The wireless sensor network (WSN), an early warning system for landslides, installed in Idukki district could now be used in other parts of the country like Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh as well to help save lives and contain the severity of devastation caused.

Principal scientific advisor to the government of India, R.Chidambaram said on Monday that the system designed, developed and deployed by Amrita Centre for Wireless Networks and Applications (ACWNA) could help people living in landslide prone areas prepare for them and contain the effects.

Mr Chidambaram visited the network site hoping to replicate it in the Uttakashi area. The wireless sensor network for landslide detection in Munnar , operational since 2008, collects data and issues real-time warnings when necessary. “It proved its capability by issuing a real-time landslide warning in July 2009," observed ACWNA director Dr.Maneesha V Ramesh, the brain behind the project.

About 150 geophysical sensors connected to 20 wireless sensor nodes measure various environmental parameters like rainfall, temperature, humidity, which help predict landslides, according to her.

From:http://www.deccanchronicle.com

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