A cross-departmental research team from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI) consisting of Adi Wibowo, Ph.D. (Geography), Dr. Eko Kusratmoko (Geography), Dr. Supriatna, M.T. (Geography), Iqbal Putut Ash Shidiq, PhD (Geography), Dr. Supriyanto (Geoscience), Sukarno Bin Gendon, M.Si. (Geoscience), and Nugroho (Geoscience), developed an automatic local climate monitoring system to monitor air temperature, air humidity, and rainfall in real time. online.

This system uses climate parameter sensors for air temperature, air humidity and rainfall, along with location coordinates. Global Positioning System, which is operated in real time from a monitoring location via communication data transmission. cellular atau komunikasi Internet of Things (IoT). For local climate data, it can theoretically monitor an area of approximately 100 square meters.

Team leader, Adi Wibowo, Ph.D., said the advantage of this innovation is the data on air temperature, air humidity, and rainfall that has been sent to the system. cloud server It can be monitored automatically and accessed by anyone, without the need for manual recording or downloading. The web interface has also been enhanced to provide hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly updates.

This device is powered by electricity generated by a 12-watt peak (WP) solar panel. Within the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (UI), it is installed in the Geography Building and in the Geography Building parking area.

“The energy generated by a small solar panel measuring 12 watt peak “(WP) as an energy source stored in a battery. The data is collected 24 hours a day, but it depends on the daytime sun’s ability to fully charge the battery. If the battery runs out, the device will automatically restart the next day at sunrise to collect data,” Adi told the FMIPA UI Public Relations team.

He continued, explaining that, in general, there are quite a lot of climate elements, but only three can be monitored using this tool: air temperature, air humidity, and rainfall. These conditions are linked to the earth’s surface cover, for example, whether it’s covered by trees or covered by asphalt/cement. This innovation can monitor the condition of these climate elements both during the day (with sun) and at night (without sun). This allows for a better understanding of the climate conditions during the day and at night.

“The data will be updated every 10 minutes through this system. Another benefit is that it serves as an indicator in greenmetric calculations, allowing the system to monitor hot and cool areas in the area where the device is installed,” he said.

This innovation was developed by Adi and the FMIPA UI research team in 2022 through a funding scheme obtained from PUTI Q2 and PDUPT for devices registered for patents in 2022 and for patents in 2023 received grant funding assistance from PUTI Batch 3. The design process began by determining the device as a sensor capable of recording climate elements such as air temperature, air humidity, and rainfall. The team then analyzed and created a communication system to record these three elements from each sensor, then the team created an electrical energy source through batteries/power banks, and also solar energy.

The prepared sensors, communication systems, solar panels, and batteries were placed inside a box with support poles specially constructed by the team for proper placement at the monitoring location. The team then created a database and communication system based on the data. IoT and cloud server and designing a web display so that it can be accessed by users to find out the latest local climate conditions.

“Of course, the results are stored on the server and can be used as data for further analysis,” he said.

This innovation was piloted in Narimbang Village and Citengah Village, Sumedang Regency, as a community service activity in November 2022, and the device operated well.

Dr. Supriatna, M.T., Head of the Geography Department and a member of the research team, stated that this innovation was implemented to address the wider public’s need for information about weather and climate in their area. This way, people can plan or adjust their outdoor activities based on the results of weather and climate monitoring in the future.

“We designed this tool to help people monitor the weather and climate in their environment, allowing them to conduct outdoor activities based on the monitoring data,” said Dr. Supriatna.

He is optimistic that this innovation can be further developed by adding sensors for other climate parameters, such as wind direction and speed, sunlight, and ground surface temperature. Therefore, he hopes his team will receive further funding to continue research and develop this innovation.