Project:
IoT-Enabled Environmental Monitoring and Research
Elevator Pitch:
This project will demonstrate how Helium can IoT-enable environmental monitoring to make research more efficient, scalable, and cost effective
Total Fiat Ask:
Grant request of $53,474 to $74,056 depending on project findings of suitable sensors.
Key Applicant:
Steven C. Ditto, BE Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University will be the project leader. Relevant work experience includes microwave and cellular network design, analytics and AI product development, and AWS cloud certification. The project leader is working in collaboration with environmental researchers at the Wild Basin Research Center which is affiliated with St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX. The project leader will arrange additional collaborations with other university, government, and environmental stakeholders.
Project Details:
Cities around the world are expanding into the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). This growth can negatively impact air, water, and soil quality while increasing the potential for wildfire. Environmental researchers face several major challenges:
The accelerating pace of change is outstripping the ability to track, monitor, and understand ecosystems
The current state of ecological research is a manually intensive, field-based enterprise relying on trained observers
The data collection process is time-consuming and expensive thus limiting the resolution and extent of information
To help address these issues, this project will develop, test, and document a "research station in a box" solution consisting of sensors, gateways, dashboards, and integrations. The solution will be comprised of several components:
Sensors: Identify, test, and deploy LoRaWAN sensors which are suitable for environmental monitoring of air, water, and soil conditions
Gateways: Identify, test, and deploy LoRaWAN gateways and ancillary equipment which can be implemented and operated on or off grid as required by the research geography
Dashboard: Refine prototype to make more functional, scalable, secure, and multi-tenant for replication to additional projects
Integration: Test and refine data flow from sensors to dashboards to ensure the correct mapping and frequency of data payloads
Usability: Particular attention will be paid to creating a user experience that removes friction and streamlines the process so researchers can shift time and funding from building infrastructure to actual research
Project Phases:
The project will follow a pragmatic path of prototyping, testing, deploying, and subsequent expansion of the end-to-end system. A working prototype has been developed using a Helium RAK gateway, SEEED environmental sensors, the Helium console, and integration to a Tago.io dashboard. See Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Working Prototype
With grant funding, we will conduct further bench and controlled outdoor testing of a larger set of sensors to determine suitability for environmental research use cases. Sensor types will include air temperature and relative humidity, soil temperature and water content, barometric pressure, CO2 and other gases, and particulates. In addition, several location tracking devices will be tested to support the ability to track people and assets.
Once testing is complete, the network will be deployed in or around the Balcones Canyonlands surrounding Austin, TX. The topography of the area is a challenging RF environment with 800-foot hills descending to forested creek beds. See Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Computer Simulation of LoRaWAN RF Signal Using 30-Foot Antenna
Based on preliminary planning efforts, the initial deployment will include 15 sensor sites configured as a grid and an additional 50 sensor sites on the perimeter. It is anticipated six gateways will be placed at points in or around the canyonlands to ensure adequate interior and perimeter coverage. Despite the dense concentration of Helium gateways in Austin, the gateways for this project will likely be placed in empty resolution 8 hexagons.
Once proof-of-concept is achieved, expansion of additional sensors and gateways to support even more hyper-local data collection is likely. The Balcones Canyonlands is one of the nation’s largest urban preserves covering more than 32,000 acres (about 50 square miles) and presents an opportunity to extend Helium coverage into other empty resolution 8 hexagons.
The project will be developed with an eye toward expansion outside the Austin area by leveraging the system, sensors, dashboards, etc. to other WUI geographies. A key deliverable of the project will be a reference architecture, design specifications, and documentation adequate to enable researchers to build their own end-to-end system. This information will be made "open source" and available to the Helium community to facilitate knowledge sharing of "what works".
Project Organization:
The project leader will form a not-for-profit legal entity to own the system and be responsible for the cost and effort to procure, test, implement, and maintain the gateways, sensors, and software. The DeWi grant will help offset some of the initial capital costs. Helium proof-of-coverage payments will help offset ongoing operating costs, project insurance coverage, and expansion.
The legal entity owning the system will manage the data and be responsible for data aggregation and sharing with other researchers. The system will be “open” to any researcher interested in using it for research and education purposes. It is anticipated each researcher will own their data and have access to data developed by other researchers as part of a collaboration agreement covering data ownership, aggregation, sharing, and research attribution.
