Ex Machina and HCMR are excited to announce the deployment of the ELIoT node (EnvironmentaL Internet of Things) at the Pikrodaphni river in Paleo Faliro, Attiki. The IoT smart node performs remote, real-time environmental monitoring of water quality and quantity. The generated data is wirelessly transferred to the ELIoT online platform, where it is validated, evaluated, visualized and (will soon be) made available to the wider public as open data. This is exciting news for the environmental community, since it will be the first environmental monitoring station in Greece providing real-time open water data, which can be used in decision and policy making and value-adding services for citizens and environmental protection.

The water monitoring practice followed by environmentalists today is based on on-site sampling, which entails inherent weaknesses such as large cost, long time to obtain results, and outdated information due to the extremely low data sampling rate. At the same time the available open water data in EU is mostly comprised of static datasets, which are not frequently (or even not at all!) updated and are made available almost exclusively at a non-machine readable format and without an explicit open data license. This is a contemporary dystopia for decision makers and innovators who wish to provide water-related environmental services to citizens, such as those described at the European Data Portal.

Such problems have been acknowledged globally, as (real-time) water quality and quantity monitoring becomes ever more critical for public safety and environmental well being, in the unpredictable environment of climate change. From smart city AI-enabled resource water management to real time river water monitoring, data generation and availability empowers a more informed, fact-based decision making among stakeholders and provides the basis for a sound awareness building to the wider public. 

For Ex Machina, the value of open water data lies in its wider possible use in services that improve the citizens’ well being and the environment. Thus, Open ELIoT is designed as an open source hardware solution to enable a citizens’ science approach, where DIY enthusiasts can build their own kits and start sensing the aquatic environment in their surroundings. At the same time an open source platform is provided, where data is aggregated, visualized and made publicly available under an open data license. 

In the following months more ELIoT nodes will be installed in two major rivers outside Attiki. During this phase the solution is expected to improve in usability, stability and reliability and reach the maturity level for wide use by the community. Concurrently more environmental data sources will be integrated to the platform, increasing its value for environmentalists and local communities.

  • ELIoT node at Pikrodaphni river
  • ELIoT node at Pikrodaphni river
  • Pikrodaphni river
  • Map of the Pikrodaphni river area

About

Ex Machina is an IoT company based in Athens, Greece. It provides turn-key Industrial & Environmental IoT solutions for weather-sensitive industries, to prominent customers such as Athens International Airport, IBM Hellas, Attiki Gas Company, Olympia Odos.

The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) is a governmental research organization operating under the supervision of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) of the Hellenic Ministry of Development and Investments. HCMR comprises by three research Institutes:

  • Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC)
  • Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters (IMBRIW)
  • Institute of Oceanography (IO)

It aims to carry out scientific and technological research, and experimental development, dissemination and implementation of produced results, especially in the fields of study and protection of the hydrosphere, its organisms, its interface with the atmosphere, the coast and the sea bottom, the physical, chemical, biological and geological conditions that prevail and regulate the above mentioned systems with:

  • the production of products and supply of services
  • the support of decision-making concerning the general public, the economy and culture
  • their economical exploitation either by the HCMR and/or by its employees or by third parties.

Legend for attached photos
Photo 1: Pikrodaphni river, south-facing
Photo 2: Ex Machina’s ELIoT node with water level sensor
Photo 3: ELIoT node top view
Photo 4: Map of the Pikrodaphni river area

Contact information
Vassilis Chryssos
Operations / Communication, Ex Machina
tel.:210 3474 059, e-mail: vassilis at exm.gr

Elias Dimitriou
Scientific Project Manager, HCMR
tel.: 22910 76389, email: elias at hcmr.gr
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research – HCMR