IoT-Ready Temperature Probe for Smart Monitoring of Forest Roads

Abstract

Currently, we are experiencing an ever-increasing demand for high-quality transportation in the distinctive natural environment of forest roads, which can be characterized by significant weather changes. The need for more effective management of the forest roads environment, a more direct, rapid response to fire interventions and, finally, the endeavor to expand recreational use of the woods in the growth of tourism are among the key factors. A thorough collection of diagnostic activities conducted on a regular basis, as well as a dataset of long-term monitored attributes of chosen sections, are the foundations of successful road infrastructure management. Our main contribution to this problem is the design of a probe for measuring the temperature profile for utilization in stand-alone systems or as a part of an IoT solution. We have addressed the design of the mechanical and electrical parts with emphasis on the accuracy of the sensor layout in the probe. Based on this design, we developed a simulation model, and compared the simulation results with the experimental results. An experimental installation was carried out which, based on measurements to date, confirmed the proposed probe meets the requirements of practice and will be deployed in a forest road environment.