Bangalore: IBM announced that its scientists have created specialized math algorithms to help model and manage natural disasters: wildfires, floods, diseases and more.
IBM's ‘stochastic optimization model’ was developed by IBM math scientists from IBM Research Labs in New York and India working with business experts from IBM's Global Business Services and directly with clients to arm government bodies, relief agencies and companies with tools for strategic planning for more effective allocation of resources for natural disaster management and mitigation.
Dr. Daniel Dias, director, IBM India Research Laboratory, said, "The challenge lies in matching high-end mathematical programming technologies with high-impact business & societal problems, while using open platforms and standards. Our researchers have worked on innovative optimization solutions designed to create a roadmap for a responsive disaster risk reduction."
Dr. Gyana Parija, senior researcher and optimization expert at IBM India Research Laboratory, New Delhi, stated, "We are creating a set of intellectual properties and software assets that can be employed to gauge and improve levels of preparedness to tackle unforeseen natural disasters. Most real-world problems involve uncertainty, and this has been the inspiration for us to tackle challenges in natural disaster management."
Tarun Kumar, an optimization researcher at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, reported, "What we have been able to accomplish is to make such innovative optimization solutions accessible and affordable to a wide spectrum of clients operating in diverse socio-economic environments."
