Air Quality Monitoring and Bushfire Early Warning System with LoRaWAN
Thingy:AQ is a real-time Air Quality Monitoring and Bushfire Smoke Detection Logging, Telemetry and Alerting system. Originally developed to provide information to first responders and firefighters combating Bushfires, the system has been expanded to be a lightweight and easily deployable air pollution monitoring solution that can be installed permanently or quickly during bushfires or other air quality events.
At the heart of the Thingy:AQ Air Quality monitoring is the Sensor Node that performs the sampling of the sensors, signal processing, logging and telemetry of the data. There are two variants of the Sensor Node, the Thingy:AQ with a comprehensive suite of gas and particulate sensors and Thingy:AQ Lite which has a subset of the same sensors with the subset being sufficient for deriving Air Quality Index and Bushfire Early Smoke detection. Other than that, the two systems are functionally the same.
Thingy AQ: Deployed for Air Quality and Bushfire Smoke Detection Applications
Thingy:AQ System Components:
The following diagram shows a typical Thingy:AQ Air Quality System deployment scenario.
The Thingy:AQ Air Quality Monitoring System Overview
The following diagram shows a typical Air Quality System Deployment. Key elements of the system include:
- Sensor Nodes: sampling the sensors, logging the data locally and optionally, transmitting the data in messages via LoRa radios.
- LoRaWAN Gateways: Receives data messages from multiple, geographically dispersed, Sensors Nodes forwarding the messages via the internet via Ethernet to the LoRaWAN Network Server.
- LoRaWAN Network Server: Receives the Sensor Node data messages from one or more gateways, discards duplicate messages, and makes the data available to third party data platforms.
- Third Party platforms: Stores the Sensor Node data into databases, performs optional additional data processing including aggregating data from other data sources, provides alerting, and makes the data available for presentations tools.
- Presentation Tools: Provides a visual representation of combined data from multiple data sources.
The Thingy:AQ Air Quality Monitoring and Bushfire Early Warning System also supports the integration with an optional Bushfire Alert Panel. The alert panel receives that aggregated data from the Third Party Platform via the internet as shown in the following diagram:
The Thingy:AQ Air Quality Monitoring and Bushfire Early Warning System Overview
The Thingy:AQ Sensor Node is the both a standalone Air Quality Monitoring and Logging System as well an in integral part of the Distributed Air Quality and Bushfire Early Warning System. The Sensor Node contains a self-contained gas sensor subsystem containing sensors for gases, particulates, temperature, humidity and other parameter. The Sensor Node samples the sensors, filters the sampled data, performs additional processing to derive Air Quality Index and to detect possible Bushfire Smoke events. Data is subsequently logged to a microSD card, output via USB or serial interface and, where applicable, transmitted via Radio.
LORAWAN GATEWAY
Bushfires typically occur in areas that lack communications infrastructure. There is little point in implementing a real-time monitoring and telemetry system solely dependent on a service provider’s GSM network if the service provider cannot guarantee ubiquitous coverage of the target area. The approach taken with Thingy:AQ is the use of LoRa (Long Range) telemetry from the Sensor Nodes using LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) protocols. LoRa is renowned for Long Range, Low Cost and Low Power consumption characteristics. In lieu of LoRa communications, LTE, WiFi and Bluetooth communications options are available.
LoRa uses a spread spectrum modulation encoding data into chirps allowing signals to be recovered in extremely noisy RF environments. In remote areas, free from external noise sources, LoRa achieves line of sight distances with recorded cases of distances achieved of more than 200Km. Realistically obstacles in the path will seriously attenuate and/or completely absorb / reflect the signal. More typical distances achieved are 15km in the rural areas and 5km in urban regions. Significantly greater distances can be achieved by deploying strategically positioning antennas, antenna masts and LoRaWAN gateways.
LORAWAN NETWORK SERVER
Messages from the Sensor Nodes are received by the LoRaWAN Network Server. Duplicate messages are discarded and the data contained in the messages are made available to third party platforms for subsequent processing. These third party platforms are typically hosted in the cloud but can also be hosted on a customers own physical or virtualized compute infrastructure.
DATA PROCESSING PLATFORMS & PRESENTATION TOOLS
Sensor Data from the LoRaWAN network Server is passed to the backend application server for subsequent data processing, integration of data from other data sources, data storage in one or more databases and made available to a graphical presentation tool to render the data in real time graphs, gauges and indications etc. The backend application server, based on analysis of the data, can also generate real-time alerts, typically as email and SMS messages. The backend server, where required, can also make data available for the end user to consume via alterative interfaces.
The backend server is typically hosted in the cloud. It is also possible to ‘White Label’ and customize the service with a customers own widgets and logos. The back-end application server can also be hosted on a customer’s own physical or virtual infrastructure or both simultaneously. The customer can select the appropriate platform or platforms depending on the level of service required and their requirement for customized processing, alerting and presentation.
The Thingy:AQ Bushfire Alert Panel has been developed specifically for Australia. The Panel provides visual and audible alert indication of Bushfire Alerts. The panel receives Sensor Node Smoke Alerts via the backend application. The backend also processes real-time bushfire specific updates Department of Fire and Emergency Services data feeds and forwards the DFES Bushfire status levels to the panel. The panel displays DFES alerts utilizing seven RGB LEDs that change colour based on the specific alert status. Four of these LEDs are used to display the Bushfire Warning Level, One LED is used for Total Fire Ban indication and one LED is used for Bushfire Danger Rating.
In the event a Smoke Alert is present or the Bushfire Warning Level Status moves from no Emergency warning present to Emergency Warning present, the panel will emit an audible warning from the panel directly and via an optional external siren. The panel will also display status on an OLED display and via LEDs on the Panel.
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