# Development of a Device for Monitoring Erosion in the Field

## TL;DR

A new low-cost device was developed to monitor erosion in the field, offering ease of use and good performance under simulated rain conditions.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is a rain-triggered erosion monitoring device with integrated control, capture, and sensing modules.

## Key findings

- The device successfully recorded soil samples under simulated rain with good daytime image quality.
- It demonstrated reliable activation and deactivation times and effective equipment protection.
- The device is noted for its ease of use, low cost, and high-quality monitoring capabilities.

## Abstract

Monitoring erosion is an important part of understanding the causes of this geotechnical and geological phenomenon. In order to monitor them, it is necessary to develop equipment that is sophisticated enough to resist the sun and water without damage, that is self-mechanized, and that can support the amount of data collected. This article introduces a rain-triggered field erosion monitoring device composed of three main modules: control, capture, and sensing. The control module comprises both hardware and firmware with embedded software. The capture module integrates a camera for recording, while the sensing module includes rain sensors. By filming experimental soil samples under simulated rain events, the device demonstrated satisfactory performance in terms of activation and deactivation programming times, daytime image quality without artificial lighting, and equipment protection. The great differences about this monitoring device are its ease of use, low cost, and the quality it offers. These results suggest its potential effectiveness in capturing the progression of field erosive processes.