Project Proposal
Name of the Student : CHAITANYA RUDRA
E-mail address : chaitu_rudra@yahoo.co.in
Name of the supervisor : Prof.(Dr.) B.KANTA RAO
Title of the Project : EMR PAD – A DATA TOOL FOR RURAL INDIA
Area : Innovative applications of communication systems for problems related to rural areas in India.
Objective of your project
Advanced technology is proliferating in cities and towns of India, where as such these
are not percolating into rural areas, which vastly consist of agricultural population. We hear of
crop failures, due to bad seeds, untimely rains, improper fertilizer, and insecticide use etc. on
the basis of our visit to a village close to Visakhapatnam has revealed that the farmers, and
artisans, need technical inputs to make their effort worth while to uplift their economic condition.
A few of the pointers are:
• Agricultural products are marketed by middlemen making them rich at the expense of
the producer. The farmer needs commercial guidance.
• Basic measurement and recording techniques along with simple application
procedure of the following are needed for the rural community.
1. Measurement of fat content in the Milk being produced.
2. Measurement of yield content of Sugarcane produced.
3. Moisture rate of soil and right fertilizer needs of farm land.
4. Protection of produce from Rodents.
5. Help in reducing burnouts of Pump sets.
6. A simple and effective means of recording the farm activities by
farmer/artisan, majority of them being uneducated.
7. Information on commercial value of produce, relative to city rates.
8. Also purification of water by hydrolysis method in a cost effective way.
• All this information and many more can now be provided using the Modern
Embedded Technology that is available at a very low cost. Today an Embedded
Processor with 8 channels ADC, two to three channels of timers, plenty of Input lines
for display and external action is available for about Rs.100/- only. All that is needed
is providing suitable sensors and display functions in such an ergonomic style that it
is made easier for the rural folk for effective utilization.
• Embedded Processors are available with sufficient flash memory, EEPROM, and
RAM to store a variety of information. With suitable insertion of sensors, the unit can
be used for measurement and storage of the above parameters. This unit is named
as Embedded Measurement and Recording Pad. This ‘EMR pad’ can do
measurements and display qualitative/quantitative values depicting the suggested
areas of measurement, so that the innocent farmer/artisan is not duped by the
smarter middle men. In simple words we are trying to develop a Biological Flash
Drive.
• Weavers and Artisans may need different measurement tools than those needed by
the farmer. This problem reduces the choice of proper plug-ins for the job on hand,
with one processor containing all the needed programs and interfaces.
• Using short range wireless telemetry, the farmer can get, with simple displays, the
status of his pump set, and even be able to turn it on/off by monitoring the
temperature.
Brief description :
This project uses the state of the art Embedded Processors with Flash Memory
and ADC to interface the many sensors to collect data directly. The sensors consist of:
• Fat measurement interface.
• Percent of sugar yield in sugar cane injection unit.
• Moisture measurement in grains and plant-interface.
• Temperature distribution measurement and record.
• To store the data in the pad and convey it to the village chief.
Today such processors are quite cost effective. Hence a small pad can be
provided with many plug-in interfaces so that the villager effortlessly gets what he wants.
Such information from the farmers and artisans in a village will be the database for the
village chief to act.
The scope of the project is such that it can expand to meet as many features as
possible. We will be using a short range communication such as 12C, or SPI using a
short-range wireless link. All the embedded processors have programmability for 12c or
SPI. Our Institute has the infrastructure to build a prototype.
Unique features of the project :
Short range communication suitable for village background is attempted here.
The range is typically half a kilometer, with numeric data only, to begin with. This data
will be displayed in an LCD unit. Once information is readily available, middlemen cannot
dupe a farmer/artisan and the village chief. We may begin with one feature and expand it
to many others, as needed. Such a concept is new in this country.
Inputs (required by the project) :
All the inputs in terms of measurable parameters would be obtained from a
number of visits to the villages. Once the samples are available, with the assistance of
the departments in this institute, particularly the Chemical Engineering Department, a
method of measurement would be developed. This involves building laboratory
prototypes and embedded computer interfaces and development tools. Our Computer
Department will provide support for Integrated Development Environment for a number
of processors to develop the program and prototype. The necessary expertise in terms
of software/hardware interface is available in this institute.
Outputs (deliverables from the project) :
The objective of this effort is to build a prototype [laboratory version] for testing in
the working environment. After making a prototype and testing as above, a final module
will be built, incorporating both soft-ware and hard-ware corrections. The successful
version would then be ready for additional ‘plug-ins’ to make the pad versatile.
Existing Approaches:
Existing methods being currently used make use of only chemical test
procedures for some of the features mentioned. For example, fat measurement by
chemical methods is time consuming, and prone to personal errors. This method exists
for Milk fat only. For sugarcane yield, chemical methods are time consuming, and the
producer cannot know its veracity. The producer needs a measure which is sufficiently
dependable to ‘check’ the factory measurements. It is in this situation that the ‘EMR pad’
comes to help. The producer can sample a few cc’s of sugar cane, by suction methods
and electro-chemical measurement. Whereas with the ADC interface the quality of
sugarcane can be measured over relatively larger samples if faster and direct methods
are developed. Most of the measurements are made in situ, to get exact assessment.
