A novel and intelligent GSM-based smart prepaid water meter: A case of rural/urban areas in Arusha, Tanzania

IEEE Potentials Pub Date : 2023-07-01 DOI:10.1109/MPOT.2023.3262908

Boniface Ntambara, Nkoloogi Blasius, Devotha G. Nyambo, Dickson Kipketer, Mussa Ally

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Abstract

The Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (AUWSA) is a public utility responsible for ensuring the reliable delivery of clean water to the people of Arusha, Tanzania. However, issues with water bill payments have emerged, which have impacted the AUWSA’s operations and ability to provide a sustainable and affordable water supply service. Late payment of water bills and revenue loss due to the outdated postpayment water metering technology are the major challenges faced by the AUWSA. To address these issues, a study has designed and developed an intelligent GSM-based smart prepaid water meter with improved prepayment methods. The prepaid water meter includes a custom user interface, water flow sensor, automatic token generator, and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) application. Customers can easily register; load their water credits using Airtel Money, TigoPesa, or Mpesa; and check their usage. An LCD displays water usage information, and customers receive short message service (SMS) notifications via GSM technology when their tokens are about to expire or have been successfully loaded. Water flows, and the valve stops when credits are exhausted. The system’s administrator (admin) communicates with the meter remotely via a web interface developed using PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and SQL. This interface enables the AUWSA to monitor and manage the meter, which should help reduce revenue losses and improve overall efficiency. Future research should focus on predicting water leakage and cybersecurity using artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) technologies.

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基于gsm的新型智能预付费水表:以坦桑尼亚阿鲁沙农村/城市地区为例

阿鲁沙城市供水和卫生管理局（AUWSA）是一家公共事业公司，负责确保向坦桑尼亚阿鲁沙人民可靠地提供清洁水。然而，水费支付问题已经出现，这影响了AUWSA的运营和提供可持续和负担得起的供水服务的能力。AUWSA面临的主要挑战是拖欠水费和因过时的付款后水计量技术而造成的收入损失。为了解决这些问题，一项研究设计并开发了一种基于GSM的智能预付费水表，该水表具有改进的预付费方法。预付费水表包括自定义用户界面、水流传感器、自动令牌生成器和非结构化补充服务数据（USSD）应用程序。客户可以轻松注册；使用Airtel Money、TigoPesa或Mpesa加载他们的水信用；并检查它们的使用情况。LCD显示用水信息，当客户的代币即将到期或已成功加载时，客户会通过GSM技术收到短信服务（SMS）通知。水流动，当信用额度耗尽时，阀门停止。系统管理员（admin）通过使用PHP、HTML、JavaScript和SQL开发的web界面与电表进行远程通信。该接口使AUWSA能够监控和管理电表，这将有助于减少收入损失并提高整体效率。未来的研究应侧重于使用人工智能（AI）/机器学习（ML）技术预测漏水和网络安全。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

IEEE Potentials Social Sciences-Education

CiteScore

1.40

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： IEEE Potentials is the magazine dedicated to undergraduate and graduate students and young professionals. IEEE Potentials explores career strategies, the latest in research, and important technical developments. Through its articles, it also relates theories to practical applications, highlights technology?s global impact and generates international forums that foster the sharing of diverse ideas about the profession.