KOCHI: Scientists from the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham have developed India’s first wireless sensor network system for landslide detection under a Rs 3.5 million Euro research project funded by the European Commission.
The system was developed as part of the research project ‘WINSOC’(Wireless Sensor Network with Self Organisation Capabilities for Critical and Emergency Application) which consists of a consortium of 11 partners from eight countries.
The Indian agencies are Amrita University and Antrix Corporation (the commercial arm of ISRO).
Speaking at a press conference, principal investigators of the project Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham vice-chancellor Venkat Rangan and Maneesha V Ramesh, faculty member in computer science and engineering said that the initial deployment of this system was done at the Anthoniar colony in Munnar which is an area prone to rainfallinduced landslides. The sensors will help give a 24-hour early warning, he said.
The test deployment was done in May 2008 and the 23m deep sensors have been placed in 10 sections in 15-acre land area in Munnar colony.
“The DRDO has shown interest in our technology which could help them in the border areas,” Rangan said. The second phase of the project is being funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Information Technology (DIT).
The sensors have been fixed using a drilling machine with solar panels to charge the batteries. The sensors will pass on the data to the field management centre from where it will be transmitted to the main station.
“The project has a lot of societal importance as it has a direct bearing on the lives of several people living in disaster- prone areas like landslides, forest fires, gas leaks etc,” Rangan said.
Once fully operational, the system can be deployed in all parts of the country as the sensors could be changed according to the region’s requirements.
Presently, the system consists of 50 geological sensors and 20 wireless nodes.
The international group from the European Union were also present at the press conference and they expressed their delight at the success deployment of the system at Munnar. The delegation included overall coordinator Paolo Capodieci, chief scientists Segio Barbarossa among others.