Image Sensors for Wave Monitoring in Shore Protection: Characterization through a Machine Learning Algorithm

Waves propagating on the water surface can be considered as propagating in a dispersivemedium, where gravity and surface tension at the air-water interface act as restoring forces. Thevelocity at which energy is transported in water waves is defined by the group velocity. The paperreports the use of video-camera observations to study the impact of water waves on an urban shore.The video-monitoring system consists of two separate cameras equipped with progressive RGBCMOS sensors that allow 1080p HDTV video recording. The sensing system delivers video signalsthat are processed by a machine learning technique. The scope of the research is to identify featuresof water waves that cannot be normally observed. First, a conventional modelling was performedusing data delivered by image sensors together with additional data such as temperature, and windspeed, measured with dedicated sensors. Stealth waves are detected, as are the inverting phenomenaencompassed in waves. This latter phenomenon can be detected only through machine learning.This double approach allows us to prevent extreme events that can take place in offshore and onshoreareas.