https://doi.org/10.35290/ro.v3n2.2022.595
Internet of things system for ultraviolet index monitoring
in the community of Chirinche Bajo
Sistema de Internet de las cosas para el monitoreo del índice
ultravioleta en la comunidad de Chirinche Bajo
Fecha de recepción: 2022-03-15 • Fecha de aceptación: 2022-04-14 • Fecha de publicación: 2022-06-10
Edison David Mañay Chochos1
Alfa Soluciones – Ingeniería, Ecuador
edisondavid199201@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3447-2511
Mauricio Danilo Chiliquinga Malliquinga2
Alfa Soluciones – Ingeniería, Ecuador
maurynpj@yahoo.es
Henry Salvador Taco Bonilla3
Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Ecuador
hstaco@espe.edu.ec
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5120-5098
Mónica Maribel Moreno Corrales4
Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Ecuador
mmmoreno@espe.edu.ec
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2439-5559
Abstract
The impact of the ultraviolet radiation index is becoming more intense and dangerous for the
health of the epidermis and eyesight of people, especially for farmers in the Chirinche Bajo
(Ecuador) community. Farmers are exposed to the intense sun during their work days in the
crops, for this reason, a technological system based on the Internet of Things (IoT) was
proposed to inform them of the UV index to which they are exposed and take precautions to
go out to do their daily work. A monitoring device was developed and an application in the
API of the Thinger.io platform to visualize and manage alarms. During the monitoring time,
the system detected a UV index higher than 9 in the morning and afternoon hours (11am to
1pm), which according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is classified as very
dangerous: it recommends wearing clothing that covers most of the body, sunscreen, a hat and
sunglasses. In the community, the farmers use their traditional hat, which does not cover their
faces optimally, and due to the lack of economy, they do not use sunscreen. The project is an
initial contribution to create a culture of information and technological development in rural
agricultural areas of Ecuador.
Keywords: ultraviolet index, solar radiation, Internet of things, WHO, farmers.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4443-4604
Resumen
El impacto del índice de radiación ultravioleta cada día es más intenso y peligroso para la
salud de la epidermis y la vista de las personas, especialmente para los agricultores de la
Comunidad de Chirinche Bajo, Ecuador. Los campesinos se exponen al sol intenso en sus
jornadas laborales en los cultivos, por ese motivo, se propuso un sistema tecnológico basado
en internet de las cosas (IoT) para informar del índice UV al que se encuentran expuestos y
tomen precauciones para salir a sus labores cotidianas. Se desarrolló un dispositivo para el
monitoreo y una aplicación en la API de la plataforma Thinger.io para visualizar y gestionar
alarmas, en el tiempo de seguimiento el sistema detectó un índice UV mayor a 9 en horas de
la mañana y tarde (11am a 13pm), que según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), es
catalogada como de muy alto peligro: recomienda usar prendas que cubran la mayor parte del
cuerpo, protector solar, sombrero y anteojos de sol. En la comunidad los agricultores utilizan
su sombrero tradicional que no cubre de forma óptima el rosto y por la falta de economía no
utilizan protector solar. El proyecto es un aporte inicial para crear una cultura de información
y desarrollo tecnológico en las zonas agrícolas rurales del Ecuador.
Palabras clave: índice ultravioleta, radiación solar, Internet de las cosas, OMS, agricultores.
Introduction
According to data from the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMHI),
solar radiation has increased by 50% in recent years, people exposed to the sun for a long time
have adverse effects on the skin, such as squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma,
melanoma and cataracts (Chango Tituaña, 2019).
Solar ultraviolet radiation is a natural element that has a significant effect on the environment.
The solar UV spectrum has many beneficial effects on vitamin D production in humans, but it
is also harmful if certain limits are exceeded; especially the skin and eyes are affected. Quispe
Huamán y Vargas Poma (2019) in their study proposed a prototype for wireless mobile
remote monitoring to report solar UV irradiance indices and associated risks. As a result, they
obtained a wireless system mobilized by a drone, to visualize its location and radiation level
they developed an application for Android and for PC in LabVIEW. Finally, they concluded
that the deployed device allows the monitoring and reporting of solar UV radiation indices
and associated risk levels to prevent skin erythema damage in people in the municipality of
Pampa.
