Enhancing Flood Risk Visualization Through Mobile Mixed Reality Systems

With climate change exacerbating flood risks in urban areas around the world, heavy rainfall disasters are becoming increasingly common. The traditional method of displaying flood risk assessments on flat maps has limitations, hindering a comprehensive understanding of the potential dangers posed by flooding to residents.

Researchers at Osaka University have introduced a groundbreaking solution to this problem in the form of a mobile mixed reality (MR) system. By utilizing server-based rendering and web-based access, this system provides real-time flood risk visualization to urban populations. This innovative approach enables residents to access dynamic flood forecasts on their smartphones, thereby improving community preparedness and response measures.

One of the key advantages of the MR system developed by Osaka University is the offloading of computational workload to a server. This allows for efficient rendering of MR displays, ensuring real-time visualization on a wide range of mobile devices. By utilizing web browsers for access, the need for specialized applications is eliminated, making it easier for users to engage with the flood risk visualization tool.

Moreover, the system intelligently assigns the optimal server from a pool of rendering servers, ensuring both performance and scalability. This democratized approach to flood risk visualization tools democratizes access to advanced flood forecasting tools, enabling a larger number of users to benefit from MR visualizations without the constraints of dedicated software. This democratization is crucial in the face of increasing flood risks due to climate change.

“In light of the escalating flood risks posed by climate change, it is imperative to mitigate these risks effectively,” emphasizes Ryoma Tsujimoto, the lead author of the study. The mobile mixed reality system developed by Osaka University represents a significant step forward in enhancing flood risk visualization and empowering urban populations to make informed decisions in the face of natural disasters.