Innovative sensors for crowdsourced river measurements collection

Flood risk prediction requires consistent and accurate sensor measurements, usually provided from traditional in-situ environmental monitoring systems. Crowd-sourced data can complement these official data sources, allowing authorities to improve and fill gaps in the hazard assessment process. However, collecting this information from volunteers, with no technical knowledge and while using low-cost equipment such their smartphones and tablets, raises the question of quality and consistency. To alleviate this barrier two tools were developed in the context of H2020 Scent project. The Water Level Measurement Tool uses image recognition techniques to extract the water level from images containing a measuring tape. The Water Velocity Calculation Tool uses video processing algorithms to extract the water surface velocity from a video containing a pre-defined floating object moving on the surface of a water body. Each extracted measurement is accompanied by a degree of trust. The tools have been designed so that a high degree of trust can be achieved from images and videos taken from regular smartphones. The crowdsourced river measurements are used to develop improved flood models with a dramatically reduced cost as both the measuring tapes and the floating object are low-cost and re-usable while effectively covering large areas of interest.