Computer based methods, if properly developed, are fast and accurate. The data is
store at once and can be tabulated using 12C bus for direct interface to a PC.
How is this proposal different from existing approaches:
There are few measurement and recording methods transparent to the producer,
villager, or the artisan. Most of the existing methods are easily manipulated taking
advantage of the illiterate villagers :
• Originally : The method suggested is a new approach, and we are not
aware of any equivalent in use.
• Performance : Expected to be fast and accurate with very low battery
power. Solar recharging will no doubt makes them
attractive.
• Costs/ benefits : All efforts will be made to reduce the costs. The final
product will be kept below Rs.1000/-.
References (literature) :
Approach to solving the problem (Implementation details) :
• Modeling :
We will use an Integrated Development Environment where a number of processors
could be simulated, programs written and tested. The test procedure is based on the
algorithms for the measurements in the questions raised above. Each measurement
requires a separate algorithm, separate hardware interface. We will make the circuit after
the basic algorithms have been proved along with the hardware interfaces. We will make a
PC board with all the features, including display for laboratory trials.
• Construction / Experiments / Programming :
For all the initial measurements and testing, a development board for the
processor selected will be used. The program development environment and a
simulation facility will be used to verify the program functionality.
After ensuring that the logic is working well, the necessary hardware setup will be
built, still using the development board. At this point of time we have not decided the
choice of processor. Our laboratories have ample infrastructure and development to
handle both hardware and software well.
In the tests we will be using an LCD display for the digital values. Our program
will take care of it. We have been studying the methods to be used for:
• Testing of FAT in milk.
• Percentage sugar yield.
• Moisture measurement in agricultural environment.
• Temperature measurement for agricultural use.
• Purification of water samples.
(a) For the fat measurement we intended using an electro-chemical method, interfaced
with ADC in a Microprocessor. This information is analyzed and displayed. However we
are getting more data to use other methods to get better results. These results will be
compared with standard chemical methods to ensure their accuracy.
(b) For the sugar content test we are right now considering a few techniques. Some of
them are based on IR spectroscopy and others are based on NMR spectroscopy.
In IR spectroscopy method the liquid sample capsule when held between two plates
of sodium chloride when subjected to IR radiation gives out specific spectral response.
Each spectrum corresponds to a particular molecule (molecular vibrations are different
for different molecules). The spectra so obtained will be used to determine the level of
sugar content in the sample.
In NMR spectroscopy method, unlike the above, measures the energy absorbed
when certain nuclei undergo nuclear spin transitions. TMS (tetramethylsilane) is used to
calibrate the NMR spectra. Small amount of TMS is added to sample initially. The
difference in the frequency units between the sharp TMS peak and the absorption signal
of the concerned sample’s proton is called chemical shift. These chemical shifts help to
identify the concerned sample. We intend to simplify the program to suit an embedded
processor.
(c) For the purification of water in a drinking glass we are planning to use UV radiation
by a simple pen-type immersion electrode. Exposure of the drinking water sample to this
radiation for few minutes before drinking makes it free from germs.
(d) For moisture measurement, the standard method is to place the sample in a capsule,
and measure the capacitance and loss angle. This value is compared with dry sample. A
differential method thus distinguishes the quality of sample. Temperature is measured by
a silicon temperature sensor physically mounted inside the capsule.
All the above tests will be compared with the traditional chemical methods to
prove their accuracy.
• Testing :
The EMR pad we are designing will be first made as a prototype which consists
of a processor with different interfaces for different applications. First we will concentrate
more on making the tool as a data collecting unit for the suggested usage. The idea of a
portable measurement pad for agricultural use is a novel concept. This idea needs
further development to make it versatile. This extension will, we hope cover all the
possible needs of a farmer/artisan with the technological background of embedded
processor. This EMR pad in brief form is a biological flash drive. This prototype will then
be field tested.
The commercial product will be built after the prototype is successful. All the
parts will be integrated to make the ‘EMR pad’ a compact one which can be held in a
palm.
• Results :
It is too premature for us to present any data, unless tested in the field. Hence valid
results can be presented only at an appropriate time.
• System integration issues :
LCD
Display
SUGAR:
Infrared
Source and
Detector
Serial
Interface
Local
Retransmission
Wireless
Simple Function Keys in
Local Language
Moisture and
temperature
MILK:
Dielectric
Sample
Capsule
Multiplexed
ADC
Channels
100kbps
12 BIT
WATER:
Ultrasonic
Exposure
face
model 2
Solar
Embedded
Processor
with Flash
memory
and I/O
12C/USART
Interface
Support infrastructure required :
Our Laboratories in the Computer Science and Engineering provides Embedded
Systems, Single Board Computers, and Integrated Development Environment for a family of
processors. So directly the programs will be simulated and tested. For all chemical responses
our Chemical Engineering Department, and also the Chemistry Departments will be of great
help. Our laboratories have the necessary hardware infrastructure to build a prototype capsules
and interfaces.
Likely problems that may be encountered :
Most of the problems occur only when field trials are run. In spite of the great care in the
software and hardware development, we do expect teething problems in the field. By the nature
of these problems, we need to change our firmware to perfection. No project can go through
final testing with out a scratch.
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