Design and Evaluation of a LoRa Controlled Rugged Multisensor Unit for Induced Rockfall Experiments

Climate change accelerates the thaw of permafrost and amplifies precipitation and temperature variations. As a result, rockfalls and landslides might become increasingly severe and frequent hazards in mountainous regions. Simulation tools allow the assessment of the increased risks and the planning of adequate mitigation strategies, but they need to be trained and calibrated on real-world data. This paper presents the design of a tailor-made data logger addressing the sensing requirements in induced rockfall experiments. The robust design aims at data collection at up to 1 kHz and allows the trajectory reconstruction based on the output data of various micromechanical systems sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer). Its integrated LoRaWAN-based wireless interface ensures user-friendly configuration and provides real-time sensor telemetry at up to 980 bit/s.