Protecting Volcanic Region with RipEX

How do you maintain real-time data transfer from remote volcanic peaks rising 25 cm per year—with no power grid, no roads, and snowdrifts over four meters deep? For Chile’s Hydraulic Works Management team, the answer lies in RipEX.

Laguna del Maule, a glacial volcanic lake straddling the Chile-Argentina border at 2,165 m altitude, is one of the world’s fastest-uplifting volcanic regions. From 2016 to 2020, the landscape rose by 1.8 meters—without any eruption—highlighting intense tectonic activity and the urgent need for precise, continuous geotechnical monitoring.

But this mission came with extreme constraints:

• No access to power or infrastructure
• Monitoring stations reachable only by helicopter
• Complex terrain requiring long-range communication
• Harsh weather, including snow accumulations of 4.5 meters

The stakes were high: failure in data transmission could mean missing early warning signs of potential geological events.

After rigorous field trials, the Hydraulic Works Management team selected RACOM’s RipEX2 radio modems for their performance, durability, and energy efficiency.

Key design elements of the deployed solution:

• Six-stage radio repeater network using RACOM’s Flexible protocol to extend signal across rugged mountainous terrain
• Solar-powered modems with RipEX2’s advanced Sleep mode, dramatically reducing power draw and extending battery life
• LTE fallback connectivity: In surprising pockets with cellular coverage, RipEX2 modems equipped with mPCIe modules switch to LTE for added redundancy
• Fully autonomous operation under extreme conditions, requiring minimal maintenance

The network was designed and deployed in collaboration with RACOM’s Chilean partner MT Ingeniería y Construcción, ensuring local expertise and rapid on-ground support.

The deployed system has delivered:

• Reliable, continuous data transmission from one of South America’s most inaccessible regions
• High fault tolerance via dual radio and LTE communication paths
• Significant operational efficiency, reducing maintenance trips to remote sites
• Power autonomy, operating year-round on solar energy—even under extreme snow load

With RipEX at the core, Chile’s Hydraulic Works Management team now maintains 24/7 insight into one of the planet’s most geologically dynamic areas. This case stands as a striking example of how RACOM solutions enable science, safety, and resilience—even on top of the world.