Maple syrup is a delicious sugar syrup with a distinct flavor that is wonderful compliant to a variety of sweet and savory dishes. In North America I would say, the syrup extremely popular. Regardless, after all the time I spent on this design challenge, anytime I have Maple Syrup in the future, I will be reminded of my adventures experimenting with the Layer-N ecosystem :).
In March 2022, I received the good news that I had been selected as one of the sponsored challengers to receive a comprehensive Layer-N ecosystem bundle from Omega.
My design challenge project proposal was to explore potential applications of the Omega Layer-N ecosystem in regards to Maple Syrup production. After weeks of experimenting with the layer-n ecosystem, I have summarized my experiences into three potential applications. The block diagram below illustrates three potential applications of the layer-n ecosystem:
Sugar Maple Trees
The ability to “Tap” a tree and have tree sap flow at a rate similar to that of leaky faucet dripping every second or so, is a strong function of the temperatures a Maple tree experiences in late winter and early spring. One of experiments I conducted with the layer-n ecosystem was to monitor the a Maple trees temperature during a freeze thaw cycle. I constructed a custom sensor enclosure fitted with the SS-002-01 wireless sensor node.
I mounted a k-type thermocouple a few millimeters below the tree’s bark.
I managed to capture one of the last days where sap was actively flowing out a tap. You will notice a fain sap stain on the enclosure and fly’s enjoying an early spring lunch from the small amounts of sugar in the sap.
I managed to collect at least one freeze/thaw cycle with the layer-n ecosystem. Here is the recorded data available on the omega cloud platform:
In this limited time window, the sub-bark tree temperature tracked the ambient air temperature very closely. So, to keep record of the number and span of freeze/thaw temperature excursions in late winter, maybe just the wireless smart sensor is all that is needed. This can then be correlated to the sap yield daily or seasonally.
Is a birdhouse the ultimate sensor enclosure? Possibly, though I would recommend omitting the entrance hole for birds. Although no birds actually made this house a home, they did stop by a take a look at the wireless sensor node:)
Sap Collection
Omega have a number of fluid level sensors, but none in the Layer-N ecosystem just yet. I am sure in due time as the ecosystem grows, wireless fluid level measurements will be available(perhaps they already do). Taking a few local sugar bushes as an example, one employs the classic tap and bucket approach for sap collection:
A float switch could be installed in a few buckets to indicate a bucket is full. Or with the float switch set to a much lower level say 1/4, the approximate flow rate could be determined from the time taken to fill the 1/4 volume.
Another style of sap collection is by taping each tree with a plastic tap and attaching a flexible PVC tube which is routed into a large collection tank.
A float switch in the collection tank could trigger the dry contact switch input on the SS-002-01 wireless sensor node.
An alarm can be configured in the omega cloud platform, to send an email when the collection tank is nearly full.
Sugar Shack
In my project, I had experimented with ambient temperature sensing with the SP-005 multi-input smart temperature probe. This could easily be extended to cold storage applications which require precise monitoring of the ambient environmental conditions. Omega has an extensive range of precision (and potentially calibrated) RTD temperature probes which when combined with the SP-005 temperature probe can enable temperature readout accuracies of +- 1.5 degC.
The most important temperature measurement in the sugar shack is presumably the temperature of the tree sap during evaporation. For a classic woodfired evaporator having real time temperature readouts and temperature alarms sent directly to your phone, could be a game changer. As presumably the time needed to process an entire sugar bush worth of sap could span several weeks.
Final Words
I would like to extend enormous gratitude to Element14 and Omega for selecting me as one of the sponsored challengers to receive a Layer-N Ecosystem bundle. This was my first time using a commercial IOT platform and I thoroughly enjoyed experimenting and exploring the Omega Layer-N ecosystem. As far as I am aware, an active internet connection is essential to the operation of the Layer-N system. I did not find a data portal being provided through local network access to the Layer-N gateway. In a commercial setting I believe the 50 $USD/yr subscription fee , is very modest. In the free subscription tier the sample rate is 16 samples/day and your data is only archived for 30 days.
References
You can find other challenger’s design blogs: /challenges-projects/design-challenges/n-gaged-design-challenge/b/blog
You can learn more about the Omega’s Layer-N ecosystem: https://www.omega.com/en-us/layer-n
