Plug & Sense! Sensor Platform in Panda Raid Rally
April 5th, 2016 - Libelium
On 5th March started one of
the hardest and at the same time craziest amateur rallies in the world: the
Panda Raid. It is a seven-days-race through the Moroccan desert.
The only essential requirement
is to drive an old Fiat Panda (Seat Marbella in Spain).
Morocco, Africa
What makes this rally
different and tough is its rules. GPS and Internet are not allowed during the
race. Participants only can use a compass and a roadbook to navigate and avoid
getting lost. Of course the intuition and expertise of the drivers play an
important role.
In this edition, one member
of Libelium Team took part with his 25 years old Fiat Panda. This vehicle
was different to any other, because it was equipped with a Plug & Sense!
Sensor Platform. This node was used to measure temperature, humidity,
ultraviolet radiation and GPS position every 10-15 minutes.
This device is ready to send
data by means of different communication protocols to a Meshlium Gateway and, from there, to a cloud server. In this
case, the appropriate communication protocol is 3G but, due to the difficult to
find it during the race, it was decided to store these data in a SD Memory
Card. To collect the data, the Waspmote Plug
& Sense! Sensor Platform installed some sensors:
Sensirion to measure temperature
and humidity.
Ultraviolet Sensor, to measure UV solar radiation.
External GPS Antenna.
To ensure the correct
functioning during the race the Waspmote Plug & Sense! was equipped with a
Rechargeable Battery with a solar panel.
Waspmote Plug & Sense!
Sensor Platform installed in the car
This project has a double aim.
Firstly, the objective was to demonstrate that a Waspmote Plug & Sense!
Sensor Platform was able to monitor the environmental changes
(temperature, humidity, UV radiation) and the car position during the
different stages of the rally. It was made perfectly, what prove that a
Waspmote Plug & Sense! Sensor Platform could be used as a log book for
trips and expeditions.
This is an example of the Meshlium
Manager System visualizer. In it, all data collected can be managed and
checked. In this case, it shows a chart about the GPS altitude variation during
24 hours. It can be seen a flat segment which reflect the period of time
between two legs in which the Waspmote Plug & Sense! Sensor Platform was
switched off.
Meshlium Gateway Visualizer
The secondary aim was to prove
its resistance and strength, which were absolutely verified. The
Waspmote Plug & Sense! Sensor Platform has an IP67 certification which
is given to electronic devices as our nodes and which ensures its resistance
to sand, mud and water.
During this hard rally there
were several environmental and geographic changes. It passed from the Sahara
dessert to the Atlas mountain chain. So variation of altitude, pressure,
humidity, temperature, UV radiation, etc. were important. Besides, the terrain
also changed hugely form the desert sand to the mountain rocks.
In this case, the Waspmote
Plug & Sense! Sensor Platform resisted without problem grab to the Fiat
Panda roof rack. When the pilot return to Libelium checked that all data was
collected properly and there were not any rest of materials, as sand or water,
which could damage the sensors. Therefore, the resistance given by the IP67
certification was proved and ensured.
Finally, besides its
technological and experimental main objective, this race has another caring and
kind goal: to help Moroccan children with school supplies. Every pilot
has to carry in his Fiat Panda 20 kg of school supplies in order to give them
to any school they find along the path.
Libelium Waspmote Plug &
Sense! Sensor Platform were proved in extreme conditions and it returned
intact, achieving its objectives of environmental monitoring and checking its
resistance. Besides, we are proud of our workmate because he finished the race
in first position. It was a perfect week.
If you are interested in
purchase information, please contact our Sales Department.
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