Vivek Dadu
DESCRIPTION
Even with the many technological advancements available today, it is impossible to completely control natural calamities like floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, and storms. Of these disasters, UNESCO reports that flooding is most common. Since 1998, the European Commission has recorded around 700 deaths caused by floods across Europe, along with about half a million displaced people and at least €25 billion in insured damage (to say nothing of uninsured costs).
In light of the devastating effects of flooding, there exists a need to effectively generate advance warnings and provide cogent solutions to avert potential floods. Flood G uardian acts as a single-point solution that makes use of satellite navigation (GNSS) to perform these tasks in real time. When placed in cluster configurations at different locations, these devices can be used to collectively monitor a large area of land.
Flood G uardian uses attitudinal information to continuously monitor the rate of change of water levels, which makes it possible to generate advance flood warnings in real time. I n addition, the instrument uses standard positioning information to identify its present position. I f deployed throughout a country, this equipment will collectively determine the current status of various water channels in real time. A database of this information prepared on a day-to-day basis can be used to project potentially problematic areas. O nce a clear projection is obtained, the system will be able to provide suggestions on the best way to divert water and avert possible flooding.TARGET MARKET
The European Commission has directed each of its member-states to assess and reduce the risk of flooding. In addition, the UK government has earmarked £2.15 billion until 2011 for the creation of a flood defence system in the country. T he Flood Guardian concept proposed here is in line with the Commission’s future plans/directives.Flood Guardian’s potential customers include:
- Water management companies
- Local and regional water management authorities
- Hydro-meteorological departments and research labs
- The agriculture sector
CUSTOMER BENEFIT
Flood Guardian serves many purposes on the humanitarian front. Its realtime field monitoring imparts better situational awareness, especially in providing advance warnings to people living in flood-prone areas. T his can also be used in precision agriculture to automate irrigation activities.
Contact:
Cranfield University
Vivek Dadu
C-403, Modipon Colony
Ghaziabad
201204, Modinagar
India
phone: +91 945 109 38 88
e-mail: v.dadu@cranfield.ac.uk, vdadu@yahoo.com
