Elevating Disaster Resilience: A Trek through Langtang Valley with OWL’s ClusterDuck Protocol
In November 2023, my companion, Mohammad Waris Ali, and I embarked on an adventure to explore the Langtang Valley in Nepal with the goal of reaching Tsergo Ri, a peak standing at 5,033 meters. Lantang, being part of the Himalayas, naturally attracts many tourists around the world because of its beautiful views.
However, this was not the only reason we were on this week-long trek. Not only does Lantang attract tourists but it also attracts natural disasters such as landslides. Taplejung, only a couple of months ago, experienced a landslide that left the area contactless for days. Also, people suffer emergencies during their treks with nowhere to seek help. In January 2023, a South Korean woman was found dead in Thorang La Pass, the world’s highest pass. It highlights the importance of being aware of the unique risks associated with high-altitude trekking and ensuring that emergency response and communication resources are readily available to address unforeseen challenges and emergencies.
Coming from a tech background, being a frequent trekker, and residing in one of the most disaster-prone regions of Asia, I want to contribute to effective disaster management; whether it’s a natural disaster or health emergency. I wanted to witness disaster scenarios and understand their frequency in the region. It was important to survey the challenges people face in remote areas like Langtang, where there is a lack of internet, electricity, and reliable cellular communication. This trip allowed me to see firsthand the vital importance of establishing communication channels in such critical situations, particularly for post-disaster recovery, where timely assistance can be a matter of life and death. Indeed, the region has already experienced devastating disasters, such as the 2015 earthquake that wiped out the main village and took over 300 lives. Landslides and avalanches are constant threats, especially in close proximity to human settlements. Due to the remote location of this region, being far from the city and capital, post-disaster recovery becomes an even greater challenge. It bridges the gap between remote areas and the rest of the world, ensuring that help and information can reach even the most secluded communities. The need for reliable communication and assistance in such critical situations is evident, as these remote areas are particularly vulnerable to the devastating impacts of natural disasters.
The area affected in the above video is really huge, there was an entire village before 2015 earthquake. For size reference, there is a well-grown Himalayan Sheepdog crossing the bridge.
I discovered OWL while conducting a literature review for my bachelor’s thesis on disaster management without relying on cellular and internet connections back in 2022. As someone with a background in cybersecurity, I have a preference for open-source tools and applications, and the ClusterDuck Protocol (OWL’s open-source firmware) piqued my interest. Since that initial discovery, I’ve been fascinated by CDP’s capabilities and potential applications in the field of disaster management, especially in disaster-prone nations like Nepal.
The key characteristics of Ducks (the basic unit of the ClusterDuck Protocol) that intrigued me revolved around their reliability, range, and potential for disaster management. Ducks proved to be remarkably reliable, even in the most challenging altitudes and temperatures, as witnessed during the Langtang Valley trek. This level of dependability is essential in regions prone to natural disasters, where communication can be a lifeline.
Initially, we tested the Duck within the elevation of 3000 to 4000 meters to evaluate its communication capabilities. It proved effective for our team of two to stay connected and assess its basic range. The real challenge came when we pushed the device beyond 4,000 meters, subjecting it to extreme cold. At such altitudes, even modern smartphones often struggle, but the Ducks and the ClusterDuck network held up remarkably well. To examine its range from high elevations to lower ones, we left one of our Ducks in a Yak shed at approximately 4100 meters. We instructed the shed owner to monitor messages and respond if they received any. We got a range of around 4 km in a 915 Mhz frequency channel. A few times we had a problem with the Lora connection between two duck devices. Since we didn’t have a laptop with us we were unknown what caused that.
The concept of establishing a mesh network with Ducks was particularly fascinating, as it could create a self-sustaining communication infrastructure, critical in disaster scenarios. The network concept behind Ducks is clever and reminiscent of a walkie-talkie network (Not exactly the same).
Talking about the key characteristic of Ducks, it demonstrated a high level of reliability, even in extreme conditions and at high altitudes, as described in the Langtang region trek. This reliability is crucial in disaster-prone and remote areas.
Talking about the usability of ducks, setting up a clusterduck network was surprisingly straightforward once the firmware was burned into the hardware. The compact size of the Ducks made them highly portable, similar to a mobile device, and this ease of use was particularly advantageous during our trek in Langtang Valley. The captive portal of the network was straightforward and intuitive, making it accessible to users of various age groups who are familiar with using mobile phones. With a little training on the captive portal’s functionalities, users can harness the full potential of the application, enhancing the effectiveness of the Duck network for communication and connectivity in remote and challenging environments.
One notable improvement with this Duck was its stability. In previous versions, we encountered issues like the LoRa connection disconnecting on its own or not connecting even when devices are in close proximity. This version showed significant progress in terms of reliability.
One feature that could significantly enhance the Duck is the inclusion of a small screen that displays the list of Duck devices within range and their respective connections. Additionally, the implementation of a network monitoring tool, similar to Nagios, could complement the Duck Device Management System’s (Duck DMS) existing map, which illustrates device locations. By deploying a network of Ducks in specific areas and establishing a base station with an internet connection, this monitoring tool could track device connections and the formation of a mesh network. This capability would be instrumental in visualizing any connectivity issues during deployment and identifying potential breaks in the mesh connection. But the overhead is that there must be a network monitoring packet like SNMP (Are you alive packets) sent to all the devices in a certain interval of time. I would love to contribute to the development of this visualization tool if it happens.
