Drone-deployed rainfall station launched in Sichuan

A new type of rainfall station named Yushen-1 that can be deployed by drones has officially been put into operation in Southwest China's Sichuan province on Tuesday, Chinanews.com reported.

Jointly developed by the Institute of Care-Life in Chengdu, State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Research Institute, and State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company, the rainfall station is designed for areas prone to flash floods, landslides, and mudslides in remote regions, where conventional monitoring devices are difficult to install and maintain.

The development of the new rainfall station began in January 2025, and three units have been deployed in mountainous sparsely populated areas in the province. "Many geological disasters occur in areas with poor transport and communication, making it hard to monitor rainfall in real time," said Wang Tun, head of the Institute of Care-Life.

Once delivered by drone to a treeless area with a radius of at least 10 meters, the station can automatically adjust its orientation to ensure the rain gauge remains level. Equipped with a built-in satellite communication module, it can transmit monitoring data back to the early warning center via satellite, even in areas without ground communication infrastructure.

According to Wang, traditional rainfall stations require significant manual labor for installation, limiting site selection due to the construction difficulty. With drone deployment, installation challenges can be reduced, the coverage of rainfall stations can be expanded, and the shortcomings in rainfall monitoring can be addressed. Any drone with sufficient payload capacity can install Yushen-1.

"In the future, I believe it will improve our ability to monitor and issue early warnings for disasters like floods, mudslides, and landslides," Wang said.