[OpenRelief Developer] Launch talk set for LinuxCon Japan 2012

[Shane Coughlan]

Dear all

More good news; our submitted talk to launch the project at LinuxCon Japan has been approved. The title is 'OpenRelief - Using Open Source Software and Open Hardware For Frontline Disaster Relief.' 

I have been preparing the first set of slides since last March and will circulate them shortly for feedback on content. The abstract is as follows:
"This talk explores how the OpenRelief team, inspired by challenges seen during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, is using Open Source Software and Open Hardware to create disaster relief tools. The first step is to develop a small drone that can take off from anywhere, recognize roads, people and smoke while also measuring weather and radiation. It can be built for less than 1,000 USD, and easily shares information with Open Source and proprietary disaster management systems. The goal is to gather critical information for relief workers on the ground, and contribute to getting aid where it is needed.
This talk is suitable for developers and project managers who want to see how new solutions are rapidly prototyped using open hardware and software, the challenges and advantages faced, and how this approach can solve old problems in new ways."

LinuxCon Japan will be held during June 6 - 8, 2012 at the Pacifico Yokohama conference center. We will be informed of our place on the schedule at a later date.

Shane