Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present subject matter relates to the field of sensing. In particular, the present subject matter relates to a sensing system for remote locations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Climatic changes have rendered adverse weather conditions periodically across the country. Weather monitoring stations have been set up at many places for gathering data on weather parameters. However, these are insufficient especially in cases of remote locations and difficult terrain. As such locations cannot be assured of good power or network connectivity with employing manual intervention being difficult, the existing weather monitoring system need to be redesigned. Hence monitoring weather at remote locations requires a combination of specialized equipment, communication technologies, and strategies tailored to the site’s conditions.

For instance, CN213336234 relates to monitoring devices provided with power module, wireless communication module, intelligent data acquisition terminal, video storage module, GPS module and serial ports expansion module. However, problems for power efficiency is typically in improving the power source efficiency which is known to have limits.

Hence the present study aims to design systems which can installed in remote locations with focus on improving the power utilisation efficiency and also with forethought of expanding the application ranges.

OBJECT OF INVENTION
The main object of the present subject matter is to design a sensing system for weather conditions in remote locations.
Another object is to design a weather monitoring system with minimal power requirement.
Yet another object is to model a system to operate with uninterrupted communication protocol.
Another object is to design a system with environment sensing functionalities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter discloses a monitoring system for measuring and recording a plurality of parameters used to assess the weather and environmental conditions at a given location of installation. The system comprises a weather monitoring module, a soil sensor module, and an environment sensor module. The system further comprises a power unit, an integrated processor module, and a memory unit. The system is power efficient and ensures wide network access. Hence the system is suitable for remote location monitoring.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The novel features and characteristics of the disclosure are set forth in the description. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a typical weather monitoring system in the prior art.
Figure 2 illustrates a weather monitoring system with minimal power requirement, as an embodiment of the present subject matter.
Figure 3 illustrates a comprehensive environment monitoring system as an embodiment of the present subject matter.
Figure 4 illustrates an example implementation of the comprehensive environment monitoring system as an embodiment of the present subject matter.
Figure 5 illustrates the comprehensive environment monitoring system mounted on a truss tower as an embodiment of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the figures and specific language will be used to describe them.

Figure 1 illustrates a typical weather monitoring system in the prior art. The weather monitoring system through a plurality of sensors (202 – 214) measure the weather parameters. Typically the power source is at 12V (106) which requires to be converted to the sensors requirement of 3 – 4 V by a voltage converter (108, 110) to power the sensors (202 – 214). Apart from this a control unit (406) and communication protocol (402, 404) are provided which also require power input and space. Moreover, unstable network coverage in remote locations also leads to ineffective monitoring. Hence the reduction in power requirement, space and improved data transfer are essential for deployment in multiple locations without human intervention.

The present subject matter discloses a monitoring system for measuring and recording a plurality of parameters used to assess the weather and environmental conditions at a given location of installation. The system comprises a weather monitoring module, a soil sensor module, and an environment sensor module. The system further comprises a power unit, an integrated processor module, and a memory unit.
The weather monitoring module comprises a plurality of sensors to measure parameters representing the local weather conditions. In an embodiment of the present subject matter, the plurality of weather sensors comprise a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a rain sensor, a wind speed sensor, and a solar radiation sensor. In other embodiments, other weather related parameters are measured. The plurality of the sensors are positioned at appropriate place to measure the specific parameters effectively. For instance, the wind speed sensor is positioned at the top of the weather monitoring module to enable accurate wind speed measurement. The sensors are electronic, mechanical and MEMS sensors which provide an analog or digital output for recording the values of the parameters.
The soil sensor module comprises a set of sensors to measure temperature and moisture of the soil at various depths in a given location. The environment sensor module comprises of particulate matter sensors PM2.5, PM10, and sensors for NOx, CO2, SO2 and VOC.
The sensors are powered by a power unit for operating. The power unit comprises a power source, a battery unit which is charged by the power source, and voltage converters. In an embodiment, the power source is a solar panel wherein the generated power is stored in the battery unit through a charging circuit. In other embodiments, the power source is any of the renewable energy source like wind power, tide energy and the like. Deriving power from a renewable energy source enables remote location of the monitoring systems so that the system can function without constant manual presence. This enables monitoring the weather conditions from multiple remote locations. Given that the sensor used typically operate in a voltage range of 3 - 5 V, the battery unit is designed to deliver current at 3 - 5 V. In an implementation, the battery unit is designed to deliver current at 4 V. When there is a requirement to change the voltage for any specific sensor, a voltage converter is used. For instance, a wind direction sensor operates at 3.1 V and hence a voltage convertion from 4 V to 3.1 V is performed and is used to power the sensor. This enables reducing the power wastage by deploying existing systems where voltage conversion from 12 V to 4 V is performed which results in power loss. Hence the present subject matter prevents power loss and hence the monitoring system of the present subject matter operates with less power which again helps with unmanned remote location.
Moreover, in an implementation of the present subject matter, the sensors are required to operate intermittently and hence the powering of the sensors is controlled to operate the sensors only when required. This powering method enables further power saving making the monitoring system of the present subject matter a highly power efficient system.
The parameter data obtained from the sensors are collated and communicated through a communication protocol to the central weather reporting agency. The communication protocol comprises a GSM modem, and a GPRS/GSM modem linked to a SIM card and an output interface. In an implementation of the present subject matter, multiple SIM cards are provided and accessed by a SIM switching circuit based on the available network coverage. Hence the compromised network coverage available in remote locations is overcome. In an example implementation two SIM cards SIM1 and SIM2 are provided and a switching circuit is employed to link the GSM modem and GPRS/GSM modem to the available network SIM card.
A memory unit is provided to store data collected. In the implementation SPI based NOR flash is used with 32Mbit space. System also supports external SD card for the storage. In an implementation, stored data can also be retrieved from the device through RS232 and USB ports.
The operations of the system are performed by a control unit. In an implementation of the present subject matter, the control unit and the communication protocol are combined into a single integrated unit. In an embodiment of the present subject matter, an integrated processor module comprises Open CPU Processor with inbuilt GPS and GSM/GPS Modem. The processor is configured to actuate the operations of the sensors, the power unit, and the transfer of data to the memory unit, communication protocol and the output interface. By integrating the controller and the communication protocol in a single processor unit, the power requirement and the size of the system are reduced.
Figure 2 illustrates a weather monitoring system with minimal power requirement, as an embodiment of the present subject matter. The weather monitoring system comprises a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a rain sensor, a wind speed sensor, and a solar radiation sensor. The power unit comprises a solar panel (102) and a battery unit (112) at 4 V. The battery unit (112) directly powers the sensors intermittently that is only when the weather parameters need to be measured. At other instances the sensors are non-operational and switched off thus minimizing the power consumption. To ensure uninterrupted network coverage a SIM switching unit (412) with two SIMs (414, 416) is provided. This enables that in the event of one network not working, another alternative is provided. Further, an integrated control and communication unit (410) is provided which reduces the power and space requirement.

