Landslides, floods, and fires pose a serious risk to communities and economies worldwide. Finapp provides advanced environmental water monitoring solutions based on cosmic ray neutron sensing. Our environmental neutron detector technology helps mitigate the negative impact of these agents on people, natural habitats, and transportation by providing the one crucial data point often missing: accurate soil moisture saturation.
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Descriptions
The knowledge of soil moisture provided by Finapp probes allows a different approach to the issue of pre-warning. Surface landslides and flooding are closely linked to a high level of soil saturation, at the opposite very dry soils are a prerequisite for fire development. The ability to have representative large-scale, deep, real-time data significantly improves knowledge of the state of the land and thus risk assessment. By integrating predicted weather data and an artificial intelligence approach to reconstruct past disaster events, we are able to project the level of risk into the future, up to three days ahead.
Pros and Features
Pre-warning provided by Finapp is an evolution from current bulletins, bringing numerous advantages:
Download Data Sheet Soil Moisture Plus
- Multihazard: pre-warning available for surface landslides, floods, fires
- Site Specific: based on data measured by the probe and the history of that location. It is not generic information for an entire area or province.
Compared to traditional sensor technology – rain gauges, hydrometers, inclinometers, cameras – Finapp not only provides real-time measured data, but also pre-alerts up to three days in advance, with additional advantages
- Small size and weight for easy installation, requiring no site preparation
- Very low maintenance by having no moving parts or consumables.
- Very low power consumption allowing it to work without connection to the power grid, thus operating even in remote areas
- Fully integrate into any data acquisition system thanks to the API and compatibility with other data loggers
Advanced early warning systems for landslide, flood & fire
The knowledge of soil moisture provided by the Finapp Probe allows a revolutionary approach to pre-warning. Traditional methods often react to symptoms (rain, movement), but Finapp detects the root cause:
- Landslides & Floods: closely linked to high levels of soil saturation.
- Fires: triggered by the opposite extreme—very dry soils and vegetation.
By providing representative, large-scale, and deep real-time data, we significantly improve risk assessment.
How it works: from reaction to prevention
We integrate measured data with weather forecasts and Artificial Intelligence to reconstruct past disaster events and project risk into the future. This approach, validated by rigorous scientific research, allows us to calculate a Pre-warning Index up to three days ahead.
Download Data Sheet Soil Moisture Plus
This predictive capability is vital for water resource management authorities, enabling them to manage reservoirs and catchments proactively before a flood peak arrives.
Why choose Finapp for hazard mitigation?
The pre-warning provided by Finapp is an evolution from current bulletins, offering specific landslide monitoring technologies and early warning signs of floods that are site-specific, not generic regional alerts.
- Multihazard Protection: a single installation provides a landslide early warning system, flood early warning devices, and a forest fire early warning system simultaneously.
- Site-Specific Accuracy: alerts are based on the specific history and real-time data of that exact location.
- Superior to Traditional Sensors: unlike rain gauges or inclinometers which measure external factors or movements after they start, Finapp measures the potential for disaster (saturation) before it happens.
- Low Maintenance & Power: with no moving parts and very low power consumption, it operates in remote mountain areas off-grid, where hydrological monitoring equipment is usually hard to maintain.
- Easy Integration: fully integrates into existing data acquisition systems via API, complementing other drought monitoring technology often shared with agriculture.
Field deployments: monitoring in critical environments
Our technology is built to withstand the elements. This gallery showcases the versatility of Finapp stations in real-world scenarios: from steep slopes prone to landslides to dense forests for fire prevention. Operating completely off-grid with solar power, our non-invasive probes provide continuous protection in the most remote and inaccessible locations.
FAQ – Common Questions
1. Coverage & installation capabilities
What breadth of mountain areas is Finapp able to monitor? Even entire valleys?
The area covered by a Finapp probe depends on the altitude and installation height. Typically, the range covers 10-20 hectares (radius ~200m). This makes it suitable for monitoring critical slopes or specific valley sections, rather than an entire valley with a single device.
Is there a slope limit where the sensor can be used?
No, the probe can be installed on very inclined terrain or steep slopes. Since neutrons are spatially distributed in every direction, the angle of the terrain does not hinder the measurement, making it ideal for landslide-prone areas.
Where should the sensor be installed?
Since the sensor covers a wide area (footprint), it must be installed in the most critical or representative site that needs to be monitored. Our team assists in identifying the optimal location to ensure the data effectively represents the risk zone
2. Landslide monitoring specifics
Can it inform on any type of landslide?
The Pre-warning Index is specifically designed for sites prone to superficial landslides and debris flows. This is because the Finapp probes measure soil moisture up to 50cm in depth (root zone). Deep-seated landslides, where the rupture surface is located far deeper than the surface layer, are not directly targeted as they are less immediately affected by surface soil moisture saturation.
3. Wildfire prevention & fuel analysis
Does the sensor offer useful information for forest or bush wildfires?
Yes. Soil moisture measurement initiatives have proven that field data is a critical predictor for wildfire risk.
Soil moisture is not usually used operationally to assess wildfire risk, mainly because measuring it in an accurate and representative way is very challenging.
Finapp overcomes this limitation by providing reliable large-scale soil moisture measurements, enabling a more accurate and robust wildfire risk assessment.
Is the sensor able to distinguish the humidity of the undergrowth from the soil humidity?
No, and for fire prevention, this is an advantage. The value measured is absolute and includes all components that contain water (soil + biomass/undergrowth). This provides a comprehensive measure of the total “fuel load” dryness available for a potential fire.
Innovation & safety: your partner in risk management
At Finapp, we are committed to meeting the scientific measurement needs of our customers. We support authorities and organizations that work sustainably to protect communities. From securing mountain slopes against natural hazards to preventing urban water loss with our water leak detection solutions, safety is our priority.
Need to secure a critical area? Do not hesitate to get in touch. We can arrange a site visit or consultation to suggest the most effective environmental water monitoring configuration for your specific risks.
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Meeting customers’ needs
At Finapp we are committed to meeting the scientific measurement instrumentation needs of our customers, we enthusiastically help all those who work sustainably and fairly, we support those who advance science and technology for the benefit of humanity. Finapp believes in innovation as well as service.
Do not hesitate to get in touch with us for an appointment, visit, consultation, we will try to answer all your questions trying to suggest some possible innovative solutions.
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Business Cases, Poster, Abstract, Literature
Here is how professionals and scholars use Finapp probes.
A good example of how to get the maximum benefit from our innovation.
