Monitoring turtle incubators in Mexico

Problem

The Wialon partner in Mexico, CTTMX, delivered an unusual project for the government organization SEDESU (Secretaria de Desarrollo sustentable del estado de Sinaloa). This organization works to promote the sustainable development of society. One of its projects deals with helping Golfina sea turtles to reproduce successfully to ensure their survival. In doing so, the client faced specific challenges:

• The scientists couldn’t control the temperature inside incubators while it is the most important factor affecting turtle eggs development. A certain temperature is required for the eggs to hatch. Without the real-time temperature control, embryos were dying. Besides, most turtles are subject to temperature-dependent sex determination. The temperature of the developing eggs is what decides whether a little turtle will be male or female, and scientists wanted to control this, too.

Turtle incubators

• The scientists also couldn’t control the humidity in incubators. The right humidity is another factor ensuring the proper development of the embryos. It affects the endurance of the newborns making them have enough strength to survive in the water and fight predators.

Solution

The specialists at CTTMX offered a complex solution to address all the client’s challenges. In fact, they developed an entire monitoring system that processes all the information from the sensors and other devices installed in incubators and presents it in a convenient form with the help of user-friendly dashboards. Different groups of users, from incubator inspectors to researching scientists and maintenance workers, got their own web interfaces developed by the partner.

The solution employs flespi to collect all the data on a centralized basis from several devices by different brands in the cloud and then utilize it just like the users need it. What made the solution stand out from the crowd is that it is scalable, which means it can be replicated in every incubator around the world.

Hardware

The partner used CalAmp 2840XT asset tracker, several temperature and humidity sensors by CalAmp, Ela innovation, Sparkfun, and others, and a solar panel by Syscom. All the devices were chosen with extreme climate conditions in mind as they had to withstand high temperatures, humidity, sun, and salt.

Plans

The partner plans to deploy the solution in all the turtle encampments across the country. As for its feature set, the CTTMX specialists want to add the ability to track where newborn turtles go after being released into the ocean. It will help discover the places where they are being depredated or hunted and ensure their survival.