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the sensor
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app screenshot
Inspiration -
Currently, there are lots of weather APIs available, but, they are usually at a city level (not much geographical granularity). And, they are based on prediction algorithms, which are based on weather satellites. This data can be unreliable at times, predicts rain where there are none and sometimes does not predict rain where it is raining.
What it does -
It detects rain and it's intensity in real time and sends it to a server. From this server, the data is available for polling.
How we built it -
We have used android things pico pro kit for processing the data received from a rain sensor module. Then, we compiled the data using our own logic to convert it into a proper rain intensity level.
Challenges we ran into -
The very first challenge we ran into was managing analog and digital input both. So, IMX7D, the board we are using can only process digital input out. And Sensor gives us data in digital and analog format both.
Arduino could process both but did not have wifi capability on board. So we wanted to do both but had to make a choice.
To solve this, we eradicated the need of analog input. We devised an algorithm to take digital data and process it get rain intensity.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We were able to create all parts of the product completely and they are functioning properly. Sensor assembly and processing, backend and, the consumer.
What we learned
We learned to work with IoT devices various configuration in them like PWM, GPIO, SPI etc interfaces. And the great part is we could code everything in the same old android framework.
We also designed and produced our own casing for the complete device.
What's next for !sup
Next! there are a lot of things that can be accomplished with just this small sensor assortment. We can gather the data before it rains, data like humidity, temperature and form a pattern that can predict exactly when it is going to rain in the future with high accuracy. This data can be made public so that other organizations can benefit from the real-time accurate rain data as well.