Solar Cells Powered to Boat for Water Quality Monitoring of Nonghan River using Wireless Sensor

Abstract

    This research aims to study the most appropriate model design for a wireless water quality monitoring machine (a buoy-format), as well as a WLAN data transmission setup. The machine is to be capable of monitoring water quality in 4 parameters: Dissolved Oxygen (DO) level, temperature, turbidity, and pH level. Four locations were employed for the experiment: 1) The merging intersection pond of water in the front of The Lotus Park at Kasetsart University Chalermphrakiat Sakon Nakhon Province Campus; an agricultural experimental site and recreational park, 2) a canal at Ban Nong Bua Yai municipality; a communal stream of water running through the community, 3) Sakon Nakhon City Wastewater Treatment Facility, and 4) Nam Phung Dam; right before the water merges into the Nong Han Lake, the water is a source for local agriculture, livestock, in-season rice planting, and fishery. This model design of the buoy allows for the maximum net weight of 52.65 kilograms and the capability of moving at a maximum speed of 40 km/h. The machine is controlled wirelessly via a smartphone using the Blynk application; an Internet-of-Things platform (IoT), the navigation and control of the buoy are powered by NodeMCU ESP8266 WiFi controller board. Data is stored in Firebase Cloud Firestore. Information is shown in real-time in the dashboard interface.