Cañizares Guerrero (2019) implemented a system for monitoring ultraviolet radiation in real
time, at the Technical University of Cotopaxi (UTC), the data were displayed on a web page
and a mobile application together with a database connected to the internet, the device had
two microcontrollers Arduino mega 2560 and Arduino one for processing meteorological data
from the sensors, the power supply had two solar panels and two batteries connected in series.
With the project they managed to make people aware of the levels of UV radiation to which
they are exposed to raise awareness about health care and take protective measures according
to the WHO.
Cruz Checa (2020) in their work presented a monitoring system in the city of Arequipa for the
measurement of the solar ultraviolet UV radiation index at the wavelength of 280nm to
390nm. The device is equipped with a sensor, a microcontroller and is powered by solar
panels. The values obtained are displayed on a web page that sends a message indicating the
protection measures to take into account when exposed to the sun.
Chango Tituaña (2019) proposed a device based on UV optical sensors to allow the
educational community to be informed about UV radiation levels in real time. The device
comprised a UV sensor, a Raspberry Pi 3B with a database. A graphical user interface (GUI)
was used to visualize the UV index. The objective was to raise awareness and avoid effects
when performing outdoor activities.
Arroyo Cornejo & Andrade Lucio (2017) built an ultraviolet radiation meter to assess the
implications of prolonged exposure on people, such as the intensity of UV radiation to which
citizens are exposed throughout the day, and determined a peak time when radiation levels are
at their highest.
Orozco Jaramillo y Ordóñez Mendieta (2019) implemented a system for monitoring solar
radiation levels in the city of Loja, Ecuador. The system was based on the development of a
network of two ultraviolet (UV) sensors constituted as the nodes of the network that
communicate with the base station that sent the processed data to an Android mobile
application in real time, it was possible to visualize the UV index with their respective
prevention indications and the history of the data obtained.
Villagómez-Pesantez (2019) design a solar radiation (UV) monitoring and alert system with
an embedded system, virtual private server (VPS) and mobile application (APP) to visualize
the level of solar radiation in real time, the objective of the project was to inform people in the
inter-Andean alley of Ecuador when there are high levels of solar ultraviolet radiation, which
is considered harmful to the skin and eyes.
1.1 Ultraviolet Index (UVI)
According to the WHO, the UVI is a standardized measure of the intensity of UV radiation on
the earth's surface that is related to the effects on people's skin. Table 1 presents the exposure
categories ranging from low to extremely high, related to intervals of integer values and their
respective color codes established by the WHO, and Table 2 presents the recommendations
for protection against UV exposure.
Table 1
Ultraviolet Index: exposure categories
Categories
Values
Colors
Download
<2
Moderate
3-5
High
6-7
Very high
8-10
Extremely high
>11
Table 2
UV protection recommendations
Table of recommendations
Index [ 1 - 2]
The UV radiation index has served to raise public awareness of the risks of excessive
exposure and to alert people to the need to use protective measures in accordance with WHO
recommendations, so that the population can reduce the time of exposure to solar radiation
and reduce damage to health (Pohl et al., 2020).
This article proposes an internet of things system for monitoring the ultraviolet index in the
community of Chirinche Bajo, in order to provide a technological tool to keep farmers
informed of the incidence of UV radiation, since they are exposed for long periods of time
during their days in the agricultural crops in the community. The following sections describe
the system design, technologies and devices used for monitoring, communication and IoT
platforms. Also, the results of the implemented and fully operational system are presented.
Methodology
To carry out the implementation and development of the internet of things system (IoT) for
monitoring the ultraviolet radiation index, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
methodology has been chosen, which makes a project more manageable when it is broken
down into individual parts, and establishes the project boundaries and scope.
Five work stages have been chosen for the development of the project, which are shown in
Figure 1.
