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Disaster Balloons can Be Used to Keep Communication Intact During Calamities

by Medindia Content Team on Jun 5 2007 7:18 PM

A US based inventor has proposed a balloon based communication system that will automatically inflate and launch whenever a natural disaster strikes or seems imminent.

Communication systems are always vulnerable to natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes or volcanic eruptions. As such, when they go down, communication breaks and coordinating emergency responses become difficult.

Now, Aris Mardirossian of Maryland, US, has proposed a balloon based communication system consisting of a set of ground-and air-based monitoring systems that will look for signs of a natural disaster.

These will include gadgets to measure low atmospheric pressures and high winds that indicate a hurricane, ground movement that accompanies an earthquake, and the noxious gases produced by a volcanic eruption.

According to the scientific magazine New Scientist, balloons fitted with communication transmitters - similar to cellphone base stations – will then be automatically launched to ensure communication channels remain open.

Source: ANI
LIN/M


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