Milestone | Description | Deliverable | Cost (USD)*
-- | -- | -- | --
Aim 1 Q4 2021 | Test LoRaWAN gateways and sensors for research and fire detection use cases in controlled and field settings | LoRaWAN sensor performance report | $18,000
Aim 2a Q1 2022 | Expand gateways and sensors to test real world performance and support for research and fire detection use cases | Field network deployed | $24,000
Aim 2b Q3 2022 | Complete documentation following successful activation and operation of Light Hotspots on Mainnet | Implementation documentation | $1,500
Aim 3 Q3 2022 | Provide dashboards and data downloads for researchers, educators, and the public | Dashboards and data utilities deployed | $17,000
Project: IoT-Enabled Environmental Monitoring and Research
Elevator Pitch: This project will demonstrate how Helium can IoT-enable environmental monitoring to make research more efficient, scalable, and cost effective
Total Fiat Ask: Grant request of $53,474 to $74,056 depending on project findings of suitable sensors.
Key Applicant: Steven C. Ditto, BE Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University will be the project leader. Relevant work experience includes microwave and cellular network design, analytics and AI product development, and AWS cloud certification. The project leader is working in collaboration with environmental researchers at the Wild Basin Research Center which is affiliated with St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX. The project leader will arrange additional collaborations with other university, government, and environmental stakeholders.
Contact Information: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenditto/ Email: steve@dittoandassociates.com
Project Details: Cities around the world are expanding into the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). This growth can negatively impact air, water, and soil quality while increasing the potential for wildfire. Environmental researchers face several major challenges:
To help address these issues, this project will develop, test, and document a "research station in a box" solution consisting of sensors, gateways, dashboards, and integrations. The solution will be comprised of several components:
Figure 1: Working Prototype
With grant funding, we will conduct further bench and controlled outdoor testing of a larger set of sensors to determine suitability for environmental research use cases. Sensor types will include air temperature and relative humidity, soil temperature and water content, barometric pressure, CO2 and other gases, and particulates. In addition, several location tracking devices will be tested to support the ability to track people and assets.
Once testing is complete, the network will be deployed in or around the Balcones Canyonlands surrounding Austin, TX. The topography of the area is a challenging RF environment with 800-foot hills descending to forested creek beds. See Figure 2 below. Figure 2: Computer Simulation of LoRaWAN RF Signal Using 30-Foot Antenna
Based on preliminary planning efforts, the initial deployment will include 15 sensor sites configured as a grid and an additional 50 sensor sites on the perimeter. It is anticipated six gateways will be placed at points in or around the canyonlands to ensure adequate interior and perimeter coverage. Despite the dense concentration of Helium gateways in Austin, the gateways for this project will likely be placed in empty resolution 8 hexagons.
Once proof-of-concept is achieved, expansion of additional sensors and gateways to support even more hyper-local data collection is likely. The Balcones Canyonlands is one of the nation’s largest urban preserves covering more than 32,000 acres (about 50 square miles) and presents an opportunity to extend Helium coverage into other empty resolution 8 hexagons.
The project will be developed with an eye toward expansion outside the Austin area by leveraging the system, sensors, dashboards, etc. to other WUI geographies. A key deliverable of the project will be a reference architecture, design specifications, and documentation adequate to enable researchers to build their own end-to-end system. This information will be made "open source" and available to the Helium community to facilitate knowledge sharing of "what works".
Project Organization: The project leader will form a not-for-profit legal entity to own the system and be responsible for the cost and effort to procure, test, implement, and maintain the gateways, sensors, and software. The DeWi grant will help offset some of the initial capital costs. Helium proof-of-coverage payments will help offset ongoing operating costs, project insurance coverage, and expansion.
The legal entity owning the system will manage the data and be responsible for data aggregation and sharing with other researchers. The system will be “open” to any researcher interested in using it for research and education purposes. It is anticipated each researcher will own their data and have access to data developed by other researchers as part of a collaboration agreement covering data ownership, aggregation, sharing, and research attribution.
Project Roadmap: <html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:x="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
Milestone | Description | Deliverable | Cost (USD)* -- | -- | -- | -- Aim 1 Q4 2021 | Test LoRaWAN gateways and sensors for research and fire detection use cases in controlled and field settings | LoRaWAN sensor performance report | $18,000 Aim 2a Q1 2022 | Expand gateways and sensors to test real world performance and support for research and fire detection use cases | Field network deployed | $24,000 Aim 2b Q3 2022 | Complete documentation following successful activation and operation of Light Hotspots on Mainnet | Implementation documentation | $1,500 Aim 3 Q3 2022 | Provide dashboards and data downloads for researchers, educators, and the public | Dashboards and data utilities deployed | $17,000