ImageCat begins its Fourth Year as a Research Institution in the NSF-Sponsored RESCUE Project

Long Beach, CA – October 2006. As a key industrial partner in the RESCUE (Responding to Crises and Unexpected Events) Project, ImageCat is beginning its fourth year of research. The RESCUE Project is a 5-year, $12.5 million research effort sponsored by the National Science Foundation through its Information Technology Research (ITR) program.

ImageCat research focuses on loss estimation and transportation routing in order to model disaster impacts with and without technology integration. Comparing the results can identify which technologies are most likely to be effective, and may be used in learning how to implement these technologies.

ImageCat is working closely with students and staff at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) in the development of MetaSim, a series of simulated environments and testbeds, where researchers see how various technologies might work in a disaster, namely an earthquake.

At the core of the company’s role in the development of MetaSim is INLET: Internet-Based Loss Estimation Tool, the first online tool of its kind. INLET calculates the probable damage using custom earthquake scenarios where a user assigns a magnitude and epicenter to any location on a map. This information helps to calculate damage over an entire region and the impact on a transportation system, thereby helping first responders and other agencies to better prioritize their activities. For more information on this and other projects being conducted as a part of the RESCUE Project, please visit http://www.itr-rescue.org.