Parametric Flood Cover Using SAR Grid-Based Impact Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flood detection and risk mitigation systems are inadequate for mapping and predicting nuisance flooding, particularly in complex urban environments, and lack reliable automated systems for assessing and pricing flood risks, leading to inefficiencies in risk transfer and insurance coverage.
Innovation Solution
An automated system using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and drones to measure flood extent and impact, generating dynamic parametric covers based on grid cells, with adaptive risk-transfer structures and AI/ML for precise forecasting and payment triggering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If traditional flood insurance models are used, then policy administration is simplified, but customers cannot receive real-time information about flood risk changes or receive dynamic adjustments to coverage based on actual flood conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual flood risk assessment processes with an automated optical measurement system. Sensors continuously measure floodwater depth and characteristics, while image processing algorithms automatically analyze flood extent and risk parameters, eliminating the need for manual surveyors and simplifying policy administration while enabling real-time dynamic adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by automatically monitoring flood conditions and dynamically adjusting coverage without requiring customer intervention. The automated optical system continuously collects data, processes information, and updates policies based on actual flood conditions, allowing the system to serve itself and customers simultaneously.
2Measurement precision
If manual flood risk assessment methods are used, then system complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and real-time monitoring capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual measurement methods with automated optical sensors and image processing systems. These sensors provide precise, real-time measurements of floodwater depth, extent, and characteristics, significantly improving measurement precision while the automation handles the complexity of data collection and processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces optical sensors and image processing algorithms as intermediaries between the physical flood conditions and the risk assessment process. These intermediaries automatically translate physical measurements into risk parameters, enabling precise real-time monitoring without requiring direct human intervention in the measurement process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If static flood coverage policies are used, then policy administration is simpler, but adaptability to changing flood conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic flood coverage policies that automatically adjust based on real-time flood conditions. The system continuously monitors floodwater depth, extent, and characteristics using optical sensors, and dynamically updates coverage parameters to match actual risk conditions, enabling the policy to adapt rather than remain static.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where automated optical measurements of flood conditions continuously feed back into the policy administration system. This feedback mechanism enables real-time adjustments to coverage based on actual flood conditions, ensuring the policy remains adaptive and responsive to changing environmental parameters.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables real-time, precise flood mapping and risk assessment, facilitating efficient risk transfer and insurance coverage by dynamically adjusting to flood severity and location, reducing computational intensity and improving resilience to flood events.
Implementation Method 1
an optical sensor to measure floodwater depth and other flood-related characteristics
Implementation Method 2
The system may then process the image data to determine an extent of the flood and/or other flood-related parameters
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to automated method (1) for providing a dynamic parametric cover to an individual in case of an occurrence of a flood event by using an adaptive risk-transfer structure based on physical flood event measurements. Using a predefined data structure, a geographic or topographic area to be covered is determined. Equally spaced network points are generated over said geographic and/or topographic area providing a meshed network of network points having a definable mesh size and covering the whole geographic and/or topographic area. After an occurrence of a flood event, for an affected area of said geographic and/or topographic area the total number of network points within the affected area is aggregated and the affected area of said geographic and/or topographic area is measured based on measuring a flooding at each network point of the meshed network within the affected area based on the flood map, wherein network points measured as flooded are contributing to the measured affected area while network points measured as not flooded are not contributing to the measured affected area.