ELECTRONIC RAIN PROBES

Fig 1. A rain probe network

The heart of every rain probe is a tipping bucket. The rainwater flow causes the bucket to move, which invokes an electronic counter to measure rain level. Figure 2 illustrates an electronic board inside a rain probe. The board includes the following components:

• Ultra-low-power ARM Cortex microprocessor STM32L151C6
• GSM/GPRS antenna and wireless module Quectel M95
• Battery charging controller BQ24298RTWT
• And other electronic parts.

The firmware which implements the measurement logic is burnt into the flash memory of the microprocessor.

Fig 2. The electronic board inside a rain probe network (front and back sides)

The probe can operate in either electricity mode or battery mode. Embedded lithium-ion battery ensures the probe to survive in at least 30 days in case of electricity blackout in harsh weather.

In this project, MagRabbit has gone through full life-cycle of product development:

• Co-work with the client to develop an initial concept for the rain probe and the operation center software application.
• Design and implement the operation center software application.
• Design the rain probe, including the electronic board, the bucket, and related components. After finishing limited prototypes, MagRabbit supports the client to monitor the production to make sure the end product meets the desired requirements.
• Support the client with marketing and post-production technical support.

This is a successful case study in which MagRabbit has provided excellence in electronic design service. The service we provided benefited the client not only in high product quality but also in cost saving and short time-to-market.