According to the researchers, while the study was purely curiosity-driven, the results could be used to develop more efficient ways to measure rainfall or to develop a convincing synthesised sound for water droplets in gaming or movies, which has not yet been achieved.
I worked for a company developing printed integrated circuits using semiconductor inks laid down with inkjet printers. I imagine this research could be useful for all inkjet printers to improve lay-down and print quality.
I'm buying a "smart" sprinkler controller with a local rain sensor. The current sensor technology is rather crude -- a stack of compressed cloth washers gets wet and then dries out after the rain ends. Or a self-tipping cup empties itself. The first doesn't tell you how much rain has fallen and can shut your sprinklers off too soon. The latter measures actual rainfall, but is subject to debris plugging it up and needs to be cleaned. This could be promising for reliable residential rainfall sensors that measure the amount of rain falling.