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Humanitarian/
Specialized fields/
Displacement sites and campsCamps that know their hazards before they strike.
Displacement sites are often placed on land nobody else wanted: floodplains, hillsides, hot open plains. Weather, heat and flood sensing, with water tank levels and quality across the site, lets managers move people before a flood, cool shelters before a heatwave and keep water flowing.
Plan a deploymentHow it worksStation Builder- Industry
- Humanitarian
- Measurements
- 4
- Sources cited
- 4
Humanitarian · Displacement sites and camps
Land nobody else wanted
Displacement sites are often placed where nobody else wanted to live: floodplains, unstable hillsides, hot open plains. Minimum standards ask that sites be planned against hazards and that everyone has enough safe water. Knowing the site’s weather, drains and water live lets managers act before people are harmed.
What is measured
Weather, drains and water
A weather station and sensors in representative shelters measure heat and storms. Gauges watch rainfall, drains and the nearest stream. Level sensors read water tanks and flow at tap stands, and water sensors measure chlorine and turbidity where water is treated and handed out.
- Instruments
- Weather station · Shelter heat sensors · Drain and stream gauges · Tank levels · Chlorine and turbidity
The base node
Hazards turned into alerts
The node turns weather into heat stress and storm alerts, warns when drains or the stream rise toward their thresholds, computes water per person from tank levels and the site population, and flags chlorine falling below target at tap stands, so site managers know where to act first.
Radio and links
Across the camp, out by satellite
Points across the site reach a gateway on a mast over a long-range, low-power radio, with no cables to trip over or steal. Most camps are remote, so satellite carries data from the site office, with cellular as a cheaper second path where it reaches.
- Links
- LoRaWAN · Satellite · Public cellular
How it works
From a rising drain to dry ground
A night storm sits over the camp. Rain gauges report intense rainfall and the main drain climbs toward its threshold. Site managers receive the alert, residents’ committees wake the families in the lowest blocks, and they move to the school before water enters their shelters.
From order to operation · Order
Scope with the site plan
The scope reads the site plan, its population, hazards, water system and the agency’s standards and duties. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the point plan, alerts, dashboards for site managers, training for local staff and a price per site and per month, shaped to the length of the operation.
Plan a deploymentFrom order to operation · Survey
Walk the site
Crews walk the site with site managers and residents’ committees: low ground and drainage lines, slopes, water tanks and tap stands, shelter types, the site office for the node and a clear view for the gateway mast and satellite. Findings are mapped and photographed.
From order to operation · Permits
Authorities and residents
The host authority and the camp management agency approve the equipment, residents’ committees are told what is measured and why, and data protection rules are agreed so nothing identifies people. Every approval is kept with the site record. No crew goes to site before its approvals are in place.
From order to operation · Build
Build deployable kits
Kits are built to deploy fast: points preconfigured, gateway, node, satellite terminal and solar power tested together, nodes enrolled with their identities, and everything packed in cases labelled for the site. Sensors for water quality are calibrated before shipping. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together.
Open the Station BuilderFrom order to operation · Install
Deploy in days
Crews and local staff raise the gateway mast, fit weather and level points, install water sensors at treatment and tap stands, set up the node and satellite at the site office, and photograph every point. Local staff learn to check each one.
From order to operation · Commission
Commission against references
Each node proves its identity. Weather is checked with a handheld reference, levels with manual dips, chlorine with field test kits, and alerts are tested to site managers’ phones. Thresholds are agreed with the site’s emergency plan. Acceptance is recorded with the owner before handover.
From order to operation · Operate
Protect people
Site managers see heat, rain, drains, water per person and chlorine live. Flood alerts move families from low ground before water arrives, heat alerts open cooling spaces, and water shortfalls send trucks. Every alert and action is recorded for coordination meetings.
From order to operation · Maintain
Hand over or move on
Local staff clean, check and swap points, sensors are recalibrated against field kits, and software updates arrive remotely. When the operation ends or moves, kits are recovered, refurbished and redeployed, and the record is handed to the authorities. Maintenance history stays with each site for its whole life.
Book field servicesData products
For managers, water teams and donors
Site managers and residents’ committees receive flood and heat alerts; water, sanitation and hygiene teams receive water per person and chlorine; coordination bodies and authorities receive site hazard records; donors receive monthly site reports, each tied to the site, the point and the time.
