The First Sensor Installation
By Ethan Cheung and Patrick Hao
On March 3, 2024, the Hardware team of the Alviso Environment Impact project went to the Alviso library to assemble our first environmental sensor and then install it in the field.
Drilling a hole in the side of the container
Firstly, we drilled several holes in the mounting box to allow the power cable to get in and to improve the airflow. This ensured that the air quality and sound sensors were properly exposed. Then, we used screws to secure the Raspberry Pi and sensors inside the box. After that, we tested the data collection code that has been deployed into the Raspberry Pi. To our surprise, the code that had worked before failed to communicate to the AdaFruit server. We troubleshooted the network issue until we finally figured out that the Raspberry Pi was not connected to the library’s Wifi, since we did not accept the library’s terms for free Wi-Fi before using it. This issue was further compounded by the error messages not mentioning that we weren’t connected to the internet.
After we debugged the program, we packed it up and went to Marcos’ house. He warmly volunteered to host our sensor . Marco secured it onto a fence post and plugged it in using an extension cable. We then checked if the code was working by debugging it. After some time, it finally started transmitting data, rewarding our patience and effort.
Raspberry Pi and sensors are mounted
In the end, we learned the lesson of persevering through persistence and hard work. For instance, when our sensor seemed to not work, we were able to fix it through constant review of everything that could possibly be going wrong. Eventually, we identified the issue and fixed it. When we were installing the sensor at Marcos’ house, the sound sensor seemed to be dysfunctional; it was not transmitting any data. By persistently troubleshooting, we were able to fix it in the end.
The final product - our first sensors are working and the housing is mounted
As for the future, we hope to continue installing sensors in the backyards of Alviso’s volunteering residents. We will also improve the enclosure, as currently it does not have phenomenal airflow. The dashboard team will be busy analyzing the data from the sensors at Marcos’ house.
