Projects

• Grain Bin Spoilage Monitor

  Main

  This is the main project and it actually has a functional prototype that has worked for the last two years, but right now parts are falling apart because it wasn’t built well.

  The main thrust of this project will happen after the standalone LTE-M monitor, and the current goals/problem areas are below.

  1. Create a simple board/microcontroller circuit to read the sensor data.
  2. Create a more resilient cable possibly by using a steel cable like that used for winches and wrapping it around the wire.
  3. Create an app to remotely monitor the temperature in the bin from afar.

  It is planned/hoped that a prototype can be ready for presentation for just after or before seeding and that a funding campaign can be run over the summer to clean up implementation and pay for a first production run.

• Hooting Owl

  Fun Projects

  This is a meant to be a simple project to build my skills in micro-controller programming. It is planned to combine a proximity sensor with a speaker and micro-controller to hoot whenever something comes near it. I am hoping to make it so it can be installed on a regular plastic owl.

• LTE-M Standalone

  Stepping Stone Project

  This project is planned to be a simple temperature monitor that interfaces with the cloud via LTE-M. It is envisioned to be a puck looking thing so that it can be placed anywhere and will be battery powered.

  It is meant to be a stepping stone to making the LTE-M Open Grain Monitor.

• Open Weather Station and App

  Main

  The goal of this project is to create an open source weather station and make it easy for end users to set up. During the setup process the end user can choose to donate the data from their station in exchange for a free subscription to the weather app.

  The weather app will be paid for by those who do not have a weather station donating data. It will provide accurate current data, but not prediction services. It will give alerts of drastic weather changes to users close to the location where the drastic weather change occurred (for instance if the wind picks up by 50km/hr in under 30 minutes).

  The project goals from most important to least important are:

  1. Provide an open-source weather station for consumers to buy. Providing
     • humidity
     • temperature
     • barometric pressure
     • wind
     • to start with
  2. Create a platform that allows users who donate their data have access to everyone else’s data and allow other consumers to pay for it.
  3. Give alerts out to people within a certain area about drastic or potentially dangerous changes in weather close to them.
  4. Possibly combine this data with prediction models, and other data to give forecasts as well.

  This project is an idea a friend from the lake has had for a while and I have got more motivated lately after a plow wind came in with now warning and the weather apps said that it was only 15 km/hr during that wind.

• WiFi Temperature Puck

  Stepping Stone Project

  Basics

  This project is planned to be a basic stepping stone to allow me a chance to learn more about the process of crowd funding and to learn more about MQTT and hardware development.

  I will be a temperature sensor that can be placed within the reach of a wifi connection and will report the temperature and send a alert if it drops or rises more than a specified amount.

  Tech Projected to Be Used

  • WiFi for connectivity
  • MQTT as the transport layer
  • Android or IOS app for the user interaction and alerts.

  Other Problems to be Solved

  This product will be entering an arena which has a few competitors that do a very similar thing. To have this stand out a compelling reason/difference should be found and exemplified.