Smart-Camp Box: An Integrated IoT and Artificial Intelligence Framework for Safety, Communication, Learning Assistance, and Resource Optimization in Disaster Relief Camps

Abstract

Natural disasters continue to inflict devastating consequences on communities across South Asia, with Sri Lanka ranking among the most frequently affected nations in the region. When disasters strike, temporary relief camps serve as critical shelters for displaced populations; however, existing systems fail to address three persistent operational challenges simultaneously: camp-level flood and landslide prediction, psychological and attentional readiness assessment for displaced children, and resilient communication under degraded network conditions. This paper presents the Smart Camp Box, an integrated, portable IoT-based framework that addresses all three dimensions through tightly coupled sub-systems. The first sub-system provides location-aware environmental risk monitoring using GPS/GNSS, IoT sensors, DEM integration, and a machine learning prediction model. The second introduces the Psycho-Attentional Gated Educational System (PAGES), an offline-first application for assessing and supporting displaced children's cognitive readiness. The third proposes a Semantic-Aware Adaptive Message Prioritization (SAAMP) framework for reliable MQTT communication under constrained network environments. Currently in active development, the Smart Camp Box represents a paradigm shift toward proac