Innovative AI Technologies Enhance Disaster Preparedness in Syria and Türkiye
In the aftermath of a catastrophic 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and Türkiye two years ago, causing widespread devastation with 55,000 lives lost, 130,000 injuries, and millions displaced, there has been a concerted effort from students, researchers, and developers to leverage cutting-edge AI and robotics technologies to bolster disaster preparedness in the region. This initiative is supported by NVIDIA through its Disaster Response Innovation and Education Grant, in collaboration with the Bridge to Türkiye Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to serving underserved communities in Türkiye with a primary focus on education and sustainability.
The grant has facilitated significant progress in the realm of disaster management, providing 100 free NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kits along with $50,000 in funding, distributed among eight recipients. These resources have catalyzed projects focused on AI-driven inspection, search and rescue, robotics education, and more.
Among the notable achievements from the grant is the training of robots for essential search-and-rescue skills, the development of tools to test water and food for pathogen contamination in disaster-hit areas, and the introduction of a practical programming course at a Turkish institute of technology.
This initiative builds upon more than $1.9 million in donations from NVIDIA employees and matching company contributions aimed at supporting victims of these devastating earthquakes. Harun Bayraktar, a senior director of libraries engineering at NVIDIA, expressed a proactive stance post-earthquake, emphasizing the company’s commitment to making a tangible difference and saving lives in future disasters.
Bayraktar, alongside Berra Kara, a senior GPU power architect at NVIDIA, both with roots in Türkiye, took the lead in this grant program. Their mission is to raise awareness for disaster response, enhance AI and robotics expertise, and reduce casualties in any forthcoming earthquakes.
Development of Unmanned Ground Vehicle for Search and Rescue
In Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, researchers at Ankara University utilized the grant to construct a modular unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) designed to aid search-and-rescue operations after a seismic event. This small, robust UGV is equipped with a thermal camera, an RGB-D camera, and an NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit, enabling it to scan environments in 3D and detect thermal activity. This functionality allows responders to identify human presence in the aftermath of a disaster while maintaining a safe distance from hazardous zones.
Mehmet Cem Çatalbaş, an associate professor in the software engineering department at Ankara University, highlighted the transformative impact of NVIDIA’s earthquake relief program, which expedited the research and development process, turning an innovative concept into a practical life-saving solution.
Training Robots for Post-Disaster Navigation
At Hacettepe University in Ankara, a renowned research institution, the computer engineering department incorporated NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit-based projects into its curriculum to teach students about simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). SLAM is a crucial method that enables robots to map and navigate unfamiliar environments, a vital capability for search-and-rescue missions.
Students at Hacettepe University used these developer kits to build small mobile robots, known as "Duckiebots," equipped with SLAM capabilities. These AI-powered robots can autonomously navigate areas like collapsed buildings or fire-affected zones to assist in locating and rescuing individuals.
The university’s courses allowed students to simulate potential robot paths and engage in the assembly and initial operation of the Duckiebots, providing hands-on experience in robotics and AI.
Fast Pathogen Screening in Disaster-Stricken Areas
In the wake of natural disasters, the risk of disease outbreaks due to inadequate sanitation and access to clean water is a pressing concern. Researchers at Bilkent University in Ankara addressed this issue by creating a portable mini supercomputer cluster using NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kits. This cluster efficiently conducts computational tasks related to metagenomic analysis, which involves analyzing DNA from environmental samples.
The portability of the NVIDIA Jetson devices allows the cluster to be easily transported to disaster-hit areas, enabling on-site pathogen identification and helping to prevent disease spread without the need for samples to be sent to a laboratory.
The research team utilized the open-source CuCLARK library for metagenomic classification with NVIDIA CUDA-enabled GPUs, resulting in rapid and accurate DNA screening.
Teaching AI and Embedded Systems Fundamentals
At the Izmir Institute of Technology, a research university with a strong emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering, the computer engineering department used the NVIDIA Jetson Nano devices, CUDA, and NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute teaching kits to provide nearly 80 undergraduates with foundational knowledge in AI, accelerated computing, and robotics.
Assistant Professor Işıl Öz from the university’s computer engineering department highlighted the expansion of their heterogeneous parallel programming course, which now includes a hands-on deep learning project thanks to the NVIDIA and Bridge to Türkiye grant. This practical experience enhances learning for the next generation of innovators poised to develop life-saving, sustainable technologies.
Building on this educational endeavor, a paper titled "Teaching Accelerated Computing With Hands-on Experience" will be presented at the upcoming IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium. The paper outlines the challenges and successes experienced in teaching heterogeneous parallel programming, a computing approach that uses multiple processor types or cores to boost performance and energy efficiency.
For more information on similar initiatives, visit the NVIDIA Academic Grant Program page.
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