Project DUMBO deploys mobile wireless network on an ad hoc basis for emergency conditions, such as after a natural disaster when a fixed network infrastructure is not available or had been destroyed.

A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) consists of mobile nodes that automatically cooperate to support the exchange of information among the nodes through wireless medium. Since the MANET does not rely on fixed telecommunication infrastructure, the MANET is suitable for emergency situations and can be set up within a relatively short amount of time. Using lightweight portable mobile nodes, MANET coverage can stretch out and penetrate deep into areas not easily accessible by roads or into areas where telecommunication infrastructure has been destroyed.

DUMBO allows streaming video, VoIP and short messages to be simultaneously transmitted from a number of mobile laptops to the central command center, or to the other rescuers at the same or different disaster sites. The DUMBO command center has a face recognition module that identifies potential matches between unknown victims’ face photos taken from the field and a collection of known face images stored at the command center. In addition, sensors can be deployed to measure such environmental data as temperature and humidity. Data from the sensors can be sent to the command center who analyzes or passes it on to the other mobile nodes. The command center can flexibly be located either in the disaster areas or anywhere with Internet access.

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Project DUMBO is a collaboration among three main research groups: AIT’s intERLab (Thailand), INRIA (France), and the WIDE Project (Japan)