Heat Illness Countermeasure Trials for Pre-School Children and School Students using LoRaWAN™ Network

Adaptation activity

As heat stroke has become a social problem, it has become an urgent issue to correctly determine the heat index (Note 1) and to take measures for the activities of preschool children and school students. In particular, children and students who engage in physical activities indoors and outdoors, such as physical education classes and club activities, are smaller in size than adults and are assumed to be at higher risk of heat stroke.

Adaptation activity

Based on the December 2017 “Agreement of Cooperation for The Improvement of the Urban Environment Using ICT (see Note 2)”, the municipality of Suita and NTT West conducted a trial on mitigating heat stress for pupils of the Suita City Minami-Senri Junior High School by measuring and visualizing the heat index using WBGT sensors.
In this trial, measurement sensors were installed in the sports field and gymnasium of the school to measure temperature, humidity, radiant heat, etc. (see Note 3). The data is stored on the cloud with LoRaWAN™, which is a type of LPWA (see Note 4). The heat index has five alert levels, and teachers are able to check the alert status from PCs, tablets, etc. in teacher’s rooms ( visualization), and to take prompt and appropriate action (e.g. preventive measures). In addition, when the heat index exceeds the standard value, alarms are automatically issued by patrol lamps installed in playgrounds and gymnasiums and by e-mail, enabling timely alerting of teachers and students (Fig.)

Outputs / Expected benefits

In addition to educational facilities such as elementary and junior high schools, the findings obtained in this trial will be used for other scenarios, such as addressing heat illness issues for the elderly, and making use of ICT to create a safe and healthy environment.

Footnote
(Note 1) The heat index (WBGT: Wet Bulb Globe Temperature) is a scale that was first proposed in the United States in 1954 to help combat heat stroke. The units are shown as degrees Celsius, the same as temperature, but the values are different. The heat index (WBGT) tracks the transfer of heat between the human body and surrounding air (heat balance). The index takes into account three factors: (1) humidity, (2) the ambient thermal environment such as solar or other radiation, and (3) temperature, which together contribute significantly to the heat balance of the human body (Ministry of the Environment heat stroke Prevention https://www.wbgt.env.go.jp/en/）
(Note 2) Information and Communication Technology
(Note 3) Radiated energy used by a external heat source to increase the temperature of the object. E.g. fires or heat from the sun.
(Note 4) LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) is a generic term for a new radio communication protocol which allows communication over a large area but has minimal power requirements.