Realtime Gas Monitoring

2014 Ist International Conference on Infonnation Technology, Computer and Electrical Engineering (ICITACEE)

Design of Real-Time Gas Monitoring System
Based-on Wireless Sensor Networl(s for Merapi
Volcano
B.

Supriyo, S.S.Hidayat, A. Suharjono, M.Anif

Sorja Koesuma

Dept. of Electrical Engineering

Dept. of Physics

Politeknik Negeri Semarang

Sebelas Maret University

Semarang, Indonesia

Surakarta, Indonesia

Abstract - Focusing on the most active volcano Merapi, the

conditions, remote monitoring systems based on the Wireless

role of ICT is crucial for improving the security and safety of the

Sensor Networks (WSN) Technology is the best solution.

surrounding population. Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) which

volcano
Research about
has been done in
WSN

has the capability of monitoring remote and rural areas could be
a solution to the early detection

of local

volcanic activity.

based on
monitoring system
[I], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8],

Research on volcano monitoring system based WSN systems

Focusing on the most active volcano Merapi, the role of ICT is

have been carried out, but most research is only focused on the

crucial for improving the security and safety of the surrounding

monitoring of seismic or deformation sign. While monitoring

population. Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) which has the

the temperature and gas intensity are rarely exposed, but the

capability of monitoring remote and rural areas could be a

both gas and temperature are important parameters related to

solution to the early detection of local volcanic activity. In this

volcanic activity [9].

study, the raised topic is how to make the appropriate prototype
WSN technology, sensors and integration models. The proposed

Especially for Mount Merapi, some related research on the

system is expected to provide early detection of volcanology

volcanic monitoring the volcano have also been carried out.

development solutions for the security and safety of people

[10], [11], [12]. Especially for Mount Merapi, some related

around Mount Merapi. In the early stages of research, the design

research on the volcanic monitoring the volcano have also been

is focused on the temperature and gas monitoring. The system is

carried out. The on-line volcanic monitoring systems that have

designed to address the challenges related to the location of the

been installed on Mount Merapi is the monitoring of seismic

sensor where there is no electricity. In addition, to be more

(vibration)

accurate, the sensing should be done at some point sources of gas

and

blowouts.

manually in every 1-2

Keywords-gas monitoring. Merapi volcano. WSN;

I.

temperature and gas

monitoring,

months. In fact,

The

is still done

the condition of

is a very important parameter as an

the temperature and gas monitoring systems that are on-line

INTRODUCTION

(distance) and real-time is urgent to be realized.

Indonesia's position which is at the meeting point of three

The main challenges of the research is related to the
location of the sensor where there is no electricity. In addition,

is known as the Ring of Fire. The impact of this position led to

to be more accurate, the sensing should be done at some point

Indonesia is one country that has a risk of hann to the

sources of gas blowouts. In the paper, we proposed a new

occurrence of various natural disasters. Although dangerous,

design of real-time gas Monitoring system Based-on Wireless

this would benefit residents around the volcano because of the

Sensor Networks for Merapi volcano. The general

fertility of the soil. It is also a magnet for tens of thousands of

design

system is presented, followed by network toptology design,

mountain climbers and tourists, both domestic and foreign

and hardware design. The paper is organized as follows: The

tourists to enjoy the natural beauty of the volcanic area. By

system design is presented in Chapter II, the realization and

because the safety and security is a top priority, the role of

testing is described in Chapter III, and the last chapter is

early detection of any anomaly volcanic activity becomes very

contains the conclusions.

important area of existence.
There are some vital signs in monitoring volcano activity,

II. SYSTEM DESIGN

including: 1) seismic (vibration) monitoring, 2) avalanches /
defonnation peak monitoring, 3) gas intensity and temperature

A.

to the difficult and dangerous terrain

General Design
General design of Gas Monitoring System for Mount

Merapi is shown in Figure IThe system is designed to have a

This research is supported by MP3EI Research Grant from Ministry of
Education and Culture. Republik Indonesia

978-1-4799-6432-1/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE

defonnation

indication of the volcanic activity. Therefore, development of

tectonic plates is colliding to make Indonesia rich volcano and

monitoring. Related

visually

monitoring process of gas and temperature

three sensing point located in the crater of Mount Merapi.Each

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2014 1st International Conference on Information Technology, Computer and Electrical Engineering (ICITACEE)
Monitoring

o
o

Sensor Node

o
o

Coordin<ltor Node

Office
Jogjakarta

Relay Node

Base Station
Fig 1. General System Design

nodes and sends it to the relay node. The function of the relay

Location: Top of ME!rapi (Merapu Ctater)

node is routing data to the Base Station (BS).

���
.... ...............
..

i

.....

B.