Figure 3 illustrates a comprehensive environment monitoring system as an embodiment of the present subject matter. The comprehensive environment monitoring system comprises a soil sensor unit (702) and an environment sensor unit (704). This broadens the usage of the system with only minimal changes to the system in Figure 2.

The environment monitoring system is a standalone unit powered by a solar panel (102) and battery (112). It includes a data logger (213) equipped with a built-in GPRS/GSM modem and a battery charger. The air temperature (202) and relative humidity sensor (204), the environmental sensor module (704) featuring particulate matter sensor, NOx, CO2, SO2, and VOC sensors, the solar radiation sensor (214) and barometric pressure sensor (206) can be mounted at a height of 6 feet above ground level. In an implementation, the particulate matter sensor include PM2.5, PM10. The wind sensor (210, 212) is placed 10 meters above the ground, while the rainfall measurement sensor is positioned 2 feet above the ground. The soil sensors (702) are embedded into the ground to measure soil conditions. Figure 4 illustrates an example implementation of the comprehensive environment monitoring system as an embodiment of the present subject matter. A tripod base acts as a mounting structure (800) on which a pole supporting the plurality of sensors and data logger is positioned.

The installation of the system requires a space of at least 10m x 10m. The installations are mounted on a platform. Alternatively, the installations for the environment monitoring system (AWS) comes with various mounting assemblies, including unipoles, tripods, and fixed or foldable truss towers, with heights ranging from 2 meters to 15 meters, depending on the specific requirements. The station requires a base area of at least 3ft x 3ft (approximately 0.9m x 0.9m) for mounting the assembly, which should be placed on a stable, level surface, to prevent interference with signals and measurements. Additionally, an open area of 10m x 10m is essential to ensure unobstructed exposure of the sensors to environmental conditions. The open area must be clear of obstructions, such as tall buildings, trees, or other structures, that could interfere with the accurate measurement of wind, solar radiation, or other environmental parameters. Figure 5 illustrates the comprehensive environment monitoring system mounted on a truss tower as an embodiment of the present subject matter.

In an example implementation, a comprehensive environment monitoring system with minimal power requirement, as an embodiment of the present subject matter is used. As a trial study total of 1500 systems were installed, in which rainfall measurement systems were installed at firka level and complete set of weather monitoring systems were installed at block level. The system comprises a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a rain sensor, a wind speed sensor, and a solar radiation sensor. The power unit powers a battery unit of 4.2V and is used to power the sensors directly without requirement of voltage reduction which can result in power loss. The system was operated for the period of one month wherein the weather parameters were measure every two hours. The power consumed over the one month period was 20Ah when compared to the prior art system disclosed in Figure 1 at 60Ah. Hence a reduction of 67% is observed in power consumed over the one month period. The monitoring system was operational even on cloudy days given the battery unit and the minimal power requirement. The soil parameters were measured at every 4 hours over one month period and the environment parameters such as particular matter, NOx, CO2, SO2, and VOC were measured every 8 hours.

