Find out how a regional school transformed their data recording and analysis with the help of smart sensors and mobile internet.
Tech used
- NB-IoT (narrowband Internet of Things) – a type of mobile internet connection
- cloud-based dashboard and data storage
- water sensors
About the school – Lucindale Area School
Size: (number of enrolments) 199
Other relevant information about the school:...
About the tech – Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT)
Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) is a type of mobile internet connection. It's designed for devices with low power and low data transfer. The network coverage reaches further from the tower than 4G, and adding antennas to the devices may increase the network reach.
By using devices that send data directly to the cloud using IoT, there's no need for additional local networks or WiFi, which also isn’t always available in all buildings or areas of a large property. And less complexity means fewer potential points of failure.
Video – IoT-based aquaculture to delivering equal opportunities for all students across South Australia (2m7s)
Watch the video to learn about the aquaculture program at Lucindale Area School and how they transformed monitoring water quality with the help of smart sensors and an IoT mobile internet connection.
Let's have a look. Can you see that pink rainbow stripe going down the side? Real characteristic of the rainbow trout, isn't it?
Yeah, We have an aquaculture programme here at Lucinda Area School. It involves a couple of different stages. We get eggs in from Tasmania in June each year and we then carry them through and grow them out to adult stage.
So we want to ensure that we're providing equal opportunities for every student in every classroom through the use of technologies.
So in the Department for Education here in South Australia, we've focused on building digital literacy for our students and our staff. So we got a great group of schools together from all areas of the state to start working with Telstra and Bird Solutions on a proof of concept for Internet of Things IoT sensors in their school aquaculture setups, right.
So what I want you guys to consider today, obviously dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, ammonia and nitrate levels, some of the barriers that we had before the sensors come in was really mainly the water quality monitoring. We found it was really time consuming using chemical analysis to do the sensing.
The educational outcomes of having the data is huge and students are very passionate about wanting to use tools that are technologically based. Temperature does affect the levels of the dissolved oxygen as it tracks over the 24 hour period. Now we've got 24/7 live data that we can look at and be able to compare that to our fish growth.
We learn a lot off of that like and we also learn a lot off of this new technology that been really good to actually see all that. I feel like we're in a position where we can explore more, we can innovate more of the approach that Telstra people took to this particular project, yet certainly took a lot of conversation and re pivoting and rethinking. But that was the beauty of the relationship; is Telstra willing to do that through the process.
%globals_asset_contents_raw:Let's have a look. Can you see that pink rainbow stripe going down the side? Real characteristic of the rainbow trout, isn't it?
Yeah, We have an aquaculture programme here at Lucinda Area School. It involves a couple of different stages. We get eggs in from Tasmania in June each year and we then carry them through and grow them out to adult stage.
So we want to ensure that we're providing equal opportunities for every student in every classroom through the use of technologies.
So in the Department for Education here in South Australia, we've focused on building digital literacy for our students and our staff. So we got a great group of schools together from all areas of the state to start working with Telstra and Bird Solutions on a proof of concept for Internet of Things IoT sensors in their school aquaculture setups, right.
So what I want you guys to consider today, obviously dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, ammonia and nitrate levels, some of the barriers that we had before the sensors come in was really mainly the water quality monitoring. We found it was really time consuming using chemical analysis to do the sensing.
The educational outcomes of having the data is huge and students are very passionate about wanting to use tools that are technologically based. Temperature does affect the levels of the dissolved oxygen as it tracks over the 24 hour period. Now we've got 24/7 live data that we can look at and be able to compare that to our fish growth.
We learn a lot off of that like and we also learn a lot off of this new technology that been really good to actually see all that. I feel like we're in a position where we can explore more, we can innovate more of the approach that Telstra people took to this particular project, yet certainly took a lot of conversation and re pivoting and rethinking. But that was the beauty of the relationship; is Telstra willing to do that through the process.
%Situation at the start
Lucindale Area School has an aquaculture farming program. Regularly monitoring and adjusting water quality is crucial to keeping fish alive and healthy. Data was captured manually with pen and paper, creating errors that limited the opportunity for data investigation. There was a high risk of fish loss if problems occurred between manual visits. The program had significant administrative burden and needed people to be on site on weekends and during school holidays.