Network Topology Design
For realizing the scheme of Figure 1, the network topology

...•....•··

is designed as shown in Figure 2. Zigbee protocol is selected

, .....•....

because it is suitable for many communication nodes with
shorter distances «100m). Because the coordinator node also
limited in power resources, the selected radio transceiver
.............�

--a--

device should be having low power but has a range of up to

ligbee with XSEE Pro
63vmW

lkm. Relay nodes located in the Pasar Bubar Monitoring

GSM GPR5

lilypad XBEE Pro

Polymer Li-ion Battery
lOOOmAh

Ilocation: PPVMTG office, Yosyalcarta)

Fig. 2.

Network Topology Design

sensing point is mounted a sensor node that serves to take the
gas and temperature sensing data and send it to the coordinator

Fig. 3. Sensor and Coordinator Node Design

node. Node coordinator collects data from all three sensor

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2014 1st International Conference on Information Technology, Computer and Electrical Engineering (ICITACEE)
C.

GSM/GPRS

Hardware Design
Each block of the scheme in Figure 2 be detailed in a series

Modem

system is as follows. The sensor nodes are realized by the
scheme in Figure 3. The node is equipped with a battery as a
power resource. So that, the energy efficiency strategy is
needed. In this study, sleep scheduling algorithm is selected as
a strategy for saving the energy..
As communication devices, the XBee series 2 which has a
communication range of up to 120 m LOS is selected.
Coordinator node has a similar scheme, except the 65 mW
XBee Pro radio communication that has the range up to 1500

DFRduino

P ow er Supp ly 9V

Leonardo

+

m is chosen to be able to reach the Relay Node located at a

XBEE

distance of 800m.

Pro S2

The system is designed to have a three sensing point
located in the crater of Mount Merapi. Relay Nodes is located
at Monitoring Post Pasar Bubar where relatively easier to
reach.. To be able to send data to the BS that is about 7 miles, a
GSM

t
I
---�---­

I
I Solar-cell system:
I
I I
I
I
I
I I
I
I I
I
I
I

/ GPRS is selected on the basis that the GSM

infrastructure already available. Relay nodes are also equipped
with the ability to store data on a periodic basis (weekly /
monthly) to be accessed manually. Therefore, the relay node is
LCD

equipped with a keypad and mini display. Because the use of

Keypad Board

more features, Solar cell is selected as the power source to
cover the power requirements of the entire devices.

:

III. REALIZATION AND TESTING
A.

�- ______

Realization
So far, the design scheme in Section II has been realized in

part. Figure 5 is the result of the realization of a sensor node.
Fig. 4. Relay Node Design

From the picture, the sensor node consists of a sensor-type Gas
MQ7, SHTII temperature sensor, the processor board Arduino

with a GSM / GPRS communication

Fio, XBee Series 2 radios, and a 1000 mAh Lithium battery as

system. The system is chosen because in addition to more

a power source. All of these devices are small so that they can

accessible, the signal GSM / GPRS also been exist to be used

be packed in a box with a size of 12 cm x 8 cm.

Centre is equipped

to send data to the BS in PPVTMG Yogyakarta.

Fig. 5. Sensor Node Realization

32

2014 1st International Conference on Information Technology, Computer and Electrical Engineering (ICITACEE)

� .--.---.--.---.-�---.

�
(1)
�

�
�

___L__
__ � ___ � ___ � ___ L ___ L __
I
I
I
I
I
L __
___L __ � ___ � ___ � ___
__

-100 �O -----:20;: - -:!:30:-----=40-----,50
"::----;60C:----:70;;---!:80,------ 90-:!
1
distance (m)
Fig. 8. NLOS Coverage Testing Result

IV. CONCLUSIONS

Fig. 6. Relay Node Realization

In this paper has shown the design of gas and temperature

Figure 6 shows the realization of Relay Node. This module

monitoring system for volcanic Mount Merapi. The system is

consists of an Arduino Leonardo as a processor board, LCD

designed based Wireless Sensor Network with XBee main

and Keypad Shield, XBee Pro (under the LCD), and GPRS

device. For communication to Base Station Communications

radio modem.

GSM / GPRS is used. Some parts of the system have also been

In anticipation of extreme environmental disturbance, the

made prototype. Tests have been carried out to reach the XBee.

use of temperature sensors with special specifications is

Our next research work is designing and implementing the

required. There are several types of temperature sensors that

proposed system to the

would be an option, i.e. waterproof AOSONG AM2305 or

Volcano, including the anticipation to the effects of its extreme

waterproof temperature sensor OS18B20. Another alternative

environment.

real environment at the Merapi

is the use of a resistive temperature e.g. thermocouple sensor.
The task of system design and testing related to extreme

ACKOWLEDGEMENTS

conditions, including designing the chasing and selecting of

The authors would like to thank anonymous reviewers, who

appropriate components will be done in the next stage of the

significantly helped

research.

to improve the manuscript, the head of

the BPPTKG Yogyakarta Mr. Subandriyo and the staffs, and
B.

our student Imana Angreani for providing the RSSI data that

Testing

are shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

Testing on the realized devices has been done. Testing
includes the XBee networks coverage and testing of the
temperature sensor SHTIL Both tests are carried out in a

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