See the data productsEvidence
Against the minimum standards
Water quantity and quality, shelter and site planning are measured against the humanitarian minimum standards and the agency emergency handbook, drinking water against the international guidelines and weather to the instrument guide. Every reading, alert and action is kept with the site record.
- Drawn against
- The Sphere Handbook · UNHCR Emergency Handbook · Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality · WMO-No. 8
What you get
Deployable connectivity and sensing kits
A cell on wheels with satellite backhaul, mesh telemetry and environment nodes for incident bases and events. Delivered as rental and managed service, for emergency agencies, humanitarian logistics, event operators. Scale: Pre-positioned fleets. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard.
Talk to salesNext step
Plan displacement sites and camps with us
Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for displacement sites and camps. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.
Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio
01The place and its hazards
Where it runs, and what can go wrong.
Operating contextHumanitarian minimum standards set what people in camps must have: enough safe water, shelter that protects from the climate and sites planned against hazards. Agency handbooks set site planning and water guidance, drinking water quality follows international guidelines, and weather is measured to the instrument guide so forecasts and records can be trusted.
Hazards
- Floods and landslides on poorly chosen land
- Extreme heat in tents and temporary shelters
- Water tanks running dry or becoming contaminated
- Storms tearing down shelters
- Fires spreading through dense sites
02What must be measured
What, where, how often, and under which rules.
Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.
| Measurement | Where | Cadence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weather and heat stress | A station at the site and sensors in representative shelters | Every few minutes | 12 |
| Rainfall and drainage water levels | Gauges in the site and drains, and the nearest stream | Every few minutes in storms | 13 |
| Water tank levels and supply | Storage tanks and tap stands | Every few minutes | 2 |
| Free chlorine and turbidity | Treatment points and tap stands | Continuous at treatment, daily at taps | 42 |
03The observation stack
From one base unit to a network.
The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.
- 01
Base unit
A point: a weather station, a level gauge or a water sensor on a low-power radio with its own battery.
Build a station → - 02
Site
A site: points across the camp, a gateway on a mast, a node at the site office, solar power and backhaul.
Plan a site → - 03
Fleet
Every site of an agency or a country operation on one view, with one record of hazards and water.
Managed offers → - 04
Network
Agencies share site conditions with coordination bodies and national authorities through open standards.
The open protocol →
- 01Compact weather station
- 02Water level gauge
- 03Water quality sonde
- 04LPWAN endpoint
- 05LoRaWAN gateway
- 06Micro node (Nano)
- 07LEO flat-panel terminal
- 08Cellular modem/router
- 09Solar array
- 10Telescopic mast
Radio and links
LoRaWAN
Points across the site reach a gateway on a mast over a long-range, low-power link with no cables.
Radio and links
Satellite
Most camps are remote; satellite carries data from the site office.
Radio and links
Public cellular
Sites within coverage use cellular as a cheaper second path.
Edge computeThe node turns weather into heat stress and storm alerts, warns when drains or streams rise toward thresholds, tracks water per person from tank levels and flags chlorine falling below the target at tap stands.
PowerPoints run on their own batteries and small solar panels; the gateway and node share a solar and battery system at the site office.
04How it works
From the instrument to the product.
One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.