Systems and software they were using included:
- eg test strips for measuring water quality indicators, pH level
- Excel spreadsheets for recording and analysing data.
Task – capturing data with smart sensors connected to cloud dashboards
The school wanted to automate the monitoring of water quality.
'Telstra Purple came to this with a willingness to listen and understand what the opportunity looks like, not with assumptions already made or just trying to sell .' – Daniel Hughes, CIO, Department for Education
In the planning stage, Telstra Purple worked with the pilot schools to develop a set of success criteria to make sure that the solution would deliver the right outcomes. Success criteria included:
- reducing the burden on teachers and students to perform manual visits to monitor the farm during weekends and school holidays
- providing critical alerts if there was something wrong at the farm
- creating better data analytics opportunities for students to identify trends over time and identify opportunities to improve farming yields
- granting students a greater sense of ‘ownership’ through confidence in the water monitoring systems.
Telstra Purple partnered with Verge Solutions (specialists in water-related sensors) to provide the schools with sensor devices that report back remotely over Telstra’s NB-IoT network to a friendly browser-based platform, Cumulocity.
This would:
- deliver on the desire for easier monitoring of aquaculture farms
- deliver more accurate data through automation.
All sensors (devices) were configured by Verge Solutions so that they were ready to be plugged in: as soon as they were placed in the farming tanks they immediately started delivering data.
We used to have to do a time-consuming water chemical analysis with a lot of human error. The sensors we receive from Verge are incredibly easy to setup. Very plug and play. Just run through a few calibration activities and 24/7 water quality data is coming in.
– Carol Hille, Senior Agriculture Teacher at Lucindale Area School
Action – automated data delivery to Cumulocity cloud
An ‘Internet of Things’ based sensor array was installed to monitor data automatically and remotely. Data was fed back to a cloud platform where students could analyse it. The school equipped each tank with an automated sensor with ‘Captis data logger’. The data logger sends data to the IoT connection.
The automated sensors measure:
- water temperature
- dissolved oxygen
- pH levels
- nitrate levels
- ammonia levels.
The sensors run on mains power to take readings every 15 minutes. The Captis unit is battery-powered and usually on standby to preserve battery life, waking once per day to send all 96 sensor readings to the cloud. If a sensor reading is outside the defined limits, it triggers an alarm that’s immediately sent to the cloud dashboard. From there, further alarms are triggered to send messages to team members for attention.
More details about how the tech works
The automated sensors were provided and managed by Verge Solutions. They use Captis Environmental IoT data loggers, which were developed and manufactured in Australia and deliver the direct NB-IoT connection. The loggers read data from an array of 5 sensors measuring water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrate and ammonia levels. Additional sensor options could be added for more insights, such as light levels, wind speed or a range of other options. One sensor array and a Captis are set up for each tank in the farm.
Results and impact: less manual burden on farms and wider educational opportunities through cloud-based data
The pilot program has delivered significant new learning opportunities for South Australia’s educators.
The schools directly involved with the pilot have had a greatly enhanced experience with data collection and aquaculture farm management.
For the rural students involved with the existing programs, the enhanced IoT data processes are also insightful for the farming communities they’re often already involved with. Farming parents are seeing the dashboards and data insights that are now possible, and their potential to improve farming outcomes. It’s a window to new possibilities and for students a fertile training ground for using the farming tools of the future.
“Our schools are creative, innovative, and looking for opportunities to increase engagement. Technology plays a role in helping to achieve that.” - Daniel Hughes, CIO, Department for Education
Additional monitoring systems could be added, such as power monitoring and water flow monitoring to cover additional points of potential failure and further reduce risks to the fish.
How IoT technology could work for you
Who or what it’s for
The IoT network is great for automating the collection of data and remotely monitoring systems. Some ideas of how your school or preschool could use it are:
- start small with low cost sensors connected to micro:bits , Raspberry Pi or Arduino which can be programmed by students
- monitor moisture levels in classroom and office plants to send an alert when plants need water
- monitor indoor environmental quality
- automation of existing systems and devices such as air conditioners .
Contact
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