A-DECE

This app will provide the tools to people to do a quick damage review in their biuldings after an earthquake hits, to let them know if stay home is secure.

Mexico is one of the countries with the highest rate of earthquakes in the world (on average 2000 in a year). These natural disasters cause damage to the infrastructure of the cities, and in some cases even the death of the inhabitants of these infrastructures. For example, in 2017, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 hit Mexico producing just one city (Puebla City) 3,000 damage in the building, and the death of 350 people. 

The problem this idea addresses comes after an earthquake has hit and caused damage. Normally, it takes days for a recognized institution to go and review if there is damage in the buildings because they receive so many requests that overflow the system. There are not that many experts in one city to asses and evaluate hundreds, if not thousands of structures, so this provokes a lot of buildings that are insecure to stay that way until the next earthquake hits, and this often ends in collapse.  

My solution to this problem is to create an app based on AI and deep learning that gives the common people the chance to review their own homes and determine if these are safe or not. Damage is simple to review once you have the knowledge to do it. The problem here is that you need some years of experience to determine if a structure is safe or not. The app will learn from several records (structural asses from experts) and pictures to distinguish if a crack is dangerous or is a simple damage to the finishes. 

My solution targets the common people that have not have any training or knowledge about structural safety. Normally, people after an earthquake are very concerned about if their homes are safe or not, and this is reasonable. They want someone with the skills and knowledge to tell them that they are safe, but there are not that many experts to review sometimes thousands of structures within a day, so if they have this tool they will do it on their own and know if it's safe to be at home.

I am a graduate with a degree in Civil Engineering that has worked on research on damage caused by earthquakes in Puebla City. I have written two papers, one published at the XXII Congreso Nacional de Ingenieria Sísmica in 2019, and the second published at the 9th Forensic Engineering Congress celebrated in Denver, Colorado. I have participed in 7 symposia giving lectures about damage by eartquakes.

Yes, I did research at my college for 5 years about the topic in which I have seen how badly Mexico and its population need a tool like this because we do not have the specialist to cover all the demands of review after an earthquake hits.