Subsurface
Multi-layer heterogeneous sensing
More than 33 m of subsurface coverage capturing rainfall, moisture, pore pressure, microseismic and movement signatures.
AI-integrated IoT · since 2009
The landslide
early warning system
What began as the world’s first wireless sensor network for landslide detection is now a real-world lifeline across the Western Ghats and the Himalayas.
300+
Sensors, continuous real-time monitoring
33 m+
Depth of multi-layer sensing
Up to 24 h
AI/ML nowcast and forecast
5,000+
Lives impacted in Western Ghats & Himalayan deployments
How it works
From a signal underground
to a family on the move
Each warning passes through five stages. Select a stage.
Decision-support pipeline
Sense → Threshold → Model → Warn → Act
Sense the slope
Sensors more than 33 m below ground, satellites and automatic weather stations record rainfall, moisture, pore pressure, microseismic and movement signals in real time.
Sensing & communication
Built for remote slopes
and monsoon storms
Edge
Context- and energy-aware edge nodes
Self-managing devices balance compute, communication and battery life across remote, harsh terrain.
Network
Real-time fault-tolerant communications
Adaptive software keeps data flowing through link failures, monsoons and power events.
AI/ML decision support
Nowcast, and a
24-hour forecast
Site-specific and regional rainfall thresholds combine with multi-parameter AI models. They keep the nowcast reliable when real-time feeds are interrupted, and extend the warning horizon up to 24 hours ahead.
That gives communities and authorities critical preparation time before extreme events.
Precursors
IoT-driven microseismic sensing
A distributed microseismic IoT system detects subsurface movement signatures, so slope-failure precursors are identified early.
Indukala et al., IEEE Access, 2024
Citizen science
Landslide Tracker App & Amrita Kripa
Spatio-temporal crowd-sourced reports complement sensor data and strengthen community resilience.
See the apps →Where it runs
Four regions,
from the Ghats to the Himalayas
First deployed in Munnar in 2009, the system has issued advance warnings every monsoon since.
| Site | Since | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Western Ghats · Munnar, Idukki, Kerala | 2009 | First deployment; 14% of the territory is landslide-prone |
| North-East Himalayas · Sikkim-Darjeeling | 2018 | Co-funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences and Sikkim SDMA; deep-earth, hydrological and meteorological sensing |
| Karnataka · Kodagu | MoU 2023 | With KSNDMC; rainfall-threshold dynamic landslide maps |
| Odisha · Gajapati | MoU 2024 | Cyclone-induced landslides |
