The Solar Powered Data Acqusition Board (SODAQ)
Before we get into the details of their project, let’s outline some of the elements needed for the successful design and deployment of agduino (in no particular order):
- A comittment to open source at both the hardware and software level
- The ability to connect with existing open source GIS software, likely PostGIS, which means Postgresql as the database engine
- A physically robust and well designed circuit board, to deal with issues of reliability, durability, modularization, ease of use, and processing capability
- An already somewhat mature software platform that is released to a broader community of supporters
Manylabs is focused on creating sensor networks for educational and environmental monitoring purposes. They are the driving force behind a large software development effort which will bring us a stable database/sensor/arduino interface. The end-user will be able to configure custom sensor networks, build relay controls, and collect and process data with no need to write code. Manylabs is building the system using a Postgresql database backend, with every intention of tying the system into PostGIS in the future. All the software and hardware is open source.
Seeedstudio is the primary hardware provider, and they have a pretty big selection of lot’s of arduino add ons. Have a look at their website, lot’s to see.
Finally, the SODAQ board is a solar powered data acquisition board which is still in development. It doesn’t use SD cards to store data (which are notoriously unreliable), has built-in memory, and can be powered by low-powered solar panels in remote locations.
Stay tuned as I continue to break down some of the other great agduino candidates.