Turning disaster data
into decisions and action.
SAND-X is an R&D company working across sensing, data integration and analysis, AI and decision support, and disaster risk management support, so that the information needed for disaster risk management leads to decisions and action on site. Our current focus is slope sensing.
In a disaster, information alone is not enough.
Weather and hazard information is more widely available than ever. Unless it is understood in the context of each site and leads to decisions and action, however, it cannot be put to full use.
- 01
Unseen site conditions
There are few ways to see directly what is happening inside a slope or around a facility right now.
- 02
Fragmented information
Weather, hazard and site information sit in separate places and are hard to view together.
- 03
Decisions that depend on individuals
Decisions rest on the experience of individual staff and are hard to reproduce across an organisation.
- 04
The gap to action
Even when information is available, it is hard to turn it into concrete action such as inspection, evacuation or training.
Observe. Understand. Decide. Act.
A way of thinking shared across all SAND-X products and technologies: capture the information needed for disaster risk management, understand it, and connect it to decisions and action on site.
Slope sensing, now in development, serves the Observe stage
- Observe01
- Understand02
- Decide03
- Act04
Slope sensing, now in development, serves the Observe stage
Understanding changes within a slope, from below ground.
After rainfall, there are few ways to know continuously what is happening inside an individual slope. We are developing a sensing device that continuously measures changes in subsurface conditions such as soil moisture and water pressure.
- Measurements
- Pore water pressure, volumetric water content, tilt, acceleration and more
- Structure
- Installed about 1 m below ground, with power generation and communication above ground
- 01 Rain falls
- 02 Water infiltrates
- 03 Subsurface moisture and pore pressure change
- 04 Captured from below ground
From captured information
to more practical disaster risk management.
In the longer term, we are exploring how AI can support facility- and organisation-specific disaster planning, evacuation procedures, training and the handling of information during a disaster.
- Disaster planning support
- Evacuation procedure support
- Training support
- Disaster information handling
- Facility data
- Weather
- Hazards
- Surroundings
- Measured data
Supporting disaster risk management across different sites, with data.
We define where SAND-X can help by what is managed and how it is used, rather than by type of organisation.
Slopes & Civil Infrastructure
Technical work centres on natural slopes and steep slopes, including the surface layers of slopes managed under sabo (sediment control) programmes. We are also considering extending this to railway embankments and slopes, the ground behind retaining walls, and irrigation pond embankments.
Learn more
Facilities & Sites
Factories, logistics sites, schools, hospitals and care facilities: facility-specific challenges in disaster planning, evacuation procedures, training and the use of disaster information. Research and concept stage.
Learn moreTechnology that connects site data to decisions.
How we intend to make it work: the three technology areas SAND-X works in.
- SENSING
Sensing
In developmentSubsurface sensing, multiple physical quantities, installation, communication, power, continuous measurement.
- DATA
Data Integration & Analysis
Under considerationSensor data, weather, terrain and GIS, hazard information, time-series processing, visualisation.
- AI / DECISION SUPPORT
AI & Decision Support
Future research areaInformation handling, situational awareness, disaster planning support, evacuation procedure support, training support.
Development status
Where we stand on the development roadmap, centred on slope sensing. Updated as work progresses.
- Technical studyCompleted / ongoing
- PrototypingCurrent
- Evaluation
- Field testing
- PoC
- Deployment
About SAND-X
Turning the information needed for disaster risk management into decisions and action on site. SAND-X is an R&D company working to close the gap between data and the field.
News
- Partnership SAND-X became a member of the Council for Bosai DX Public-Private Partnership
- Partnership SAND-X became a member of SENDAI BOSAI-TECH
- Company MINDUS Inc. was renamed SAND-X Corp.
- R&D SAND-X project launched
Talk to us about research and collaboration.
Research and development, technical collaboration, future field testing and PoC, business partnerships and media enquiries. We are happy to talk in a way that fits our current stage.