Orange puts IoT shoulders under climate research

To make increasingly accurate weather forecasts, the importance of local measurements is growing. That is why 70 weather stations capture the meteorological conditions in Flemish areas for which, until recently, no data were available. For the automatic connectivity of the various stations, the researchers use the Rapid Development Kit and Orange's NB-IoT (NarrowBand-Internet of Things) network.

Cloud platform

Source of knowledge

The project is an important source of knowledge for various parties. "For the scientists in this study first and foremost," says Chris Dubois. "They can rely on precise data of the interaction between what happens on land and above it. In this way, the project contributes to a better understanding of the urban heat island effect. A phenomenon whereby the temperature in urban areas is, on average, higher than in surrounding rural areas. This knowledge is important because heat stress leads to more victims than any other meteorological phenomenon. The Internet of Things enables us to measure and process all those data quickly in an automated way."

Social importance

"Of course, social importance also plays a major role," Chris Dubois believes. "Thanks to the simple hardware, connectivity and software, it's easy to use the entire system in schools. At the same time, it's a way of stimulating young people's interest in technology. For Orange, the project is also important because it allows us to show that IoT is generally applicable," says Chris Dubois, who's considering numerous similar projects in future. 

As the price of hardware continues to fall and the number of rapid development tools available in the cloud increases, as well as cloud storage, I think we will see more and more projects such as this. This will allow us to understand our impact on the climate even better and turn that impact into a sustainable economy," he concludes.