A service based architecture for a sensors data integrating system to support emergency management

Emergency Management, EM, is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities cope with disasters and reduce vulnerability to hazards. Emergency management activities and life time concerns include: pre-incident activities, such as information sharing, threat identification, planning, and readiness exercises; incident activities that include lifesaving missions and critical infrastructure support protections; post-incident activities that help people and communities recover and rebuild for a safer future. The process of emergency management can be divided into five phases: prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. These phases are maintained active during all of the emergency life cycle. In this context, sensor technology includes a wide set of devices that can be successfully exploited. To achieve this aim, we are proposing a layered sensing, service-based architecture to interface and integrate sensors with the World Wide Web. The idea is to organize sensors following a layered structure starting from the top (e.g., satellites) sensing layer going down to the underground sensing layer. Combining such organization with the flexibility of a service based infrastructure, we can have a dynamic environment to integrate and correlate information from different layers in a unique framework.