Most use Drupal as a content management system. But it’s a powerful data platform, and especially with D8 and other emerging technologies like Kaa, phant, zetta, D3, Drupal has become a great foundation for applications that leverage ‘maker devices’ (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc.) to connect the digital and physical worlds in ways that we used to dream of. These powerful open-source technologies aren’t just for social media novelty anymore. Creative technologists are using these tools to solve real world problems in a fraction of the time for a fraction of the cost that it used to take.
This session offers a peek into an ongoing project involving a self-contained Arduino device that uses sonic sensors to measure well water levels in developing countries. Learn about how we gather and push data in remote locations, pull it all into Drupal, and then leverage front-end frameworks to create visualized data dashboards to let the right people know how much water is in the well and when it hits critical levels. Now multiple that times many well locations, and we’ve got a robust water monitoring network at a cost of under $350 per location.
No doubt, there is cool technology at play in this project. And we’ll cover that in some detail. But just as interesting is what the technology is being used for. Let this project serve as inspiration as to how easy it can be to make global tools with life-altering impacts just by putting existing tools and technologies together in unique ways.