Washington: Tracking windshield wiper activity can provide faster, more accurate rainfall data than radar and rain gauge systems currently in place, potentially helping predict and prevent flooding, according to a study. Researchers at the University of Michigan in the US said that a community armed with that real-time data could move more quickly to prevent flash-flooding or sewage overflows, which represent a rising threat to property, infrastructure and the environment.
Coupled with “smart” storm-water systems — infrastructure outfitted with autonomous sensors and valves — municipalities could potentially take in data from connected vehicles to predict and prevent flooding, according to the study. “These vehicles offer us a way to get rainfall information at resolutions we had not seen before,” said Branko Kerkez, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan.
“It is more precise than radar, and allows us fill gaps left by existing rain gauge networks,” Kerkez said. Our best warnings for flood conditions come from the combination of radar tracking from satellites and rain gauges spread over a wide geographic area. Both have poor spatial resolution, meaning they lack the ability to capture what is happening at street-level, researchers said.
