Work

MERLIN: a secure, blackout-resilient communication system for emergency communication and critical entities integration

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Regional emergencies caused by extreme weather events can lead to outages of critical infrastructures, including power supply, telephony, and mobile communications, leaving affected regions cut off from external support. For situation assessment and decision support, the status of critical infrastructures such as drinking water supplies and emergency shelter occupancy must be known at all times, even when conventional communication channels are unavailable, unreliable, or severely hampered by topographic challenges. This article presents MERLIN (Messaging with Regional LoRa Infrastructure), a research prototype currently undergoing endurance testing in the Austrian municipality of Neuhaus, as the first major application of the ROLORAN Disaster Communication Protocol (RDCP). MERLIN uses LoRa to enable secure, resilient communication between emergency services, the population, and operators of critical entities, contributing to crisis management during large-scale communication outages.

Source: e+i Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik

DOI: 10.1007/s00502-026-01432-7

Authors: Johann Altgenug, Michael Grabatin, Wolfgang Hommel, Mario Silaci, Laura Stojko

Institution: Universität der Bundeswehr München

Language: English

Topic: IoT Networks and Protocols

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,490