Research area:

Instrumentation

Host Organisation & country:

Universidade de Cabo Verde (UNICV), Cabo Verde

Summary

Technological advances in African countries have allowed the innovation of systems and solutions for monitoring the most varied parameters of interest, boosting the Internet of Things and creation of Smart Cities. In this research project, we intend to take advantage of the benefits of technological evolution to develop smart solutions that allow mitigating the effects of climate change in the water and agriculture sector. The research will study the feasibility of using wireless sensor network and what approaches to adopt so that they can have an impact on the water and agriculture sector that allow mitigation and gain resilience in the face of climate change.

Grantee Description

Dr Sónia Semedo is a Professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Cabo Verde, in Cabo Verde. She received her Ph.D. degree in Physics Engineering, specialization in Instrumentation from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, in February 2016. His doctoral work focused on developing and analyzing innovative mechanisms for harvesting energy from different sources to power supply wireless sensor networks.

Dr Semedo’s long-term aspiration is to continuously expand and embrace new approaches for wireless sensor network suitable for African needs and priorities. She aims to advance a research niche on Internet of Things and its applications, encourage young people to pursue research careers, and use research and innovation to improve living conditions.

Project: Smart solutions for water and agriculture to face the Climate Change Crisis in Cabo Verde

In Cape Verde we have experienced several prolonged drought cycles with little or no rainfall, which it directly affects the availability of water for day-to-day activities and services, it becomes mandatory water monitoring for better management and distribution through the population. One approach to accomplish this is using wireless sensor network (WSN) to monitor the parameters and sent it to users for decision making. In this project, we intend to study a feasibility of developing intelligent solutions based on wireless sensor networks that fits to Cape Verde reality and needs. WSN presents several challenges such as security, power supplying, communication range, communication protocols… and in Cape Verde the challenge is even greater because we are an archipelagic country, mountainous where most interesting areas are far from each other and mostly located in rural areas with little infrastructure installed. To prove the feasibility of using WSN, we will explore two case-studies, the monitoring and management of drinking water and the efficient use of water in agriculture. Monitoring water together with weather conditions can provide useful information for defining climate resilience actions. So, based on the results, actions will be proposed to mitigate the effects of climate change in the use of water for consumption and agriculture