Modular unit for monitoring water parameters with self-sufficient power supply and wireless communication

Abstract

Modular unit for automated monitoring of water and environmental parameters, comprehensive - a plurality of sensors for recording physical or chemical parameters of a body of water, - a microcontroller for controlling the sensors and processing the measurement data they collect, - a wireless communication module for transmitting the processed data, - an energy supply unit with at least one solar cell, - a floating carrier unit for receiving the aforementioned components, characterized in that the components are modularly connected to each other so that the unit can be adapted to different measurement requirements, and the unit is designed for permanent operation in or on a body of water.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for measuring and monitoring parameters in bodies of water, in particular in rivers, lakes, ponds or wastewater treatment plants.

[0002] Existing water monitoring systems are often expensive, rely on specialized proprietary sensors, and are usually stationary, mounted on the bank. This limits their applicability and makes them unsuitable for large-scale, flexible, or cost-effective use.

[0003] The object of the invention is therefore to provide a cost-effective, flexible and self-sufficient unit for water monitoring that supports a variety of sensors, communicates wirelessly and can also be operated in open water on floating platforms.

[0004] The task is solved by a modular unit that has the following features: 1. Modular design with various commercially available sensors (temperature, pH value, dissolved oxygen, solids, conductivity, turbidity, flow rate, etc.), compatible with microcontrollers such as Arduino or ESP32. 2. Wireless communication via common radio standards, especially LoRaWAN. 3. Self-sufficient energy supply using solar cells. 4. Possibility of operation on floating platforms. 5. Online availability of the data. 6. Enhanced features such as alerts or AI-supported pattern recognition and forecasting methods.

[0005] The invention offers the following advantages: • Significantly lower costs than comparable systems due to the use of standard sensors and microcontrollers. • Wider range of applications due to modular adaptability. • Self-sufficient operation without external power supply. • Flexible installation even in open water. • Expandability through intelligent software functions.

[0006] Application Example: One embodiment of the invention comprises a waterproof housing in which an ESP32 microcontroller is installed. Various sensors can be connected to this microcontroller as needed via standardized interfaces (e.g., I). 2 The unit can be connected via USB (C, UART). Power is supplied by a solar panel with an attached battery. Data transmission occurs via a LoRaWAN module to a gateway server, from where the values ​​can be retrieved and processed online. The unit is mounted on a floating platform, allowing for flexible deployment in different areas of a body of water.

Claims

[1] Modular unit for automated monitoring of water and environmental parameters, comprising - a plurality of sensors for recording physical or chemical parameters of a body of water, - a microcontroller for controlling the sensors and processing the measurement data they collect, - a wireless communication module for transmitting the processed data, - an energy supply unit with at least one solar cell, - a floating carrier unit for accommodating the aforementioned components, characterized by that the components are modularly connected so that the unit can be adapted to different measurement requirements, and that the unit is designed for permanent operation in or on a body of water. [2] Unit according to claim 1, characterized bythat the measurement data is transmitted via a wireless connection to a central data portal, which enables online access to the measurement data. [3] Unit according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by , that software running on the microcontroller or an attached system is set up to evaluate the measurement data, whereby the software automatically generates warning messages when defined limits are exceeded or fallen below. [4] Unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that a data-based model using artificial intelligence methods is used to analyze the measurement data or to predict future water parameters.