Developed a Sensor Box system that is used
to monitor water quality in the
Bioluminescent Lagoon at Las Cabezas de San Juan in Fajardo,PR.
I created a
small-scaled low-cost portable sensor platform that is geo-located. The Platform is based on
a Raspberry Pi (micro-computer) and low-cost probes that is completely portable and
waterproof. The system can handle up to four probes (Ex: pH, DO, Temperature and
Conductivity) that are easily accessible and interchangeable. Also, it can easily be adapted
to kayaks, small boats, or any other water craft to facilitate the data gathering process.
Connectivity to the platform includes standard Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. To develop its software,
we are using object-oriented technologies to easily maintain and adapt to new probes.
Local Conservation Agencies and NGO don’t
possess the necessary tools or equipment to constantly monitor water bodies. Available
commercial sensor platforms can be expensive to buy, operate and maintain.
When the Raspberry Pi boots up the main
script is set to run automatically, the first parameter gathered is time (GPS), Moreover the
main script spawns’ individual processes that handles each probe. Also, the probes can
gather data at a customized sampling frequency, this data is stored in MySQL Database.
For data retrieval you simply connect to the access point provided and download the csv
files.
Software: Python, MySQL
Hardware: AS
Probes, Tentacle T3, Raspberry Pi 3 B+, 16 GB MicroSD Card, Batteries (1 set), GPS: GobalSat
BU-353 S4