Landslide Detection using Wireless Sensor Networks

사면방재를 위한 무선센서 네트워크 기술연구

Recently, landslides have frequently occurred on natural slopes during periods of intense rainfall. With a rapidly increasing population on or near steep terrain in Korea, landslides have become one of the most significant natural hazards. Thus, it is necessary to protect people from landslides and to minimize the damage of houses, roads and other facilities. To accomplish this goal, many landslide prediction methods have been developed in the world. In this study, a simple landslide prediction system that enables people to escape the endangered area is introduced. The system is focused to debris flows which happen frequently during periods of intense rainfall. The system is based on the wireless sensor network (WSN) that is composed of sensor nodes, gateway, and server system. Sensor nodes comprising a sensing part and a communication part are developed to detect ground movement. Sensing part is designed to measure inclination angle and acceleration accurately, and communication part is deployed with Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1) module to transmit the data to the gateway. To verify the feasibility of this landslide prediction system, a series of experimental studies was performed at a small-scale earth slope equipped with an artificial rainfall dropping device. It is found that sensing nodes installed at slope can detect the ground motion when the slope starts to move. It is expected that the landslide prediction system by wireless senor network can provide early warnings when landslides such as debris flow occurs.