Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here you will find answers to some of the main questions being asked about this project. If you have a question we haven't covered, please get in touch with us.
1. Why did we construct the Latrobe Valley Information Network (LVIN)?
The network was constructed for several important and focused reasons:
(a). Give residents real-time information including localised weather, rainfall and air quality to support community resilience, confidence, the ability to make informed decisions and reduce the impact of future environmental events.
(b). Supply technology for emergency services to actively detect, track and manage events including fire ignitions, fire movement, hazardous airborne contaminants, floods and extreme weather, aiding effective response, personnel safety and heightened situational awareness.
(c). Deliver the catalyst for change and future interaction between Governments, Agencies, Departments, Industry and the Community, creating the first real-time, interactive information-sharing platform. Access to live, region wide, fine scale data provides a clear understanding of events as they unfold, allowing for greater unified interaction, collaborative decisions and targeted response to help to improve the balance.
(d). Publicise an Australian technology with global applications that will create a new industry and employment across a wide range of fields.
(e). Demonstrate our strategy to actively measure, monitor, manage and respond to changes in the environment and climate, addressing the future trend and concerns relating to increased fires, floods, air, water and soil contamination, detailing the long term affects to enable actual tailored solutions for the future.
2. Who funded the project?
The Latrobe Valley Information Network (LVIN) was co-funded by Attentis® and the Australian Federal Government as part of the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program. The LVIN was the largest project awarded to Victoria and the eighth largest Smart Cities and Suburbs project in Australia.
Support for the establishment of the network came from the Latrobe City Council and the Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee, incorporating Victoria Police, Country Fire Authority (CFA), State Emergency Service (SES), Vic Roads, Gippsland Water, Water Catchment Management Authority (WCMA), Hancock Victoria Plantations (HVP) and several Community groups.
3. How it came about?
The introduction of the Federal Government's Smart Cities and Suburbs program in 2017 provided the perfect catalyst for Attentis® to combine 9 years experience in sensor and network construction to build the region wide network tailored specifically for the Latrobe Valley. The intention was to create the largest integrated environmental monitoring network in Australia, delivering a multitude of benefits to the region via the installation of a single Attentis® network.
4. Why was the Latrobe Valley chosen as a location?
The community in the Latrobe Valley has endured several devastating events over the past decade that continues to impact the region. Murrindindi Shire and Latrobe Valley were the largest effected regions during the Black Saturday Bushfires. The Latrobe Valley also endured the Hazelwood mine fire. The follow on effects of these events continue to impact the region today.
The technology we developed is ideally suited for the Latrobe Valley to provide a level of mitigation to protect this region from similar events in the future. The installation of sensors in the surrounding HVP plantations are equipped with fire ignition detection capabilities to detect fire ignition from arson, lightning strike and power line faults. This inclusion is designed to elicit rapid response and reduce the severity of the scale of fire as well as protect the long-term availability of timber supplies to support local industry.
The incorporation of other key features including air quality tracking, flood monitoring and microclimate weather conditions are designed to assist farmers in the region through in-depth information and support the community through awareness. Dam wall safety and landfill monitoring demonstrate the capabilities of the network to foster the needs of the local community, industry, organisations and the region itself.
5. How do I get access to the information?
Real-time information throughout the region is available at LVIN.org
Further in-depth information is available by registering an account. This service is provided free of charge and allows us to understand the level of effective use of the site and enables us to focus key features in the future.
Subscription Access is also available, allowing the user to set up individual alerts and notifications of severe weather and air quality concerns, and access to historical information, visual and thermal images, correlations and tools to increase understanding of the impacts of conditions on a region. Subscription accounts help us to improve services, grow the network and establish new networks into other regions.
6. Tips of how to use the information
The information can be used in a multitude of ways, from early warning of health concerns through to weather investigation of locations prior to attendance. Flooded roads and rivers will be highlighted on the maps to avoid traffic hazards and road closures. The more you become familiar with the network the more often you will use it. – What is the weather like for a bike ride along the bike track? How far away is the rain? Is it a heavy downpour or a light drizzle?
7. How will it be funded / managed into the future?
The Latrobe Valley Information Network forms part of Attentis' Group of Networks and will continue to operate and be funded through the current networks program.
8. Whether it will work with other data from other networks
Data from other sensors and / or networks can be transmitted via Attentis® networks and routed to other users, but can also be combined with Attentis® data and analytics to improve the overall understanding of the region, facility or location.