Wireless, Battery-Powered Node for ValpoSensorNet
Muhammad Naveed · ValpoScholar (Valparaiso University) · 2019
The research project was to engineer a Sensor Node that could collect readings of temperature, humidity, time of measurement and battery voltage. The challenge was to make it power efficient as it must run on AA batteries. Since, it was a network of Sensor Node that has to be deployed all around campus therefore it was must for the battery to last at least 9 months before replacement otherwise the very purpose of power efficient would be of no use. Research involved both hardware and software integration as it included programming, designing circuit board and assembling various components together. I also setup MQTT server to receive data packets collected via Sensor Node. The packets stored in database could be used for a graphical representation of data for further analysis. Analysis could be done such as generating warning message at a specific temperature. The Sensor Node was programmed in a such a way that even user could communicate with it to change its mode of operation which has many advantages. The size of the device was also considered, and it was made as small as possible to make the device portable and robust. The Sensor Node is not just restricted to measure temperature and humidity but could also be integrated to measure other parameters such as proximity, light intensity etc. Future research includes to design custom circuit boards, purchase database and develop a prototype with proper casing like a box to make it look more appealing.