Figure 1
Work stages according to WBS methodology
2.1 System architecture
The system consists of a monitoring device that collects UV radiation through the sensor, the
equipment is linked to the wireless Wifi router, which relays the data through the TCP/IP
network to the IoT platform Thinger.io, where the UV sensor variable is stored, a user-
friendly graphical interface is available and early warning alarms are generated to inform the
farmer when there is a high UV radiation index. The design was developed based on the
architecture shown in Figure 2.
State of the art
study
Hardware
development
Implementation
of the user
interface
Tests and
results
Presentation of
results
The IoT system for UV index radiation monitoring is integrated by:
• UV radiation monitoring device
• Wireless Wifi router
• IoT platform, for user interface development.
Figure 2
IoT system architecture for UV radiation monitoring
Wireless
wireless network
UV monitoring
device
Web server
Internet link
port Data Store
Power
outlet
Power
outlet
Wireless Wifi router
IoT Central
applications
PC
Mobile App
2.2 Materials for the design of the monitoring device
A ML8511 UV detector module, TTGO ESP32 LoRa-OLED (V1) microcontroller, LM2596
power regulator and a 2-cell LiPo battery were used to develop the device.
2.2.1 ML8511 UV detector module
The ML8511 sensor detects light with wavelengths from 280 to 390 nm, covering the UVB
and UVA spectra. The analog output is linearly related to the intensity of UV radiation.
(Naylamp Mechatronics SAC, 2021). Figure 3 shows the module.
Figure 3
ML8511 UV detector module
2.2.2. Microcontroller TTGO ESP32 LoRa-OLED (V1)
It is a microcontroller based on the ESP32 board model and has Bluetooth connectivity
protocols, wifi and a Semtech SX1276 transceiver chip integrated on the board and a
SSD1306 OLED display (Ordoñez Obando y Ruiz Quimis, 2021). The TTGO model is shown
in Figure 4.
Figure 4
TTGO ESP32 LoRa - OLED (V1)
2.3 Monitoring device architecture
The device is composed of the TTGO ESP32 LoRa-OLED module that works as a
microcontroller and data transmission device of the ML8511 module, through the Wifi
protocol to the thinger.io platform, the schematic design is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5
UV radiation monitoring device architecture
2.4 Graphical user interface design
IoT platforms are an important component of the Internet of Things ecosystem, allowing to
visualize, manage and control devices. For features such as: subscription with free account,
monitoring and control, update time up to 1 second per reading, adaptability to different
TTGO-LoRa32-OLED V1
3.3V
5V
GND
development boards, GUI configuration, database and alarm management, the thinger.io
platform is used.
Figure 6 presents the flowchart of the graphical user interface design; first the device is
registered and configured to obtain the access credentials to the Thinger.io platform; then the
HMI is designed, and the database and alarm are configured.
Figure 6
Graphical user interface design flowchart
2.5 Algorithm architecture of the UV radiation monitoring device
Figure 7 shows the flowchart of the algorithm developed for the acquisition of the UV radiation sensor
signal. The structure consists of libraries for access to the wireless Wifi network, OLED screen, etc.;
pin addressing, global variables; configuration and initialization of communication as a transmitter;
UV sensor reading, signal conditioning, data transmission in 5-minute intervals and display of
variables transmitted on the OLED screen.
Start
Device
registration
No
If
Decision
UV radiation
End
PC application and
Android mobile
application
Graphical user
interface design
Database
configuration
Alarm configuration
Receiving variables
in the API
Start
Libraries
Addressing pins and
global variables
Setup
Wifi communication initialization, access to the thinger.io
platform, OLED display, UV sensor
Loop
Sensor
reading
Signal conditioning
Data packaging
Frame transmission to
the platform thinger.io
Displays the transmitted
variables on
OLED display
End
Figure 7
Algorithm flowchart
2.6 Alarm management architecture
The UV index monitoring equipment was configured by code to generate alarms when it
detects an index greater than 4, so that it invokes the endpoints of the Thinger.io platform and
sends a text message to the Telegram account of the farmer who is registered. Figure 8 shows
how to connect to Telegram services and manage alarms from the IoT device.
