A low-cost, low power(solar-powered) IoT node which can be fixed on any electricity/light pole which cuts off the power to the pole as soon as it detects that current is leaking from the pole thus preventing any deaths due to electrocution from the pole.
OUR INSPIRATION
In the year 2019, the state of Gujarat, India was hit by the worst floods in the past decade. There was water logging in many areas across the state and so the electric current leaking from the poles was running into the water nearby. Every day there was news of the deaths of people and animals due to electrocution from these poles. The photos and videos of dead bodies of innocent children and speechless animals floating in the water were disheartening. As we researched more about this, we found that each year in the monsoon season, around 1000 people and even more animals die due to this problem in India. So we decided to solve this problem.
This project is working toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
Testimony of a parent who lost her child due to electrocution
HOW IT WORKS
We have designed a unique electric current leakage detection sensor which works on the principle of Faraday's Law. This sensor along with other components such as a buzzer, relay (as a switch), LED, GPS is interfaced with an ESP8266 microcontroller board and the Helium Developer Kit which has many sensors built-in out of which we are going to use the gyroscope, temperature and humidity sensor. We would have had to purchase and interface each of those sensors individually which would have made the project more messy, difficult, and costly but thanks to the helium developer kit, no extra sensors need to be bought. The Helium developer kit is the most perfect fit for this project.
The whole arrangement is powered by a LiPo battery which is charged by a solar panel attached to the device. The device leverages the power of The people's network to transmit sensor data.
As soon as the electric current leaks from the pole, the device detects it and the ESP8266 board switches the relay to off position and so the current to that specific pole is cut-off preventing electrocution due to that pole. As a double safety measure, LED flashes and buzzer is rung to keep the nearby animals and people away from the pole. At the same time, a red dot flashes on the map of the dashboard of the city command and control center portraying the exact GPS location of the faulty pole. The dashboard also shows the various parameters as shown in the screenshot below :
Various parameters of the device as seen on the end-user dashboard
HOW IT IS DIFFERENT
There is no other product available in the market which solves this problem. People still need to call and inform the electricity board that this pole has fallen or leaking current. So, we are automating the whole process and we are the first one offering such a solution. Still, some unique features of our design are:
It provides a real-time update of the various parameters of the pole, i.e pole temperature (to detect a fire), pole orientation (if it's tilted or come-off during storm or floods), current leakage, humidity, etc.
As soon as there is any kind of fault, SMS is sent to the local people informing them about the condition and asking them to stay away with the exact GPS location of the pole, an IP based call to the concerned supervisor of the pole, and also it's status is updated in the control room of the city.
The power supply to the pole is cut-off immediately.
A buzzer is rung and LED flashes to even aware the people as well as animals nearby.
These were some of the very sad incidents that happened in just one country (India), if implemented at a global level, we believe that this Helium Developer Kit ( and Helium Network ) based device has the potential to save thousands of lives across the world💖.
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