Environmental Sensing and Data Network (ESDN)

East Carolina University’s Water Resources Center is bringing environmental sensing to the masses. Participate with us!

What is ESDN and Why it is Relevant to You?

Critical to the understanding of and response to environmental changes, an Environmental Sensing and Data Network is a web of interconnected devices that collect and transmit environmental data in real-time. By giving data in real time, this network offers the potential for quick responses to environmental hazards and immediate insights into environmental trends impacting the community. In a world of rapid environmental change, ECU’s Water Resources Center is making this technology more cost-effective and accessible. Environmental sensing should be available to anyone who has an issue that is in need of monitoring. With this mission in mind, the Water Resources Center has been facilitating the deployment of sensors throughout Eastern North Carolina to study its most pressing environmental issues.

What Can We Measure?

The Water Resources Center offers a variety of sensors that can benefit the community. We offer water quality and quantity sensors, GPS trackers, air quality sensors, soil sensors, distance sensors (lidar, radar, and acoustic), temperature and humidity sensors, ambient light sensors, and weather stations.

Where Can We Measure?

The Water Resources Center primarily utilizes an IoT (Internet of Things) based environmental monitoring system which allows for real-time data collection that is low-cost, requires little power, and can be installed virtually anywhere. The Water Resources Center has access to both LoRaWAN enabled devices and NB-IoT enabled devices. LoRaWAN or Long-Range Wide Area Network devices are ideal for urban and suburban areas where Wi-Fi is more accessible. For more rural areas, devices with NB-IoT modules can be installed. NB-IoT enabled devices connect to cellular networks. Both LoRaWAN and NB-IoT enabled devices allow uploads of data in near real-time. If data collection in real-time isn’t necessary, we also have access to devices that store data over time.

Accessing Data

The Water Resources Center uses IoT platforms to manage devices and visualize their data. Through the creation of dashboards, data can be made accessible to the hosting partner or the public. Click on the link below to visit an example of an ESDN dashboard.

Example dashboard showcasing some of ESDN’s research sites. Click on the image to visit the dashboard.

Want To Collaborate?

Interested in learning more about IoT enabled sensors, contact us and we can see how our interests align. We are looking to expand our environmental monitoring network throughout Eastern North Carolina. If you would like to collaborate with the Water Resources Center contact  esdn@ecu.edu .