In a preferred embodiment of the present subject matter, an environment monitoring system for remote locations, wherein the monitoring system for measuring and recording a plurality of parameters used to assess the weather and environmental conditions at a given location of installation comprises: a weather monitoring module, a soil sensor module, and an environment sensor module, wherein each module comprises a plurality of sensors which operate in a voltage range of 3- 5 V; a power unit for providing power to the monitoring system; an integrated processor module to control the operations of the monitoring system and to communicate the collated data to a central weather reporting agency through a communication protocol ; a memory unit to store the data obtained from the plurality of sensors. The power unit comprises a power source, a battery unit which is charged by the power source, and voltage converters, wherein the battery unit is designed to deliver current at 3-5 V; the voltage converters convert the current from 3-5 V to the requirement of each of the plurality of sensors; and each of the plurality of sensors are powered only during operation.

List of features
Sl. No. Feature name Reference number
1 Solar Panel 102
2 Charging circuit 104
3 12 V battery 106
4 12V to 5V converter 108
5 12V to 3.3V converter 110
6 4.1 V Battery 112
7 4.1 V to 3.3V converter 114
8 Power Management Unit 116
9 Temperature Sensor 202
10 Humidity Sensor 204
11 Atmospheric Pressure Sensor 206
12 Rain measurement Sensor 208
13 Wind Speed Sensor 210
14 Wind Direction Sensor 212
15 Logger 213
16 Solar Radiation Sensor 214
17 GSM/GPRS Modem 402
18 GPS Modem 404
19 Micro controller 406
20 Sim card 408
21 Open CPU Processor with inbuilt GPS and GSM/GPS Modem 410
22 Sim Switch circuit 412
23 Sim 1 414
24 Sim 2 416
25 Memory Card 502
26 Memory 504
27 External Interfaces 602
28 Soil Sensor 702
29 Environmental Sensor 704
30 Mounting structure 800

Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the scope of the embodiments as described herein.

, Claims:We Claim:
1. An environment monitoring system for remote locations, wherein the monitoring system for measuring and recording a plurality of parameters used to assess the weather and environmental conditions at a given location of installation comprises:
a weather monitoring module, a soil sensor module (702), and an environment sensor module (704), wherein each module comprises a plurality of sensors (202 – 212) which operate in a voltage range of 3 – 5 V;
a power unit (116) for providing power to the monitoring system;
an integrated processor module (410) to control the operations of the monitoring system and to communicate the collated data to a central weather reporting agency through a communication protocol;
a memory unit (502) to store the data obtained from the plurality of sensors;
wherein
the power unit comprises a power source (102), a battery unit (112) which is charged by the power source (102), and voltage converters (114), wherein
the battery unit (112) is designed to deliver current at 3-5 V;
the voltage converters (114) convert the current from 3-5 V to the requirement of each of the plurality of sensors (202 – 212);
each of the plurality of sensors (202 – 212) are powered only during operation.
2. The environment monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors (202 – 212) of the weather monitoring module comprises a temperature sensor (202), a humidity sensor (204), an atmospheric pressure sensor (206), a rain sensor (208), a wind speed sensor (210), and a solar radiation sensor (214).
3. The environment monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors of the soil sensor module (702) comprise a set of sensors to measure temperature and moisture of the soil at various depths in a given location.
4. The environment monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors of the environment sensor module (704) comprises of particulate matter sensors, NOx, CO2, SO2 and VOC sensors.
5. The environment monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power source is a solar panel (102) wherein the generated power is stored in the battery unit (112) through a charging circuit (104).
6. The environment monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication protocol comprises a GSM modem (404), and a GPRS/GSM modem (402) linked to a SIM card and an output interface, wherein multiple SIM cards (414, 416) are provided and accessed by a SIM switching circuit (412) based on the available network coverage.
7. The environment monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the memory unit (502, 504) comprises an external SD card (602) for the storage and RS232 and USB ports to retrieve data.
8. The environment monitoring system as claimed in claim 1, wherein
air temperature (202) and relative humidity sensor (204), the environmental sensor module (704) featuring PM2.5, PM10, NOx, CO2, SO2, and VOC sensors, the solar radiation sensor (214) and barometric pressure sensor (206) can be mounted at a height of 6 feet above ground level;
wind sensor (210, 212) is placed 10 meters above the ground;
rainfall measurement sensor (208) is positioned 2 feet above the ground;
soil sensors are embedded into the ground to measure soil conditions.
9. The environment monitoring system as claimed in claim 1 comprising a mounting structure (800) wherein the mounting structure (800) is positioned with a clearance area of 10m x 10m; and the mounting structure (800) is any one of a truss tower, a unipole, and a tripod with a height upto 15m.