PachuBox: autonomous embedded intelligence

We are pleased to announce PachuBox!

What is the PachuBox?

The PachuBox is a hardware platform that can be located in a space, building or embedded in a construction component. It contains an operating system in firmware that controls observations, measures instruments and provides communications. The PachuBox is a hardware platform to demonstrate examples of collecting sensor data using the EEML (Extended Environments Mark-up Language). It was specifically developed as an autonomous and self-sufficient platform for use in the context of environmental monitoring and responsive environments.

How are PachuBox and Pachube related?

PachuBox can feed EEML sensor data directly to Pachube. It demonstrates an autonomous (solar-charged) system that uses the GSM network to transmit both its geolocation and environmental data from its on-board sensor pod from anywhere (with network coverage) to Pachube by SMS text message.

What does PachuBox monitor?

The PachuBox can collect measurements directly from up to nine switches and electronic sensors aswell as from instruments for many different quantities. For example it has been used to take temperature, humidity, sunlight, solar radiation, alcohol content, air moisture, occupancy rate and electricity-usage measurements. Using the EEML structure it adds contextual data about time and place by time-stamping the measurements using a real-time clock and geo-location using a in-built GPS receiver.

Why is the PachuBox autonomous?

The PachuBox was designed to operate autonomously to support the projects and installations that Haque Design + Research have worldwide often in locations that are difficult or expensive to revisit in person, are off the electricity grid and have limited or no access to land-line communications. Successful deployment in these conditions allows a continued learning cycle from existing projects.

Where are PachuBoxes being used now?

The PachuBox has been used at the NMM 2008 Media festival to monitor an area of the exhibition space at the festival. One is currently being used in the Deployable External Insulation (D.E.I.) research project at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London’s docklands. This experimental building by researchers at UCL uses the PachuBox to collect data about the behaviour of the D.E.I. test-cell under operational conditions. The D.E.I. was developed using parametric modelling techniques and work is in progress to map the EEML test data with the parametric model.

PachuBox was developed at Haque Design + Research by Chris Leung from the Bartlett EngD Centre at University College London.