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Case study: OpenBlockS266

Emergency Telecommunication Infrastructure provided by Blimps

Niigata University

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The 2006 Niigata Earthquake in Japan highlighted the necessity for an emergency telecommunications infrastructure that can be deployed fast.

Live-saving emergency services depend on a reliable method to exchange information when the usual networks are down because of power outages and destroyed infrastructure.

A researcher active in this field is Professor Kenichi Mase of the Niigata University Information and Communication Networks Laboratory, who researches and develops relay station systems that use ad hoc network technology to create autonomous distributed wireless networks.

The Yamakoshi Net

In 2006 tests for creating broadband access started in Yamakoshi village in Niigata Prefecture. This project used an ad hoc access network set up by the “Yamakoshi-Net Joint Experimental Project” public-private partnership. This network is especially designed for mountainous regions, where providing a landline telecommunications network is costly. It's the world's first system of its kind.

The “Ad-hoc Network Consortium”, a public-academic-industrial cooperation supported the development of “Skymesh”, a system that uses blimps as a mobile relay station for a wireless network.

A test run of the airships using the skymesh system was held at the Regional ICT Future Festa 2006 in Niigata. A wireless network appliance server was installed in each airship. Used as the server hardware was the Plat'Home OpenBlockS266.

MicroServer proves flexible in hardware and OS

Since a new advanced wireless communication method for response and switch-over was necessary in the hardware that the test ad hoc network device was based on, a flexible and customizable OS was called for, and provided in the Open Source OS SSD/Linux.

The OpenBlockS also had the light weight, low power consumption and resistance to harsh environmental conditions that made it a reliable platform even on a blimp. It proved this reliability with stable operation during the test.

For the network architecture, the server needed to use two wireless LAN cards simultaneously, so the OpenBlockS was outfitted with two PCMCIA expansion docks.

Despite the successful results, Plat'Home will continue keep improving the OpenBlockS series, and fulfill Mr. Mase's wish for a platform that is “even lighter” and has even more “improved cooling functionality”.