Using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enable real-time ... · • Integrates IoT technology with ......
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Real-time, remote sensing of biophysical and anthropogenic conditions in green infrastructure systems in Philadelphia: an application of the Internet of Things (IoT) Karly Soldner, Ziwen Yu, Youngmoo Kim, Aaron Israel, Stephen White, Matthew Fritch, and Franco Montalto
Using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enable real-time ... · • Integrates IoT technology with ... That informat\൩on is sent to the Particle Electron which sends it to our AWS database
Real-time, remote sensing of biophysical and anthropogenic conditions in green infrastructure
systems in Philadelphia: an application of the Internet of Things (IoT)
Karly Soldner, Ziwen Yu, Youngmoo Kim, Aaron Israel, Stephen White, Matthew Fritch, and Franco Montalto
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Hey everyone, I’m Karly and I’m a graduate student in the Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory at Drexel University. My talk is about our Green Infrastructure Living Laboratory project on real-time remote sensing of Philadelphia’s green infrastructure with the Internet of Things.
Philadelphia’s Green Infrastructure
• Wide scale implementation of GI
• Public and private property• Different types of systems
(rain gardens, cisterns, etc.)• Each site is unique
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Philadelphia has a wide scale of GSI implementation on public and privately held sites. There are a variety of stormwater management systems from the smallest downspout planters to huge vegetated areas and each site is unique.
PWD Maintenance Challenges
• Maintenance costs of GI are relatively high• $70k/year spent on irrigation
• 2 years to establish plants• Contractors have to fill trucks, sometimes many per site• Dry summers and unpredictable rain • Expensive to replace plants and start over if they dry out
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This makes it very difficult to have a comprehensive and efficient maintenance plan so the maintenance costs of green infrastructure in Philadelphia are relatively high. For example, PWD spends $70k / year on irrigation alone. It takes 2 years for new plants to establish themselves and during that time they have to be regularly watered by contractors who must fill trucks and hand water the sites. Dry summers with unpredictable rain make it difficult to schedule this expensive process efficiently, and it’s even more expensive to make a mistake and have to replace the plants, starting the 2 year timeline over again.
Smart City Approach
• What's a smart city?• Integrates IoT technology with Information and Communication technology• Sensors and real-time monitoring systems• Data collected from devices and citizens• Data used to reduce inefficiencies and improve citizen’s lives
• Reduces costs when applied to GSI monitoring• Citizen involvement encouraged
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Our project uses a smart city approach. A smart city integrates internet of things technology with information and communication technology to collect data in real time from cloud-connected sensors and citizens. The goal is to reduce inefficiencies in government and improve citizen’s lives. �When applied GSI monitoring the main purpose is to reduce costs and inform and engage the public.
Green Infrastructure Living Laboratory (GILL)
• Gather info on private GSI sites• Sparsely monitored by PWD GSI Monitoring unit
• More accurate sensors to gather hydrology data• Multi-use database for data sharing & visualizations• Advanced QAQC process• Sensor validation and public outreach through app
• Community photos• Garden use• Plant wilt• Ponding/clogs• Weather response
• App input• Public opinions• Maintenance requests
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Green Infrastructure Living Laboratory is the partnership between Drexel and PWD. It aims to gather data on private GSI sites that are not as closely monitored by PWD and uses accurate sensors to gather hydrology data in hopes to better understand how GSI works. We also maintain a multi-use database with an advanced QAQC process to easily interpret and share data. There is also a public engagement aspect used for sensor validation and public outreach.
The Green Infrastructure Living LaboratoryEnables cost-effective ingestion of data characterizing biophysical and other conditions to support researchers and urban water managers in GI operation and maintenance
Biophysical data
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The first aspect of that is the collection of biophysical data. These are the real time sensors that monitor the GSI. Right now they only log soil moisture, but we have lysimters, depth meters, and flow meters in the works.
