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ENVIRONMENTAL
MONITORING |
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Environmental
monitoring describes the processes and activities needed to characterise
and monitor the quality of the environment. It is used in many circumstances
in which human activities can introduce a risk of harmful effects
on the natural environment. |
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All monitoring strategies and programmes have reasons and justifications
which are often designed to establish the current status of an environment
or the trends in environmental parameters. In order to be useful the
results of monitoring should be reviewed, statistically analysed and
published. The design of a monitoring system must, therefore, have
regard to its final use and scope. Unless individual monitoring can
produced a big amount of data, the results are unlikely to be published
and the environmental understanding produced by the monitoring is,
in most of the case, lost.
Norman Research has attempted to overcome this kind of approach by
designing and developping an Environmental monitoring solution based
on technology "M2M", which integrates hardware, software
and services that let analyze in real time any physical parameter
monitored and remotely manage the transmission of data collected to
servers from where people can easily read final information.
The architecture of the monitoring system includes:
• A peripheral hardware module, the monitoring station for detecting
and analyzing the values of monitored parameters and to transmit them,
via an integrated GPRS modem, to server. The unit conforms to EU directives
concerning safety and electromagnetic compatibility and provides the
following features:
- Acquisition of data in real-time.
- Analysis of the measures according to the parameters setup by the
user.
- Transmission of data in compressed format to achieve optimal performance.
- Downloading data in a buffer memory to avoid losing them in case
of no connectivity.
- Updating the firmware remotely.
• A dedicated software system, which allows simultaneous communication
with the remote monitoring stations located on the affected area.
The software provides:
- The storage of data received on the centralized database.
- The management of the messaging alert to guys deputies or involved,
just in the selected mode (SMS, voice call, email, fax): messages
provide information about failures of the control units or exceeding
limits specified for the environmental parameters monitored.
- The management of diagnostic and reprogramming of the device.
- The configuration of the operating parameters of the devices.
- The setting of alarm handling rules.
- The management of confidential data by configuring different access
levels.
• The website, designed and implemented to allow a reading of
the collected data immediately understandable both in graphical and
/ or table ways.
A first implementation of the system was performed within the project
for evaluating the WWF oasis "Bussento Caves" located in
Morigerati (SA), aimed to enable a greater chance of finding and using
information coming from both tourists, expert peole who study and
monitor the oasis.
Access to monitoring of the WWF Oasis "Bussento Caves":
PC version
- PDAs version.
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