Using technology to develop simple solutions in rural communities - in collaboration with MakersXchange
To help solve rural problems using new technologies and innovation design.
To face rural problems: emigration of young generations, rural exodus, digital divide.
To share solutions with other rural communities who can then implement them.
In Anceu (Galicia), there is no easy way to detect if there is a leak or excessive water usage. Someone has to check each counter manually. If a leak happens, weeks can happen before it is detected, and this can lead to water shortage in the summer.
With rapid prototyping technologies (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc.) we are developing a solution to frequently send water measurement for each counter, in real time, to a cloud server. This will lead to a web page where water consumption can be checked, and leaks can be found in hours/days, not weeks/months.
Here is the steps we took during the project's week (2nd-8th of August 2021)
With this dashboard we can monitor water usage for each counter, over time. This makes it easy to detect any anomaly, for example when there is a spike in the plot. This spike will also trigger a notification for us to know when we need to take some action.
Every time a photo is taken, it is sent to the cloud server. Once in the cloud, we can check each photo and verify that the water measurement is correct. Once validated, the data will be displayed in the global dashboard.
For this prototype we use an ESP32Cam board, which is an Arduino-like device with integrated camera and Wi-Fi. The ESP32Cam will be plugged on top of a water counter. Every day it will wake up, take a picture, and send it to the cloud server.
For this prototype we use a Raspberry Pi Zero W board, with the Raspberry Pi Camera v1.3. This solution is similar to the first one, but with better image quality.
For this prototype we use an ESP32 board (Arduino-like device with integrated Wi-Fi) and a water flow counter. The ESP32 will frequently measure water flow and send it to the cloud server, which will then be able to computer water consumption.
On top of the cloud server, web dashboard, and hardware prototypes, we have created a GitHub repository with
all the code files, documentation, and future improvements for the project.
GitHub link.
Brainstorming with the coliving community