Putting Water Online: May 9

Under the umbrella of CITRIS and LBNL, UC Berkeley Civil Engineering Professor Alex Bayen and his colleagues are collaborating to conduct an unprecedented experiment in the area of hydrodynamic monitoring.

On May 9, 100 mobile sensors will be placed into the Sacramento River near Walnut Grove, CA. The robotic sensors will perform safety and channel selection operations, while the low-cost passive sensors will demonstrate the ease-of-use and efficiency of the large fleet approach.

Data will be processed using the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) cloud computing testbed at LBNL to create a flow map of the water in the region. Results will allow a team of UC researchers to determine the trade-offs between data volumes, information quality, logistical requirements, and cost.

This work will ultimately guide the design and sharing modalities of future hydrological studies and information collection systems that can offer substantial benefit to government agencies and the water-using public.

10:00: Public relations event at the experiment command center for representatives from governmental agencies, industry, and academia (Walnut Grove Park)

10:30: The pioneering water-sensing technology is launched (Walnut Grove Public Dock)

More information at Floating Sensor Network.