A Novel Data Acquisition Board for Heterogeneous Sensor Network

Landslides, especially those induced by heavy rainfall, are one of the leading natural disasters in the world, causing millions of dollars in damage every year. All over the world, several systems have been deployed to monitor and provide early warning of landslides. These systems typically employ distinct types of environmental and geotechnical sensors, which are mounted on the surface of the earth and underground and are usually a combination of analog, digital, and mixed-signal sensors, which can be single-ended or differential. Data from these heterogeneous sensors must be collected using customized electronics since off-the-shelf electronic boards are not directly compatible with these varied requirements. This study has custom designed its own interface boards as part of the data acquisition system of the proposed Landslide Monitoring and Early warning model deployed in Kerala, and Sikkim, India. This study describes some of the complexities involved in designing such a system and the various approaches involved in it. After performing extensive testing and validation, this study has deployed these boards at field locations, and successfully collected the data over the last few years.