What is an IoT Alert Handling System?
An IoT alerting system provides a cost-efficient way to convey instantaneous messages to designated people for appropriate measures to be taken. Their implementations are many and across domains. The most important component of the IoT alert handling system is the sensors which can be wired or wireless sensors. Sensors are used to detect and measure various physical phenomena such as heat and pressure as well as the five human senses — sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
If the sensor is meant to be the heart of the alert handling system, then notifications are like arteries through which messages are transmitted. Through notifications, we can transmit any kind of information to users. This post details how IoT alerting systems are being used to solve pressing problems in different walks of life.
How does an Alert Handling System Function?
It uses Radio Frequency (RF) detectors to detect the unique combination of RF signals emitted by RF transmitters. Raspberry Pi helps in the processing and analysis of the received signals and also generates the alerts that are configured for each type of signal. It doesn’t cost much and it’s easy to implement.
Raspberry pi
This is a tiny, affordable computer that you can use to learn programming through fun, practical projects. This looks like a credit card and can be used along with Computer, TV, Standard Keyboard, and mouse. It was developed in the United Kingdom by the Raspberry
Foundation in association with Broadcom. It is a capable little device that helps people of all ages to explore computing and to learn to code using languages such as Scratch and Python.
Interesting Fact: “Raspberry” originates from the fruit-based naming tradition for microcomputers. “Pi” refers to “Python” because Python was one of the first programs ported to run on Raspberry Pi.
Practical Applications of Alert handling systems
Now it’s time to see where these alert systems are being used in the real world. They are widely used for both commercial and domestic purposes.
- Flood Alert system
- Fishermen Alert system
- Smart Garbage Monitoring Alert system
- Drowsy Driver Alert System
Flood Alert Warning System:-
A flood warning system has automated sensors that are placed on the river bed or beside the river, on the bank, or on the edge of a reservoir, throughout a defined area. Data is collected and sent immediately to a control station or to a personal computer that is connected wirelessly.
Generally speaking, the flood alerts have been categorized as below:
- Flood watches will be issued when flooding is anticipated within 12–48 hours.
- Flood warnings are more severe and will be issued if widespread flooding is expected across a large region, or if flooding is actively taking place.
- Flash flood watches and warnings follow the same protocol, but it’s specifically used for rapid flooding, usually from heavy rain or dam failure.
- Flood statements are released to the media and public when flooding is predicted to occur along major streams, which does not pose a threat to people and property.
Based on the above standard communication criteria, various IoT manufacturers develop and produce ALERT hardware and software, most of them are cross-compatible and hence can be used by any sector.
Working Principle of IoT Flood Alert Warning System
As shown in the above picture, the functionality of the Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge is to collect the set amount of precipitation after which the container tips and dumps out the collected water and sends an electrical signal to the data transmitter. The next level is an integrated data logging system which is a real-time monitoring station that houses the data logger, telemetry module, and power/charging supply.
The Mounting Hardware Data loggers can be mounted directly to a pole on the bridge, depending on the location and the recommended monitoring plan.
Water level sensors using radar technology provide additional support level gauging methods such as submersible pressure transducers, which will be used while monitoring hard-to-reach locations.
The most important part of any monitoring project is the transmission and accessing of the collected data. Recording measurements onsite and reading it from the devices is one method, but it is time-consuming. The ability to collect, send and view monitoring data in real-time on a computer that is away from the site is far more efficient.
Smart Garbage Monitoring & Alert system
As the global population continues to rise, waste management becomes increasingly challenging, especially in a country like India, where sanitation is a huge problem. This is mainly due to improper waste monitoring and management processes. The key issue here is that public garbage bins get filled and overflow well in advance before the commencement of the next cleaning process. This leads to various health hazards and bad odor which could cause the spread of various diseases.
Solution
An intelligent garbage monitoring and alert system for proper garbage management are what it takes to resolve this issue. This alerting system sends out a signal to its respective waste management web server by requesting to be sanitized. It continuously monitors the level of waste in the bin using an ultrasonic sensor. This ultrasonic sensor checks the level of garbage-filled in the dustbin and sends the alert to the municipal web server once it reaches the designated level. The municipal office then sends a sanitation employee to clean the bin before it gets completely filled or overflows. After cleaning the dustbin, the sanitation employee confirms the task of emptying the garbage with the aid of an RFID tag.
Fishermen Alert system
People living in the coastal areas majorly depend on fishing for their income. If the fishermen cross the maritime borders of their country it is treated as a serious offense. Due to them being unaware of the boundaries, the fisherman might cross these borders. Once they do, they and their boats are captured by the coastal guard of the neighboring country. IoT-based border alerting system can help fishermen know exactly where they are and where the boundary is.
Working Mechanism of Fishermen Alerting System
Zigbee is a wireless technology that was developed as an open global standard to address the unique needs of low-cost, low-power wireless IoT networks. Its communication is specially built for control and sensor networks.
By using the GPS device located on the boat, the current latitude and longitude values of the boat’s location will be determined and it will be compared to the predefined latitude and longitude values of where the boundary lies. ZigBee devices can transfer data over long distances by relaying it through a network of intermediate devices. It is best suited for intermittent data transmission from a sensor or an input device. If a single boat crosses the border unknowingly, all the other fishing boats in the vicinity, which carry a similar configuration of the alerting system, will also get alerted. This system provides an alert to both the fisherman and coast guard present in that region.
Drowsy Driver Alert System
Fatigue or drowsiness of drivers is one of the major causes of road accidents. The IoT solution for this studies the visual attitude, face movement, and blink frequency of the driver and arrives at a conclusion. The blink of the eye is a key differentiating factor to detect the drowsiness of the driver. When a driver inadvertently closes his eye, the threshold value of the Eye Aspect Ratio (EAR) falls below the given range. The threshold value of a drowsy eye blink sample represents the number of video frames, acquired in specific intervals of time, of the driver’s eyes closed. If the consecutive counting frames increase above the range of the designated count, then the drowsiness of the driver is confirmed.
Here, a Raspberry Pi camera is used to continuously monitor the movement of the driver’s eyes through which the threshold value of EAR is calculated. A counter is also included for counting the occurrence of frames where the EAR is equal to or below the threshold value set. If the threshold count of continuous frames where the EAR is below the threshold value is reached, a noise of a specific frequency that alerts the driver is activated and played by a speaker that’s placed in the vehicle, and a mail or an automated voice call is sent/placed to the alternate contact of the driver, who can then call and alert him.
Technology has advanced a long way to provide simple and cheap solutions to our day-to-day problems and IoT is at the forefront of it all.
