DCNA's mobile research lab

Science and technology help to be better prepared and to be able to react quickly to disasters such as floods, hail, landslides and mudflows. DCNA's mobile research lab, a unique infrastructure package funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF), thus, brings science in the field of disaster control into practical use.

The mobile research lab was purchased as part of the HRSM project funded by the BMBWF and developed together with DCNA's founding universities (Graz University of Technology and BOKU University). At the beginning of DCNA's disaster research conference in September 2023, the project was presented at Montanuniversität Leoben. Above all, it is intended to promote research in the field (i.e., at disaster sites). The lab is available to researchers at Graz University of Technology and BOKU University and enables them to provide their expertise locally and promptly in the event of a disaster or in areas that are at risk. Individual elements are also used in exercises and research projects.

The mobile research lab currently consists of a lab bus, a pick-up truck and a trailer for transporting necessary equipment and technology. This includes information and communication modules, laboratory and analysis workstations as well as all the basic technical equipment that is necessary for efficient operation in the field. Part of the lab is, on the one hand, a ground-based robot with cameras and fire sensors that can navigate independently (“Husky” robotics platform), and on the other hand, an unmanned aerial vehicle with a laser scanner and a regular and thermal imaging camera (“Matador” drone).

In order to ensure use even under difficult conditions, a self-sufficient power supply is guaranteed. The mobile research lab can be used, among other things, to monitor landslides around residential areas or to effectively assess dangers and risks along railway and motorway routes.