Project Goals
Develop a low cost (less than $500) wide-spectrum environment sensor with the following capabilities:
- Light - how sunny is it?
- IR, visible, UV?
- intensity?
- how much is reflected from the ground?
- Clouds - is it cloudy?
- what sort of clouds?
- cloud base height?
- velocity of clouds?
- affect on solar and wind power?
- Wind - in immediate vicinity of sensor
- direction and speed?
- wind chill factor?
- Gas - what gasses are in the air?
- determine the type and volume of each gas, both in immediate vicinity and also in upper atmosphere
- Moisture - how much moisture in the air?
- immediate vicinity and also upper atmosphere
- is it foggy/misty?
- what is the dew point?
- Precipitation - rain, sleet, snow, hail
- classify hydrometeor type, size, velocity and distribution
- Lightning - is there an electric storm?
- storm size and severity
- storm direction and distance
- ideally determine if it's IC or CC
- Fire - are there any fires in visual range of sensor?
- optical sensor to detect flames for early visual warning
- gas and/or particulate sensor would detect smoke
- Particulate - what size of particles are floating in the air?
- PM2.5, PM10
- ideally classify common particulate (eg. pollen)
- Temperature - how hot or cold is it?
- how much heat from the sun?
- how much heat from the ground?
- Pressure - what is the air pressure?
- determine height above sea level
- Earthquakes - is the ground shaking?
- 3-axis seizmometer
- Sound - how noisy is it?
- which direction?
- which frequency bands?
- how much subsonic and ultrasonic noise is there?
- Radiation - safe or dangerous?
- alpha, beta and gamma ionising radiation?
- x-rays?
- muons? (cosmic radiation)
- Location - where is the sensor?
- geo co-ordinates?
- altitude?
- orientation?
- to be continued