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Published: 6 August 2012
Managing and monitoring water ‘over the wireless’
A local company’s innovative tool for managing and monitoring irrigation systems via smart phones and wireless internet has been recognised with an award from Irrigation Australia.
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Eric and Luke Harvey of Gilgai Farms, Geurie, NSW, use the Observant C2 system to monitor and manage water systems and livestock. The C2 has enabled them to save up to 14 hours a week on water runs; remotely check on livestock and troughs with four camera images a day, saving an additional 30 km trip every day; capture data on rainfall and water usage; and identify and fix leaks immediately, saving water and maintenance costs. The updated C3 will be on the market later in the year. Credit:
Telstra and Lighthouse Communications Group
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Observant won the 2012 New Product/Innovation Award for its C3 remote water monitoring system – an advance on its earlier C2 system – judged on the basis of originality, quality of design, scope for acceptance by the market, water and energy efficiency contribution, and potential to reduce environmental impact through water savings.
According to an Observant media release, the C3 has been 18 months in development and will be launched on the market in September 2012 to ‘... meet customers’ demands for a flexible, simple, reliable, affordable method to remotely manage water systems’.
The company says farmers and irrigators will no longer have to drive around properties, but will instead be able to use this ‘simple and reliable tracking’ system to give them a single ‘window’ on their property.
The C3 is available as a module or as a stand-alone system; monitoring and managing water systems can be carried out via a smart phone or by logging into the Observant Global web tool via desktop computer.
In presenting the award, Design Engineer, Anthony Kahl, and General Manager of Irrigation Australia, Trevor LeBreton, acknowledged Observant’s contribution to the agribusiness and water management industries.
‘Our research identified that those who have moved across to Observant systems are realising significant savings across associated labour, fuel, mileage and water loss costs as a result,’ said Mr LeBreton.
Observant is an Australian-owned, Melbourne-based company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and services for agricultural, urban and environmental water monitoring and management applications.
The company has partnered with government and industry in projects such as:
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flow meter monitoring for Water for Rivers, ACT
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irrigation automation for Rice Research Australia, Jerilderie, NSW
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pastoral water system monitoring for the NT Department of Resources
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automation and monitoring of stock and domestic water supply system for the NSW Department of Water & Energy
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residential wastewater pump monitoring for a large urban water authority
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development of a monitoring system for the Australian Conservation Foundation’s ‘Just Add Water’ initiative that tracked and publicly documented the progress of an environmental water delivery of up to 400 million litres of water to Hattah Lakes in Victoria.
Source: Observant
