A team of engineers at Tennessee Tech has created a low-cost flood sensor to help communities monitor flood activity.
Professor Alfred Kalyanapu began working on the project in 2017 when he was first introduced to the concept at a technology workshop. He said he realized technology being applied to modern smart devices could also be applied to detecting floods.
“So if the water level changes the sensor distance will decrease if it’s above the water,” “And if the sensor is under water, then the pressure will change so you can detect a change in the water level too. There are two different technologies here.”
Kalyanapu said he and his students developed the sensor that measures the distance between the water and the sensor every 15 minutes. He said the information is logged and helps track flood trends in real-time. He said the efforts were aided by the United States Geological Survey.
Kalyanapu said a few sensors have been installed along the Falling Water River in Cookeville. He said he hopes the censors will be able to aid Flood Ready Tennessee in helping local communities be more prepared for flooding when it occurs.
Kalyanapu said the censors are not intended to replace those already implemented by the United States Geological Survey. He said he hopes they supplement tracking that data by being able to provide them to smaller communities at a lower cost.
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