The impact of agricultural activities on water quality: a case for collaborative catchment-scale management using integrated wireless sensor networks

The challenge of improving water quality is a growing global concern, typified by the European Commission Water Framework Directive and the United States Clean Water Act. The main drivers of poor water quality are economics, poor water management, agricultural practices and urban development. This paper reviews the extensive role of non-point sources, in particular the outdated agricultural practices, with respect to nutrient and contaminant contributions. Water quality monitoring (WQM) is currently undertaken through a number of data acquisition methods from grab sampling to satellite based remote sensing of water bodies. Based on the surveyed sampling methods and their numerous limitations, it is proposed that wireless sensor networks (WSNs), despite their own limitations, are still very attractive and effective for real-time spatio-temporal data collection for WQM applications. WSNs have been employed for WQM of surface and ground water and catchments, and have been fundamental in advancing the knowledge of contaminants trends through their high resolution observations. However, these applications have yet to explore the implementation and impact of this technology for management and control decisions, to minimize and prevent individual stakeholder’s contributions, in an autonomous and dynamic manner. Here, the potential of WSN-controlled agricultural activities and different environmental compartments for integrated water quality management is presented and limitations of WSN in agriculture and WQM are identified. Finally, a case for collaborative networks at catchment scale is proposed for enabling cooperation among individually networked activities/stakeholders (farming activities, water bodies) for integrated water quality monitoring, control and management

Integrated sensor and management system for urban waste water networks and prevention of critical situations

[EN] This work describes the design and implementation of improvements to the monitoring system of an urban waste water network, resulting in more efficient management of the system. To achieve this objective, the latest communications technology has been incorporated into heterogeneous networks and sensor systems. This technology includes mobile systems, which take measurements and transmit images in real time, an intelligent platform for processing and management of variables, and the implementation of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) designed with specific protocols and tools that allow the rapid deployment of the network and allow measurements to be taken in emergency situations. The sensors in this type of installation are extremely important for the management of the system as they allow us to collect information and make decisions with sufficient time to deal effectively with critical situations such as flooding or overloading of the waste water system, or environmental problems such as dumping of possible pollutants, as well as to make the best use of the water cycle. The solution presented here automates large portions of the processes, minimizing the possibility of human error, and increasing the frequency and accuracy of the measurements taken, ensuring a robust communication system covering all the elements involved to provide ubiquity of information, and finally gives an application layer to manage the system and receive alerts. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.This work was supported by the MCyT (Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology) under the projects PET2007-0316 and TIN2010-21378-C02-02, which are partially funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund).Sempere Paya, VM.; Santonja Climent, S. (2012). Integrated sensor and management system for urban waste water networks and prevention of critical situations. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems. 36(1):65-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2011.07.001S658036

Acoustic energy transmission in cast iron pipelines

In this paper we propose acoustic power transfer as a method for the remote powering of pipeline sensor nodes. A theoretical framework of acoustic power propagation in the ceramic transducers and the metal structures is drawn, based on the Mason equivalent circuit. The effect of mounting on the electrical response of piezoelectric transducers is studied experimentally. Using two identical transducer structures, power transmission of 0.33 mW through a 1 m long, 118 mm diameter cast iron pipe, with 8 mm wall thickness is demonstrated, at 1 V received voltage amplitude. A near-linear relationship between input and output voltage is observed. These results show that it is possible to deliver significant power to sensor nodes through acoustic waves in solid structures. The proposed method may enable the implementation of acoustic - powered wireless sensor nodes for structural and operation monitoring of pipeline infrastructure

Technological Advances in Wireless Sensor Network Systems for Urban Drainage Monitoring

Urban drainages are important for evacuation of waste water in cities. It helps for the smooth running of the daily activities in the city and prevents proliferation of diseases. Drainage systems and construction methods have not evolved much in the past years. Due to population growth, urbanization and climatic changes, our urban drainages have become inefficient. Localized heavy rainfall causes overflow of drains that lead to floods resulting in major infrastructural damages and loss of lives. Obstruction due to solid waste prevents effective waste water evacuation. In this paper existing drainage monitoring systems are identified and their monitoring methods and technologies are analysed. Current drainage water monitoring methods such as the Rational method, the Modified Rational method, the SCS Runoff method, the Saint-Venant equation and the Manning’s equation are not reliable and only provide estimated value for peak discharge and mean water velocity. Wireless sensor network systems for monitoring drains and rivers in different regions such as Birmingham, Brazil, Philippines and Mississippi are thoroughly discussed. Wireless sensors and microprocessor platforms that may be used for the urban drainage monitoring are evaluated. A systematic review of the research challenges for real-time monitoring of urban drainages is carried out. Furthermore, possible solutions that use advanced sensor technologies to detect overflow and obstruction in urban drainages are analysed. Indeed this paper provides a comprehensive assessment of technological advances in urban drainage monitoring systems. Keywords: wireless sensor networks, urban drainage monitoring, water flow monitoring, overflow detection, obstruction detectio

The Emerging Internet of Things Marketplace From an Industrial Perspective: A Survey

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a dynamic global information network consisting of internet-connected objects, such as Radio-frequency identification (RFIDs), sensors, actuators, as well as other instruments and smart appliances that are becoming an integral component of the future internet. Over the last decade, we have seen a large number of the IoT solutions developed by start-ups, small and medium enterprises, large corporations, academic research institutes (such as universities), and private and public research organisations making their way into the market. In this paper, we survey over one hundred IoT smart solutions in the marketplace and examine them closely in order to identify the technologies used, functionalities, and applications. More importantly, we identify the trends, opportunities and open challenges in the industry-based the IoT solutions. Based on the application domain, we classify and discuss these solutions under five different categories: smart wearable, smart home, smart, city, smart environment, and smart enterprise. This survey is intended to serve as a guideline and conceptual framework for future research in the IoT and to motivate and inspire further developments. It also provides a systematic exploration of existing research and suggests a number of potentially significant research directions.Comment: IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing 201

Sustainable robotics solutions in smart cities: The challenge of the ECHORD++ Project

The objective of this paper is to explain novel sustainable robotics solutions for cities. Those new proposals appear under the ECHORD++ project which is a good tool to meet academia and industry with the objective of providing innovative technological solutions. In this paper, authors explain the tool as well as the methodology to promote robotics research in urban environments, and the on-going experience will demonstrate that huge advances are made in this field.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft