Sensor network install

This page documents the installation of the sensor network part of the Urban Research Station at the Natural History Museum.

First-fix

The first-fix phase of the sensor network installation involved installing the infrastructure to support the sensor devices. This included running rigid ducting, installing waterproof Ethernet sockets, and installing groundscrews to support the devices. This work was mostly completed by the building contractors during the construction phase of the Urban Nature Project. The ground screws were installed by the Urban Research Team.

Ducting in inspection chamber.

ToDo: illustration of ducts, conduit, devices.

Waterproof Ethernet sockets were installed in the inspection chambers during the construction phase.

Ethernet sockets in inspection chamber.

Rigid ducting was run from the inspection chambers into the garden beds. The ducting emerges in a garden bed and needs to be cut below ground level.

Uncut rigiduct.

Groundscrews were installed in the garden to securely support the sensor devices.

Groundscrew.

Groundscrew in situ.

Second-fix

The second-fix phase involved installing the sensor nodes themselves. The sensor nodes are Raspberry Pi based devices inside plastic enclosures. The enclosures are mounted on the groundscrews and connected to the Ethernet sockets in the inspection chambers. Some sensors (e.g. microphones) are mounted within the enclosures and are isntalled at this stage.

Ethernet cables between sensor nodes and Ethernet sockets are installed in steel-reinforced flexible conduit to protect them from later landscaping work. The conduit is buried below ground level to protect it from damage.

Third-fix

The final phase of the installation is the placement of additional sensors within the landscape. These sensors cannot be co-located with the sensor nodes as they need to be placed in specific locations, such as in the water column or on trees. These sensors are connected via control cables to the sensor nodes for power and data transfer. The cables are protected either by steel-reinforced flexible conduit or using Copex (a type of flexible plastic conduit) depending on how likely they are to be affected by landscaping work.

Suspending sensors in the water column

Sensor suspended in water column.

Ultrasound distance sensor

Ultrasound distance sensor.