GatorByte—An Open-Source Platform for Low-Cost, Real-Time Water Resource Monitoring

Commercially available water-quality monitoring systems are often cost prohibitive for water-resource professionals. The goal of this project is to develop a low-cost, compact, and mobile water-quality datalogging system deployable for short or long operations. The system aims to be as flexible and serviceable as possible, even for users with limited experience with programming and/or electronics. Low-cost, and off-the-shelf or 3D printed components enhance the transferability, customization, and platform’s ease-of-maintenance. The GatorByte currently uses the Particle family of Arduino compatible cellular-capable microcontrollers, open-source software, environmental sensors, GPS, SD card storage, and Bluetooth module to monitor, log, and transmit water-quality data and position periodically to a remote server over cellular network. Using off-the-shelf components along with a custom circuit board limits a unit’s cost to under $1,500. The sensing unit is complimented by a cloud-based datastore, along with web and mobile applications to visualize the data. GatorByte enables collection of water quality data at locations varying spatially in a cost-effective and reliable manner. The system’s hardware and firmware are extremely flexible allowing researchers and water-resource managers to scale and modify the system for their needs.