Scalable Remote Water Monitoring System Using Radio Frequency Links

摘要

This paper presents a system that is ideal for water monitoring over stretched distances. The system is composed of a computer-based control monitoring unit (CMU) and several remote process transceivers (RPTs). The CMU contains a software program and a transceiver. It issues commands to and receives sensor data from the RPTs. It also saves previous data and displays the current sensor data from each RPT through a graphical user interface. The RPTs are stationed along the length of water systems like rivers where water data are sampled and sent to the CMU. Sensor data include the temperature, level, and turbidity of the water at the location of a particular RPT. The scalability feature allows the system to cover a much extended distance along the length of a river. It is achieved through the ability of the RPTs to relay the command from the CMU to other RPTs and the data from other RPTs to the CMU using user-defined protocols. Test results show that an effective distance of 1300 m is achieved between the CMU and the nearest RPT and between RPTs. Further, there are no significant differences between the actual sensor data and the values received at the CMU.