A decision is only as good as the raw information on which it is based. When little relevant data is available, it is virtually impossible to methodically analyze it and make a well-informed choice. This fact has big implications in fields like medicine, where large amounts of physiological data must be captured to help researchers understand the best way to treat patients with certain medical conditions.
Internet of Things technologies have been pivotal in enabling the collection of this type of information. Internet-connected wearables are capable of continuously monitoring vital signs, activity levels, and much more. And that data can be immediately sent to physicians and researchers in a way that would never be possible via traditional testing procedures conducted in a clinical setting.
But for some applications, there are many more roadblocks standing in the way of proper data collection. Large networks of sensors, for example, that are distributed over large geographical areas face many challenges related to network connectivity. This has notably hindered progress in areas involving environmental research, in particular.
The Particle Boron Development Board
Consider soil carbon flux, for example. This is the rate of carbon dioxide exchange that occurs between the soil and the atmosphere, which is important in modeling how carbon cycles through an ecosystem. Understanding soil carbon flux is crucial for assessing the overall health and productivity of ecosystems, as well as for predicting future climate patterns and developing sustainable land management strategies.
Existing instruments for measuring soil carbon flux are generally chamber-based devices that are placed on the surface of the soil. Detection mechanisms enclosed within these chambers monitor the rate at which carbon dioxide from the soil is emitted into the chamber. While these tools are both accurate and reliable, the data must be collected manually. For this reason, collecting measurements from a large geographical area, or over a long period of time, is extremely labor-intensive. Larger efforts — which are sorely needed to collect sufficient quantities of data — quickly become impractical.
A new tool called Fluxbot 2.0, developed by a team at Yale University and the University of California Santa Barbara, automates the entire data collection process. The open-source instrument costs under $500 and is capable of collecting data over broad spatial and temporal scales in real-time — no manual work required. The team made this possible by cleverly integrating Particle hardware into the design of the device.
The enclosure is made up of a commercially available PVC sewer cap with a hinged lid that serves as the chamber, offering a durable, airtight environment for carbon dioxide measurements. The lid is actuated by a servo motor that opens and closes the chamber on a preset schedule, minimizing power consumption.
An overview of the Fluxbot 2.0 hardware design (📷: C. Pan et al.)
Things get more interesting when examining the device’s electronics. The most critical component is a Particle Boron development board with an onboard LTE modem for real-time wireless data transmission, which enables remote data collection via cellular networks. With a free global embedded SIM card and data plan included with each Boron, wireless data transmission just works. And since there is no need for a contract with a wireless carrier, there will never be skyrocketing costs as sensor nodes expand — even into the hundreds or thousands of nodes. The data transmission will always be free.
The onboard sensors include a Senseair K30 non-dispersive infrared carbon dioxide sensor, along with temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors, all of which are mounted on a custom 3D-printed bracket inside the chamber. A rechargeable battery pack enables the system to run for approximately 317 hours on a single charge.
A total of 16 Fluxbots were deployed in a forest to evaluate their performance in a real-world setting. A few issues were observed in which moisture accumulated inside the chamber, which can cause some issues with sensor accuracy. The researchers are actively exploring some ways that they might fix these problems. But when it came to transmitting the sensor readings autonomously and in real-time — which was the primary innovation in this work — everything went smoothly thanks to the Boron board integrated into the Fluxbot 2.0 design.
Whether you are tracking environmental parameters, health data, warehouse inventory, or something else entirely, take a look at the cellular-enabled Boron development board to see how it can make your job easier.