"Just to be clear, these two worlds are actually the same world," he says. It's a logical extension of his earlier work, he says.
He believes using this technology will make crisis mapping even more effective for disaster response. Residents of Panga, a town in Nepal hit hard by the 2015 earthquake, study a map of their area put together with drone images that Meier and his partners gathered. Last year, he authored a book on "digital humanitarians" - who he defines as those who want to improve humanitarian efforts via digital technologies.Īnd these days, Meier is focusing on the humanitarian uses of robotics, including camera-equipped unmanned aerial vehicles - drones - that take hundreds of pictures that can be stitched together to create maps or 3-D models. Agency for International Development and many others. His expertise has been tapped and recognized by the United Nations, World Bank, the U.S. Since Haiti, the crisis mapping that Meier pioneered has helped humanitarian efforts in just about every major disaster – including last year's devastating earthquake in Nepal. The Marine Corps is using your project every second of the day." Marine Corps, saying the map "is saving lives every day. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate tweeted a link to the map, saying, "Crisis Map of Haiti represents the most comprehensive and up-to-date map available to the humanitarian community."Īnd Meier later heard from a member of the U.S.
Indeed, other search and rescue teams had started using the information on the map – including FEMA and the U.S. "It wasn't easy, it wasn't perfect, but it started something." "We made it up as we went along because it hadn't been done before," he says.
Other areas become cut off due to landslides or floods. Some areas are only reachable on foot, and it can take days to make the journey. Or the person is safe and alive, and will come home and I'll get to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her."Ī doctor test-flies a drone that could someday deliver medicines to people in remote villages in Nepal. Either the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with is no longer there, and that's completely changing my life. "It was one of those life and death moments when everything stops," he recalls, "and you know this moment will define what trajectory the rest of your life takes. Meier tried everything he could think of – phone calls, social media, Skype, text messages – to get in touch with her or anyone else who might know if she was safe, but couldn't get a response. His girlfriend, Christine Martin, a fellow student whom he wanted to marry, was doing research in Haiti when the earthquake hit. An earthquake had struck Haiti, and tens of thousands were feared dead. student in international relations at Tufts University, was checking email at home, with CNN on in the background, when he was jolted by a breaking news alert. He believes using this technology will make crisis mapping even more effective for disaster response.īack in January 2010, Patrick Meier, a Ph.D.
Meier and his team were able to to capture detailed images of damage around the capital, Kathmandu. Patrick Meier (center, in cap) flies a drone in Nepal after the earthquake in 2015.