• Other loggers - Costly, no social data, barriers to data access+ Off the shelf w/ customer service
• ONSET $200 - $900 • Restricted data sharing (FTP) • Hard to customize
• Campbell Scientific $200 - $2500 • Restricted data transferring (loggernet)• Extra setup in data storage (PC)• Hard to customize
• DIY Particle Electron $70 • Most Customizable, no barriers to data access,
inexpensive
Low Cost Data Collection
Presenter
Presentation Notes
There are conventional ways to log data when monitoring environmental systems, but they tend to be costly, difficult to customize, do not allow for public input, and often have barriers to data access and sharing. We took a do it yourself approach with the internet of things, using the Particle Electron, a 3G cellular microcontroller.
Our Solution: A cloud-connected remote sensor
Sensor Microcontroller Database
Presenter
Presentation Notes
It works by collecting soil moisture data in a rain garden at various depths with decagon soil moisture sensors. That information is sent to the Particle Electron which sends it to our AWS database and another internet of things cloud database called ThingSpeak via the 3G cellular network. We use 3G because we have found it works best in urban environments. It costs more than radio, but it’s difficult to transmit radio signals in urban sites. Radio waves only travel with the line of sight so are impacted by large buildings. 2G is being largely phased out so has spotty reception. Cellular Data comes with a cell phone bill just like your phone, but we send small packets of data so the bill is low, usually less than $5 per device per month with them reporting every 7.5 minutes.
Server
DatabaseInternet Connected Device
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The devices send data to the AWS server with HTTP requests and the database is managed with MySQL.
Screw-terminal soil sensor input
Particle Electron
LiPo battery
Cellular antenna
Solar USB battery
Solar panel connection
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Here is what one device looks like on the inside, This device has been measuring the soil moisture of one of Drexel’s rain gardens all summer. It’s powered with a solar panel that tops up a USB battery that keeps the device charged. The SIM card and cellular antenna transmit the data that is collected from the soil moisture sensors wired into the Particle Electron.
Installation and real-time data
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This is what it looks like installed, and here is some data from the last few weeks. It was very dry, and also shows one rain event. Reports every 7.5 minutes.
The Green Infrastructure Living LaboratoryEnables cost-effective ingestion of data characterizing biophysical and other conditions to support researchers and urban water managers in GI operation and maintenance
Citizen Science data
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The other leg of the data collection comes through the mobile and web app. That’s where all of the citizen science info comes from, as well as some of our in-the field maintenance information.
Mobile app for GI maintenance
• Tracks sensors and instruments• Keeps a maintenance record• Reporting site conditions• Can be used by citizen
scientists
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Members of the lab use the app to keep track of equipment and keep a maintenance record for the devices. This way we have a record of the sensors along with their locations and depths. Enlisted citizen scientists as well as the general public can use the app to contribute site conditions to validate sensors and give other usage information, such as if the inlet is clogged, or if the plants look wilted.
Benefit of engaging citizen scientists in operation of the Nashville Greenstreet (Queens, NY)
Before After
14(Catalano de sousa et al, 2016)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This is a green street project in Queens NY where a group of engaged citizen scientists made a positive impact on green infrastructure maintenance.
1515
Inlet
Flume
(Catalano de sousa et al, 2016)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The rain garden collects water from the street through an inlet. The gray area is the capture area, and the inlet is shown in the picture.
Drexel GI Citizen Scientists
Perc
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ea ru
noff
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Catalano de Sousa et al, in review
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Irene
Percent of runoff attenuated in Greenstreet
Presenter
Presentation Notes
We measured the amount of water expected from the area per rain event, and the amount that actually made it into the ran garden. This graph shows variability in the garden’s stormwater capture success, where the midline represents the rain garden receiving 100% of its intended capture from the street. In *this period the garden was maintained by *these citizen scientists who made sure the inlet was in working order and not clogged with debris. As you can see they made a considerable difference in the consistency of captured rainfall. This illustrates the benefit of citizen scientists in maintaining GSI.
Long Term Vision
GILL research will:• Streamline real time operation and maintenance of GSI through
remote sensing• Explore new technology (LoRaWAN)• Engage the public in GSI operation and maintenance• Reduce GSI costs
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Going forward GILL seeks to steamline realtime operation and maintenance of GSI through remote sensing. We also want to explore new technologies as they become available, such as the lower power and even less expensive Long Range Wide Area Network being implemented in Philly. We also want to engage the public in the maintenance of GSI and continue to reduce maintenance costs as more GSI sites are implemented in an ever-greener Philadelphia.