Displacement sites and camps: data path
– of 08
01 Instruments Measurement with sensor identity andcalibration 02 Field radio 03 Gateway 04 Node – Wrap in an observation envelope with timequality– Measure quality and uncertainty, attachquality flags– Buffer locally (store-and-forward when thelink drops) 05 Backhaul Commit with transactional outbox andpublish, delivered at least once 06 Site Consumer inbox deduplicates and applieseach record once into governed data 07 Data store Governed product through API, map orexport, correction-aware 08 Products OGC SensorThings APICAP 1.2HXL 09 Power and structure Supplies 12 V DC, 48 V DC to the fieldequipment 01 Compact weather station SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 02 Water level gauge SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 03 Water quality sonde SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 04 LPWAN endpoint Analogue I/O · SDI-12 · RS-485 05 LoRaWAN gateway Ethernet · RF · GNSS antenna 06 Micro node (Nano) Ethernet · USB · Analogue I/O ·RS-485 · CAN 07 LEO flat-panel terminal Ethernet 08 Cellular modem/router Ethernet · USB · RS-232 Site MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B Governed data store Versioned, correction-aware Flood and heat alerts Water per person and chlorine Site hazard records Monthly site reports 09 Solar array RS-485 10 Telescopic mast SDI-12 SDI-12 SDI-12 LoRaWAN Ethernet Ethernet Ethernet Satellite IP LTE/NR| Item | Equipment | Data ports | Protocols | Power in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Compact weather stationAll-in-one or compact station for temperature, humidity, pressure, wind and rain at a site. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC |
| 02 | Water level gaugeRadar, pressure or float gauge for river, lake, reservoir or tide level. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC |
| 03 | Water quality sondeMulti-parameter sonde for temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC |
| 04 | LPWAN endpointBattery-powered endpoint on LoRaWAN, NB-IoT or LTE-M that carries one or more sensors. | Analogue I/OSDI-12RS-485 | LoRaWAN, OMA LwM2M, CoAP | Internal battery, Energy harvesting |
| 05 | LoRaWAN gatewayMulti-channel LoRaWAN gateway that forwards uplinks to a network server and schedules downlinks within duty limits. | EthernetRFGNSS antenna | LoRaWAN, MQTT 5 | PoE, 12 V DC |
| 06 | Micro node (Nano)Single-board or module-class node for sensor sites, gateways and low-power deployments. | EthernetUSBAnalogue I/ORS-485CAN | MQTT 5, OMA LwM2M, CoAP | PoE, 12 V DC, USB PD |
| 07 | LEO flat-panel terminalElectronically steered flat-panel user terminal for low-Earth-orbit broadband constellations. | Ethernet | — | PoE, 48 V DC, AC mains |
| 08 | Cellular modem/routerLTE or NR modem or router that uses a public carrier or private network as backhaul. | EthernetUSBRS-232 | 3GPP E-UTRA air interface, 3GPP NR air interface, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE |
| 09 | Solar arrayPV modules with charge controller sized to the site’s load and climate. | RS-485 | Modbus | — |
| 10 | Telescopic mastPneumatic or winch telescopic mast on a trailer, vehicle or base. | — | — | — |
How it scales
01 Instruments Arbitrary qualified sensors and instruments whosemeasurements are ingested with calibration, units,geometry, time, custody and uncertainty. ×n 02 Node The minimum useful deployable unit: server, ruggedappliance, radio node, sensor gateway, satelliteterminal, AI, scientific, vehicle or virtual node. Node Node agent 03 Site The minimum independently operable localgovernance and failure domain: one or more nodesplus local network, identity, policy, evidence,storage, products and operator surfaces.SITE
Node Node Node ×n 04 Cluster An optional scale or specialisation domain forscheduling, shared storage, accelerators or datalocality.CLUSTER
×n 05 Fleet Coordinates plans, acknowledgements,convergence evidence, update campaigns andcorrection propagation across nodes and sites.FLEET
Fleet controller ×n 06 Federation An exchange of products, capabilities, events orwork across approved, independently administeredtrust domains, using explicit trust, policy,data-locality, version and correction contracts.TRUST DOMAIN
TRUST DOMAIN
TRUST DOMAIN
×n Verifier Applications Data in the field Telemetry Control Data upstream Control Data upstream Control Exchange Evidence Events Exchange- Data in the field
- MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B; connectors for LoRaWAN, OPC UA and instrument buses.
- Telemetry
- OpenTelemetry OTLP.
- Control
- TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication; protobuf messages over gRPC or HTTP/2.
- Data upstream
- At-least-once publication with repeat-safe keys over the control channel or NATS JetStream; QUIC MAY be used on lossy links.
- Evidence
- DSSE-signed in-toto statements; SLSA provenance; SCITT transparency receipts.
- Events
- Event envelopes mapped to CloudEvents 1.0; channels described in AsyncAPI 3.
- Exchange
- OpenAPI 3.1; the OGC API family; SensorThings; STAC; WIS 2.0.
05From order to operation
Every step, from the first call to a running site.
The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.
