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ELECTRONIC RAIN PROBES



Recently, MagRabbit-AU was requested by a client to design and manufacture electronic rain probes. The probes were designed to meet the following concepts:

  • Each rain probe is embedded with an electronic board to measure the rainfall data electronically, log the measurement data, and periodically transmit the data via GPRS/SMS to an operations center.
  • As the probes are installed in remote areas, they are configured and controlled remotely with minimum on-site work by technicians. For example, the probe can be configured to measure and transmit data more regularly in the rainy season and less regularly in the dry season.
  • At the operations center, operations officers can monitor rainfall from hundreds of probes around the country. The rainfall data is useful for flood/landslide alert, dam/reservoir operational support, and weather forecasting.
  • The rain probes are in a compact size, easy to mount and install on diverse surfaces and terrains.
  • The probes are expected to be low-cost and suitable to be deployed with mass volume.

Fig 1. A rain probe network

The heart of every rain probe is a tipping bucket. The rainwater flow causes the bucket to move, which invokes an electronic counter to measure rain level. Figure 2 illustrates an electronic board inside a rain probe. The board includes the following components:

  • Ultra-low-power ARM Cortex microprocessor STM32L151C6
  • GSM/GPRS antenna and wireless module Quectel M95
  • Battery charging controller BQ24298RTWT
  • And other electronic parts.

The firmware which implements the measurement logic is burnt into the flash memory of the microprocessor.

Fig 2. The electronic board inside a rain probe network (front and back sides)

The probe can operate in either electricity mode or battery mode. Embedded lithium-ion battery ensures the probe to survive in at least 30 days in case of electricity blackout in harsh weather.

In this project, MagRabbit-AU has gone through full life-cycle of product development:

  • Co-work with the client to develop an initial concept for the rain probe and the operation center software application.
  • Design and implement the operation center software application.
  • Design the rain probe, including the electronic board, the bucket, and related components. After finishing limited prototypes, MagRabbit-AU supports the client to monitor the production to make sure the end product meets the desired requirements.
  • Support the client with marketing and post-production technical support.

This is a successful case study in which MagRabbit-AU has provided excellence in electronic design service. The service we provided benefited the client not only in high product quality but also in cost saving and short time-to-market.

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