Muscat – A smart device designed and created by two Omani women students gained attention for its ability to monitor water consumption in any household remotely.

Rayan Khamis al Kalbaniyah and Mawaddah bint Sulaiman al Khayariya – students of Sultan Qaboos University – came up with the idea of a smart device following their concern about increasing water consumptions in their households.

Rayan said that the device was designed to record a water metre reading and “display it on the control panel of a special website that we designed under the name ‘IoT Manager Oman’.”

She explained that the control panel records water consumption statistics with time and date and displays them on a detailed table.
The device also helps to open and close the water valve remotely.
“When the daily water consumption reaches a certain limit, alarm is sent to the user’s control panel,” said Rayan.

The device is connected to the control panel through the ‘Narrowband IoT’ network with the support of Omantel.

Rayan said that it took about six months to develop the device. It was done in cooperation with Ericsson experts to create the control panel and develop the software programming required for the project.

According to Rayan, the smart device can solve the problem of water leakage by monitoring and comparing the water consumption readings and thereby can help detect any possible leakage.

The device can also be used in agriculture sector, and can be programmed to provide a specific type of plant with an appropriate level of water required to irrigate that plant.

It is also possible to connect the device to sensors that measure the percentage of moisture in the soil, and then accordingly release an appropriate volume of water to irrigate those plants.

“We hope to obtain financial support for its development and commercial production,” an elated Rayan said.