SeMaR System

SEMaR platform, developed at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, represents an example how the new ICT solutions, using the technological concepts of Internet of Things, can improve ecological monitoring of seawater parameters. The IoT features, incorporated into the platform, include: data measuring, data transfer, data processing, data analysis and presentation, and finally decision-making upon the processed data. The aim of the system is to enable automated and online ecological monitoring and processing of seawater parameters, avoiding direct human involvement in water sampling and manual processing of measured parameters later on.

The core architecture of the system is comprised of three important structural parts: the sensing unit (sensor probes) for measuring the water and air bio-parameters, the processing and communication unit with the microcontroller platform and the cloud-based data visualization platform.

The sensing unit of the platform consists of the sensor probes used in seawater ecological monitoring. The parameters of interest are water temperature, pH level, dissolved oxygen level and salinity. These are the most indicative parameters of water pollution and can be used as an early alarm. Two water temperature probes (at different depths od 1 and 2 meters) and pH level low-consumption probe are integrated in the prototype of SEMaR system in the testing phase. Air conditions can also influence the water parameters so the air temperature and humidity sensor probes are also integrated.

The processing unit consists of the microcontroller and communication module. The Arduino microcontroller platform is the central part of the system. Its main purpose is to collect the sensor probes’ measured data, process it and send it to communication module. The communication SIM900 module is in charge of processed data wireless transmission into the data center. The Real Time Clock (RTC) module integration enables the system to easily configure the time intervals for data measuring and transferring. The favorable light conditions on the sea level were important in choosing the solar power unit. It is a “green energy” solution that makes the power independent.

The aim is to fully equip the SEMaR system with all IoT systems’ capabilities in terms of communication protocols, energy consumption, hardware and software integration.

Cloud based data visualization is also enabled for the purposes of data storage, presentation, detailed analytics and decision-making.