# A Smart Sensing System of Water Quality and Intake Monitoring for Livestock and Wild Animals
## 3 Experiment Setup  
Inputs of the remote water sensing system were water level and flow measurements, water temperature, camera and RFID for animal identification, and proximity/motion detector. Specific outputs of the system are all data from the sensors store on the SD card, the water valve control relays (if troughs not gravity-fed), and a flashing light to serve as a malfunction indicator if something on the system were to fail. The systems are primarily located in remote locations far from any power sources so they need to be able to operate on DC solar power. In our experiments, the systems were deployed in two locations. The first system was implemented in a testing site in Corona, New Mexico, USA for functional validation, and other systems were deployed in Tucumcari, New Mexico, and USA for real application and data collection. Both systems are working in outdoor conditions. The main goals of the system are to (1) identify each animal by RFID ear tag and/or photograph, (2) measure the water consumption of each of those animals, and (3) measure the quality of the water. The system schematic in Corona is illustrated in Figure 4. The central water source supplies four drinking stations. The central water source uses a dedicated water pump to control the water amount in each drinking station. The distance between the neighboring drinking stations is about 6 feet. Solar power is applied to support the electronics at the central station and each drinking station. Each drinking station has a trough and an opening for the cow as shown in Figure 5. Only one cow could drink in the trough at one time. The overall system implemented in the Corona testing site is shown in Figure 6.  
The data collection system deployment in the Tucumcari site is illustrated in Figures 7-11. The Tucumcari site is in a more controlled setting, allowing for easier field troubleshooting during the development phase of the system. Figure 7 illustrates one of the systems deployed in the Tucumcari site. The system has one central sensor box which contains four Arduino Boards and four drinking stations that are connected to them. The four Arduino boards act as the central processing unit of each drinking station. It collects and stores data from its different components. Each Arduino board is connected to a junction box containing a converter board. The junction box is connected to the flow meter that tracks the total amount of water. One thermal sensor is deployed at each drinking station to record the water temperature data during the drinking events. Furthermore, each drinking station has an RFID Reader to read the ID of the individual animal's RFID Tag. A camera is also implemented on each drinking station to take pictures once the motion detector is triggered when an animal is visiting the drinking station. Figure 4: Drinking station deployed in the testing site. Figure 8 shows a sideway look at one of the system's drinking stations. The black tub on the bottom is where the animals drink their water from. The RFID reader is visible on the left side of the water tub. The RFID reader reads the tags on the domestic animals' ears as they extend their heads to drink. The camera with the motion detection sensor is screwed on top of metal bars on the opposite side of the animal's head and starts recording the drinking event when it detects any motion. The Camera is screwed on top of metal bars on the opposite side of the animal's head and starts recording the drinking event when it detects any motion. The flow meter and the thermal sensor are both located below the camera and measure the amount of water poured into the tub and the water temperature, respectively. A water level sensor is deployed on the bottom of the metal bar. It senses the distance between the sensor and the water level of the tub in order to obtain the water intake information. Figure 5: Drinking station with a cow drinking from the trough. Figure 6: System setup at a remote testing site with drinking stations and a central water source.