Evaluation of Millimeter-wave Radar Sensor in Water Level Monitoring System for Flood Disaster Prevention

Serious flood disasters have escalated because of climate variation by global warming. For early alert of flood disasters, it is necessary to employ multipoint and wide-area water level monitoring throughout river basins, including headwaters. However, cost issue of the conventional sensing system has prohibited the progress of installation in small rivers. In this work, we propose the low-cost and contactless sensing system for water level in the river using a millimeter-wave radar and LPWA network. The prototype sensor can detect distance with average error rate of 2.56% and monitor water level in the actual river even during stormy weather. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that water level can be monitored by this sensor in various river conditions.