IAA Alliance Prospectus

An IAA system provides two functions: to register and accumulate disaster victims' survival information on the Internet when a large-scale disaster occurs, and to provide survival information search facilities. Collaboration among IAA system developers is essential, because the IAA system incorporates a wide range of technologies. These developers are therefore planning to utilize the IAA Alliance as a venue for exchanging information, conducting interoperability tests and verification tests, and other related activities.
In addition to developers, the IAA Alliance also aims to gather opinions from those expected to use the IAA system, including local governments, and to provide feedback to the development process. To this end, the IAA Alliance is also planning to put out a broad call for new members, both organizations and individuals, that support the intent of the IAA system.

What is the IAA system?

The IAA system is a victim information registration and search system being developed as part of the''WIDE Project'' (see below). Development activities began in 1995 after the Kobe Earthquake in January of that year, and the Communications Research Laboratory began participating in this development in 1999. The IAA System, which is installed by numerous organizations, enables all these organizations to accumulate and store the same data using a system of automatic data exchange. Another unique feature of this system is that in addition to using PCs and mobile phones, users can register information using regular pushbutton phones or by sending handwritten faxes. The IAA system is used in earthquake drills held on September 1 and January 17 every year, and was also operated on a trial basis after the eruptions of the Miyakejima volcano (Miyakejima Island, South of Tokyo; August 2000) and the Usu volcano (Hokkaido; March 2000), and after the terrorist attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

References:

WIDE Project IAA system: http://www.iaa.wide.ad.jp/ (currently unavailable)
Outline of the IAA System by Communications Research Laboratory: http://www.crl-iaa.net/ (currently unavailable)

What is the WIDE Project?

The WIDE Project is a research project (General Chairperson: Jun Murai; professor, Faculty of Environmental Information, Keio University) that was initiated in 1988. The aim of this project is to establish a new computer environment based on operating system and communication technologies. The acronym WIDE stands for Widely Integrated Distributed Environment.

References:

WIDE Project: http://www.wide.ad.jp/