The 2011 earthquake in Northern Japan was the most damaging in Japanese history. The Greater Tokyo Area, with 35 million inhabitants, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with an estimated 70% chance of a major earthquake striking in the next four years: an earthquake of a similar scale here would result in a massive humanitarian disaster.


‘KeaTag’ concentrates on the difficulties of finding people trapped alive after a disaster within a limited response time, repurposing standard office ID cards to collect data by sensing motion, temperature and distance from a central point, which is mapped as a tool for rescue workers. Survivors and family members can track their relatives and find out if they are located or rescued.


Supported by: The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA – Dr Marcus Wallenberg