- 01 Order
Scope with the site plan
The scope reads the site plan, its population, hazards, water system and the agency’s standards and duties. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the point plan, alerts, dashboards for site managers, training for local staff and a price per site and per month, shaped to the length of the operation. 2
- 02 Survey
Walk the site
Crews walk the site with site managers and residents’ committees: low ground and drainage lines, slopes, water tanks and tap stands, shelter types, the site office for the node and a clear view for the gateway mast and satellite. Findings are mapped and photographed. 3
- 03 Permits
Authorities and residents
The host authority and the camp management agency approve the equipment, residents’ committees are told what is measured and why, and data protection rules are agreed so nothing identifies people. Every approval is kept with the site record. No crew goes to site before its approvals are in place.
- 04 Build
Build deployable kits
Kits are built to deploy fast: points preconfigured, gateway, node, satellite terminal and solar power tested together, nodes enrolled with their identities, and everything packed in cases labelled for the site. Sensors for water quality are calibrated before shipping. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together.
- 05 Install
Deploy in days
Crews and local staff raise the gateway mast, fit weather and level points, install water sensors at treatment and tap stands, set up the node and satellite at the site office, and photograph every point. Local staff learn to check each one.
- 06 Commission
Commission against references
Each node proves its identity. Weather is checked with a handheld reference, levels with manual dips, chlorine with field test kits, and alerts are tested to site managers’ phones. Thresholds are agreed with the site’s emergency plan. Acceptance is recorded with the owner before handover. 4
- 07 Operate
Protect people
Site managers see heat, rain, drains, water per person and chlorine live. Flood alerts move families from low ground before water arrives, heat alerts open cooling spaces, and water shortfalls send trucks. Every alert and action is recorded for coordination meetings. 2
- 08 Maintain
Hand over or move on
Local staff clean, check and swap points, sensors are recalibrated against field kits, and software updates arrive remotely. When the operation ends or moves, kits are recovered, refurbished and redeployed, and the record is handed to the authorities. Maintenance history stays with each site for its whole life.
06Data products and integration
What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.
Data products
- Flood and heat alertsSite managers and residents’ committees
- Water per person and chlorineWater, sanitation and hygiene teams
- Site hazard recordsCoordination bodies and authorities
- Monthly site reportsDonors
Integration
- Site managementAlerts and dashboards reach the site management agency’s tools.
- CoordinationSite conditions are shared with the coordination system in its formats.
- Water truckingTank levels raise trucking requests before shortages.
Exchanged through OGC SensorThings API, CAP 1.2, HXL.
07Questions buyers ask
Before you scope it.
How fast can it deploy?
Kits are built to be running within days of arrival.
Does it identify people?
No. It measures the site, not people.
Can local staff run it?
Yes. They are trained during deployment.
What happens when the camp closes?
Kits are recovered and redeployed, and records are handed over.
08Resources
The sources behind this page.
Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.
- 1WMO-No. 8: Guide to Instruments and Methods of ObservationWorld Meteorological Organization
- 2The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian ResponseSphere Association · 2018
- 3UNHCR Emergency HandbookOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- 4Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, fourth edition incorporating the first and second addendaWorld Health Organization · 2022
09Related
Use cases and solutions.
Use caseDisplacement-site connectivity and sensing
Point-to-multipoint wireless with satellite backhaul, solar power and community Wi-Fi, plus water and flood sensing with explicit protection safeguards.The full use case →SolutionDeployable connectivity and sensing kits
A cell on wheels with satellite backhaul, mesh telemetry and environment nodes for incident bases and events.Solutions for humanitarian →SolutionSensing as a Service
Observation networks designed, installed, operated and maintained for a monthly fee: weather, hydromet, air, seismic and environmental stations, with data delivered under a licence.Solutions for humanitarian →SolutionSatellite and non-terrestrial backhaul
LEO and GEO backhaul, 3GPP non-terrestrial integration and direct-to-device fallbacks for remote sites.Solutions for humanitarian →10Humanitarian: specialized fields
Other fields of this industry.
Specialized fieldField connectivity for responders
Satellite and cellular connectivity, Wi-Fi and mesh for field offices, warehouses and responders, deployed in days, secured and run for the length of the operation.The full field →Specialized fieldDrought and food security monitoring
Rain, soil moisture and water point stations where food insecurity follows drought, feeding the indicators that trigger early action before harvests fail.The full field →Specialized fieldVaccine and medicine cold chain
Temperature, power and door monitoring for vaccine refrigerators at clinics and depots, so health workers see a failing fridge before vaccines are spoiled.The full field →Bring us the site.
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