Utilizing Lorawan For Water Quality Monitoring

Introduction

Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have made it possible to monitor various aspects of our surroundings, making our lives more comfortable, efficient, and environmentally friendly. One such application of IoT technology is the use of Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) for monitoring water quality. In this blog post, we will briefly discuss the use of LoRaWAN for the collection of water quality data and provide an example of a working code snippet to send sensor data to the cloud.

What is LoRaWAN?

LoRaWAN is a low-power, wide-area networking protocol designed to wirelessly connect battery-operated devices to the internet. This technology uses a unique modulation technique called LoRa to achieve long-range communication while maintaining low power consumption. It is ideal for monitoring water quality due to its ability to transmit data in real-time and its relatively easy implementation.

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring water quality is of utmost importance, especially for conservation efforts and ensuring public safety. For this purpose, IoT sensors can be deployed to monitor parameters such as temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, and dissolved oxygen. By utilizing LoRaWAN, we can collect this data and send it to a central server for analysis, allowing for real-time updates and efficient decision-making.

Example Code Snippet

Here's a simple example of a code snippet written in the Arduino language to measure water temperature using a DS18B20 sensor and transmit the data over LoRaWAN.

#include <lmic.h>
#include <hal/hal.h>
#include <OneWire.h>
#include <DallasTemperature.h>

// LoRaWAN NwkSKey, AppSKey and AppKey
static const PROGMEM u1_t NWKSKEY[16] = { /*your network session key*/ };
static const u1_t PROGMEM APPSKEY[16] = { /*your application session key*/ };
static const u4_t DEVADDR = /*your device address*/;

// DS18B20 sensor
#define ONE_WIRE_BUS 7
OneWire oneWire(ONE_WIRE_BUS);
DallasTemperature sensors(&oneWire);

// Temperature data
float temperature;

// LoRaWAN data
static uint8_t payload[5];

void setup() {
  // Initialize sensor
  sensors.begin();
  
  // Setup LMIC
  os_init();
  LMIC_reset();
  LMIC_setSession(0x1, DEVADDR, NWKSKEY, APPSKEY);

  // Disable data rate adaptation
  LMIC_set_adr_mode(0);

  // Set data rate and transmit power for uplink
  LMIC_setDrTxpow(DR_SF7, 14);
}

void loop() {
  // Fetch temperature
  sensors.requestTemperatures();
  temperature = sensors.getTempCByIndex(0);

  // Prepare payload
  payload[0] = 'T';
  payload[1] = (int)temperature;
  payload[2] = (int)(temperature * 100) % 100;
  
  // Send payload
  LMIC_setTxData2(1, payload, sizeof(payload), 0);
  delay(60000);  // Wait for 1 minute before sending next payload
}

This code snippet initializes the DS18B20 temperature sensor and transmits the sensed data over LoRaWAN using the LMIC library. The temperature data is sent in ASCII format in the payload.

Conclusion

In summary, the implementation of LoRaWAN technology for water quality monitoring allows for efficient and real-time collection of data, which in turn can inform better decision-making for environmental protection and public safety. By understanding the basics of the technology and adapting your IoT device code, you can start monitoring crucial water quality parameters and contribute to improving the management of our water resources.