IMU Based Real Time Underground Soil Movement Detection System: An Illustrative Investigation

摘要

Real-time landslide hazard threat assessments (LHTAs) are vital, as landslides in mountainous regions are the costliest and deadliest natural disasters. Landslides are significantly difficult to predict, due to the high variability of slope stability in relation to both space and time. Intrinsic factors (i.e. topography, geology, soil condition, engineering properties, etc.) and extrinsic factors (i.e. rainfall, land cover, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.) influence the slope stability and landslide triggering. To date, precipitation estimation, high-resolution imagery, and elevation maps enable the threat of rainfall-triggered landslides to be predicted. It is vital to assess soil `movement distance' and `velocity', as the potential for a landslide depends on the non-uniform nature of the structural forces that hold a slope together and on the physical mechanisms that trigger the landslide. This manuscript demonstrates the development of a sensor network that enables LHTAs by detecting landslides' related `movement distance' and `velocity' in real time. The sensor network consists of underground sensors (i.e. an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a magnetometer) that enable the movements of the bottom soil layers to be detected. The aim is to capture the soil `movement distance' and `velocity' in a landslide, using acceleration and relative angular movement data, via the concept used in an inertial measurement unit (IMU).