Damage Assessment: Lessons From Ground Zero

摘要

Bulldozers, shovels, buckets, and pickaxes aren't the only tools being used to clear away the devastation and begin rebuilding at Ground Zero in New York. Business technology such as PDAs, digital cameras, and a mobile device linked to a global positioning system are being used to assess the horrific damage caused when terrorists attacked last September. The goal? To find out how the various buildings surrounding the World Trade Center withstood the blasts, fires, and fallout of Sept. 11, and apply that data to future buildings so they're more resistant to damage. Designed by David Frost, a professor of civil engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Scott Deaton, a graduate student, the handheld system used at Ground Zero is an extension of an earlier application Frost and Deaton built to help researchers more easily assess damage from earthquakes.