Page 14 - OIT Progress Report: 2025 Edition

Turning Connected
Concepts into Research
Realities
with the SMU
IoT Lab
SMU’S INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) LAB IS PROVING THAT WITH THE RIGHT
ENVIRONMENT, EVEN THE MOST AMBITIOUS RESEARCH IDEAS CAN BE MADE
TANGIBLE. HOUSED WITHIN THE LYLE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, BUT OPEN TO THE
ENTIRE CAMPUS, THE IOT LAB PROVIDES A UNIQUE BLEND OF HANDS-ON HARDWARE,
DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES, AND EXPERT GUIDANCE TO SUPPORT RESEARCH
THAT RELIES ON SENSORS, SMART DEVICES, AND DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY. THE
FOLLOWING ARE A FEW OF THE GREAT COLLABORATIONS FROM THE PAST YEAR.
Open-Source Weather Station
In collaboration with undergraduate students, the IoT lab
supported the development of a portable, low-cost, open-source
weather station tailored for rural communities in Tanzania
and across Africa. The goal was to provide access to reliable
environmental data that can inform agricultural planning, land
registration, and sustainable development decisions in regions
where commercial monitoring solutions are cost-prohibitive or
unavailable.
The student team engineered the system using Arduino
microcontrollers, solar power systems, lithium-ion batteries,
and Wi-Fi-based data transmission - all chosen for their global
availability, low power consumption, and ease of integration.
11 OIT PROGRESS REPORT 2024