Waiting time
Figure 8
Alarm management architecture
Telegram
Call actual endpoints with params
Using your telegram authorization
Results
Update device input resources
Using Thinger.io device credentials Invoke endpoints with params
Using Thinger.io device credentials
UV monitoring device
This section will present the evaluation of the system implemented in the community of
Chirinche Bajo located at 2983 meters above sea level, in the city of Salcedo, Ecuador.
Figure 9 shows the device implemented in a strategic location with geographic coordinates
(Latitude: -1.082956, Longitude: -78.648369), for UV radiation monitoring.
Figure 9
Implemented device
The implemented user interface consists of UV radiation and alarm widgets, as shown in
Figure 10.
Figure 10
Implemented user interface
The system has an alarm system, which sends a text message to the Telegram of the registered
farmer, the criteria for sending the message is when the UV monitoring device detects an
index greater than 4. Figure 11 shows the text messages generated by the IoT system
implemented.
Figure 11
Implemented user interface
3.1 Analysis of the monitored UV variable
According to the analysis of the period of global solar radiation 2001 - 2015 and UV radiation
2009-2017, with data recorded by the National Directorate of Meteorology and Hydrology
(SENAMHI), they observed a reduction in global solar irradiance, likewise UV ultraviolet
radiation had a slight tendency to decrease over time, they also determined the typical
behavior presented at 12 noon maximum irradiance records depending on the stations
(Chambi, 2018).
The exposure time when the UV radiation is between 1 and 2 can remain outdoors without risk,
for IUV of 11 or higher can be exposed for a maximum time of 10 minutes; the IUV on the
earth's surface are also measured in 𝑚𝑊/𝑐𝑚2, which for better understanding the WHO has
transformed into integer values ranging from 1 to 15 (Acurio Maldonado, 2021).
To analyze the variability of the UV radiation index, the device was kept under monitoring
from December 27, 2021 to January 30, 2022.
The behavior of the UV radiation index is an important factor for taking protective measures
for the skin and eyes of the farmers residing in the Chirinche Bajo community, which is why
the device was kept in constant monitoring of the UV radiation variable as shown in Figure
12.
Figure 12
UV index monitoring
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
TIME
A balance of the behavior of the UV index for all days showed that the variability is similar,
as shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13
UV index variability
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
00:00
02:24
04:48
07:12
09:36
12:00
14:24
16:48
19:12
21:36
00:00
TIME
When analyzing the incidence of the UV factor, it was found that on January 19, 2022, the
device received a greater variation in the UV index, which was higher than 9, as shown in
Figure 14.
Figure 14
UV radiation index per day
INDEX
INDEX
27/12/2021
28/12/2021
29/12/2021
30/12/2021
31/12/2021
01/01/2022
02/01/2022
03/01/2022
04/01/2022
05/01/2022
06/01/2022
07/01/2022
08/01/2022
09/01/2022
10/01/2022
11/01/2022
12/01/2022
13/01/2022
14/01/2022
15/01/2022
16/01/2022
17/01/2022
18/01/2022
19/01/2022
20/01/2022
21/01/2022
22/01/2022
23/01/2022
24/01/2022
25/01/2022
26/01/2022
27/01/2022
12
10
Conclusions
The designed device complies with UV radiation monitoring standards, which was verified
through experimental methodology in the community of Chirinche Bajo. The investment to
manufacture the equipment was US$70, which can be replicated and implemented in several
communities. The device has a battery with an autonomy of 48 hours. It was found that these
technological tools are very useful to generate studies and analysis of climate change as the
variability of ultraviolet radiation that every day is more intense and dangerous for the health
of the epidermis and sight of people especially for farmers who are exposed to the intense sun
in their working days in the crops, the system in the days of operation detected a UV index
greater than 9 in the morning and afternoon hours (11am to 13pm) which according to WHO
is classified as very high danger; The company recommends wearing clothing that covers
most of the body, sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses. In the community, the farmers use their
traditional hats that do not cover their faces optimally, and due to the lack of resources, they
do not use sunscreen.
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Copyright (2022) © Edison David Mañay Chochos, Mauricio Danilo Chiliquinga
Malliquinga, Henry Salvador Taco Bonilla y Mónica Maribel Moreno Corrales
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