“A “grid” of smart river sensors that monitor water depth and flow and can predict impending flooding is to be installed in a UK river,”New Scientist reports. “By producing more accurate and concise data than existing monitoring systems, the network could give locals and government decision-makers earlier warning of rising trouble.Two of thirteen sensor nodes have so far been installed along a kilometre stretch of the River Ribble, in the Yorkshire Dales, and the rest of the network should be in place by the end of the year. “The river floods regularly after Christmas every year,” says Danny Hughes, a computer and environmental scientist at Lancaster University, UK, who is working on the project.
The final network will contain three kinds of sensor node. Eleven will measure pressure from below the waterline in order to determine depth. The other two will monitor the speed of river flow - one using ultrasound underwater, and the other using webcams to track objects and ripples moving along the surface, from the riverbank.Each node is smaller than a human fist and powered by batteries and solar panels. Each is also accompanied by a computer unit about the size of a packet of chewing gum, which contains a processor about as powerful those found in a modern cellphone.
The sensors are positioned within tens of metres of each other and communicate through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas. This enables them to collaborate for data collection and processing tasks, creating a larger community computer. The same “grid computing” approach is used to connect computers at different locations for distributed research projects.If the river’s behaviour starts to change, the network uses the data collected to run models and predict what will happen next. If a flood seems likely - because it is rapidly rising and moving quickly - the network can send a wireless warning containing the details”.

Intelligent sensors watch for impending floods