynamic and hydrologic modeling.
“We work together to look at how much the water levels can revolve and for us in geomatics, because we have access to data, we can broaden that with additional twin models that we create and see how many buildings get damaged, and how much damage can we actually expect on the buildings,” Jabari said.
“With AI these days, we can actually look at the individual buildings and see where their windows are, where their doors are, and then once we run the water level to those buildings, we can provide a detailed damage map for that infrastructure.”
Jabari adds that post-disaster, her team can compare satellite images or drone images to guide first responders to assist in rescues or clean-up efforts.
The next Schulich Connects event is scheduled for Oct. 24 which will feature a conversation on navigating global water challenges and solutions for water security.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police release bodycam video of officer-involved incident at Hindu temple protest in Brampton, Ont.
Police say an officer who forcefully removed a 'weapon' from a protester outside of a Hindu temple in Brampton was acting 'within the lawful execution of his duties' after bystander video of the incident circulated widely online.
Some Scotiabank users facing 'intermittent' access to banking days after scheduled maintenance
Scotiabank users say they are having issues using their bank’s services following a scheduled maintenance period that ended days ago.
W5 Investigates Car security investigation: How W5 'stole' a car using a device we ordered online
In part two of a three-part series into how thieves are able to drive off with modern vehicles so easily, CTV W5 correspondent Jon Woodward uses a device flagged by police to easily clone a car key.
'Countless lives were at risk:' 8 charged, including teen wanted in deadly home invasion, after West Queen West gun battle
A teenage boy arrested along with more than 20 others following a gun battle in Toronto’s West Queen West neighbourhood was wanted in connection with a deadly home invasion in Etobicoke back in April, Toronto police say.
A look at how much mail Canada Post delivers, amid a strike notice
Amid a potential postal worker strike, here’s a look at how many letters and parcels the corporation delivers and how those numbers have changed in the internet age.
Sandy Hook families help The Onion buy Infowars
The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones' Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than US$1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax.
B.C. woman who 'carried on' as mortgage broker, sent falsified documents ordered to pay $35K
A woman from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been handed a $35,000 penalty after admitting she "carried on" as a mortgage broker in the preparation of 10 mortgage applications, despite lacking the necessary registration.
South African government says it won't help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine
South Africa's government says it will not help an estimated 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.
Trump hammered Democrats on transgender issues. Now the party is at odds on a response
After losing the White House and both houses of Congress, Democrats are grappling with how to handle transgender politics and policy following a campaign that featured withering and often misleading GOP attacks on the issue.