Two Omani students develop smart water meter

Muscat: Rayan Khamis Al Kalbani and Mawadda Sulaiman Al Kheyari, students at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), met with success in developing a smart water metering device that keeps pace with international modern technological developments.

The device can be used in households and in establishments.

Rayan told Oman News Agency (ONA) that the device was designed to register water consumption readings and display them in a control panel on a special website that the duo designed under the name “IoT Manager Oman.”

She added that the meter comprises a control panel through which the readings are shown in multiple forms and tables and in various colours to facilitate the process of monitoring water consumption. It took six months to complete the project, which passed through several stages before materialising, said Rayan, noting that the team sought the assistance of Ericsson experts and studied available options and other versions of water metering devices in the market.

Mawadda pointed out that the device assumes significance as it facilitates the process of calculating water consumption for individuals and homes, besides monitoring water use. “In our project, we envisaged possible issues that this device can resolve,” she said.

Mawadda added that the smart device can also solve the problem of water leakage by monitoring and comparing the actual consumption of water in different settings.

The project is the outcome of applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) Programme and the “Centre of Excellence for Advanced Communication Technologies and IoT”.

The Centre of Excellence focuses on 5G applications and IoT. It was established in cooperation with several departments, including the Ministry of Finance—through the “Programme of Partnership for Development (Offset)”, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology and Oman Telecommunications Company “Omantel”, in addition to partnership with Swedish company Ericsson, the pioneering firm in providing systems of data transfer and online communication.