# Network Sensing Lab

**Source**: https://www.uts.edu.au/research/centres/network-sensing-lab
**Parent**: https://www.uts.edu.au/research/graduate/contact-us

## Translating cutting-edge research into environmental impact

The TPG-UTS Network sensing lab is the home of world-leading, cutting-edge flood sensing technology. This lab was established in 2024, as a partnership between UTS and TPG Telecom, with the aim to revolutionise the way the world responds to increasingly volatile flood and storm events.

Currently, flood and storms cost Australia billions of dollars a year economically, with unmeasurable cost to human lives, physical disruptions and emotional distress. The 2022 major floods alone racked up ~$3.35 billion in insured losses, with 32 lives lost. Current flood prediction takes hours to generate broad area warnings and can be inaccurate – due to the reliance on limited river and rain gauges.

The TPG UTS Network Sensing lab is working to change this. By improving flood monitoring and prediction, emergency services can improve the responsiveness of evacuation alerts – saving lives.

## TPG UTS Network Sensing Lab

(00:03:43)

UTS has partnered with TPG Telecom and the NSW State Emergency Service to transform mobile networks into integrated sensor and communication networks with a focus on detecting floods and storms.

Read transcript

## TPG UTS Network Sensing Lab transcript

[Music] flooding stands as one of the most prevalent natural disasters confronting New South Wales and Australia flooding has inflicted profound damages on our economy Community well-being and human lives one critical unmet challenge to mitigating flooding risks is the lack of Technologies and realtime data that can be used to monitor localized rainfall and predict flooding with sufficient accuracy and granularity the recent flooding incident in Gold Coast exemplifies this issue as flash flood alerts were disseminated to Residents a day too late when some victims were already strangled by floods an emerging technology offers a promising solution to address this challenge it is called Network sensing one of the issues uh with flooding right across New South Wales that we have at the moment is limited ability to have real-time data so the research that's been done with the University of technology and that state emergency service will allow us to make better predictions on the consequences of flooding and warn communities in a much faster time frame this Innovative approach extracts the changes in Wireless signals caused by rainfalls and water flows the information is then translated into localized rainfall and flooding data through machine learning unlike traditional sensor networks Network sensing technology utilizes existing mobile mobile networks thereby minimizing the need for additional infrastructure and facilitating rapid deployment across New South Wales and Beyond the University of Technology Sydney stands at the Forefront of network sensing research pioneering groundbreaking advancements in the field since 2017 it's easy to find researchers but it's difficult to find researchers who can translate results into practical real world impacts we chose UTS because they're world leaders in this field and have that ability in 2023 the New South Wales government funded an audacious project called smart flood and storm intelligence through its smart places acceleration program this project is led by the New South Wales State emergency service and conducted by the UTS research team it aims to prove at a fundamental level that the network sensing technology works for environmental sensing and realtime localized flooding can be effectively visualized by a digital twin thanks to the dedication and creativity of our researchers and the great collaboration with sces we have made significant progress already so this new technology has the potential to make all the difference in keeping people's homes and people's lives safe during major flood events tpg Telecom has two motivations first of all we have a business one and secondly we want to make a positive difference in the world we see this as an exciting new technology that will transform our Communications oriented Network into an integrated sensing and Communications network with multi-year funding from tpg Telecom UT's World leading capabilities and the New South Wales government's commitment to transform Frontline Services the tpg UTS Network sensing lab stands to Herald a new era of innovation and collaboration offering hopes for a safer and more resilient future for communities in New South Wales and [Music] Beyond

## In the media

Pioneering network sensing for real-time flood intelligence.

[Read more](https://www.uts.edu.au/news/tech-design/uts-and-tpg-pioneer-network-sensing-real-time-flood-intelligence)

NSW Government unveils innovative flood and storm intelligence project.

[Read more (external link)](https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/nsw-government-unveils-innovative-flood-and-storm-intelligence-project)

New data to help our emergency storm and flood response, and better protect people and properties.

[Read more (external link)](https://www.nsw.gov.au/business-and-economy/smart-places/case-studies/flood-and-storm-intelligence-sensing)

[Read more](https://www.uts.edu.au/research/centres/network-sensing-lab/news)

The TPG-UTS Network Sensing Lab is a partnership between TPG Telecom and the [UTS Global Big Data Technology Centre](https://www.uts.edu.au/research/centres/global-big-data-technologies-centre "UTS Global Big Data Technologies Centre"), with support from the NSW Government State Emergency Services.

## Meet the leadership team

Director

UTS Global Big Data Technologies Centre

[View profile](https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Jay.Guo)

Co-Director

TPG Telecom

[Read more](https://www.uts.edu.au/research/centres/network-sensing-lab/tpg-telecom-partners)

Technical Director

UTS School of Electrical and Data Engineering

[View profile](https://profiles.uts.edu.au/andrew.zhang)

Technical Co-Director

TPG Telecom

[Read more](https://www.uts.edu.au/research/centres/network-sensing-lab/tpg-telecom-partners)

Advisor for Digital Twin

[View profile](https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Wenjing.Jia)

System Architect

[View profile](https://profiles.uts.edu.au/kai.wu)

Engineering Manager

[View profile](https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Shulin.Chen)

## Contact us

We’re located at CB11.08.118, 81 Broadway, Ultimo NSW. Get in touch with us at [tpgnetworksensinglab@uts.edu.au](mailto:tpgnetworksensinglab@uts.edu.au "tpgnetworksensinglab@uts.edu.au") to find out more about the work we do and how to partner with us.

[Email us](mailto:tpgnetworksensinglab@uts.edu.au)