Design of Remote Monitoring Application on Non-Rechargeable Battery Redundant System

In this era of continuously evolving technology, remote monitoring has emerged as an innovative and effective solution for monitoring and managing remote areas. Design of Remote Monitoring on Non-Rechargeable Battery Redundant System proposes an improved system for multi-point to point remote monitoring, battery redundant, and communication. The study investigated the accuracy of INA219 sensor readings on the battery, the Quality of Service (QoS) of the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) communication protocol from multiple devices based on the TIPHON standard, and the utilization of a High-Side Bootstrap circuit for the battery redundant system. The results indicate that the INA219 sensor shows an average error of 0.64% - 1.04% for voltage and 1.17% - 2.45% for current. Quality of Service testing revealed an average delay of 40.9 - 119.7 ms with 0% packet loss, thus meeting the excellent standard. Bootstrap High-Side circuit efficiency average from all devices are 99.35% for input and 95.9% for output. Lastly, the redundant system by utilizing Bootstrap High-Side circuit achieved a 100% success rate for all devices, confirming the successful design implementation.


INTRODUCTION
In this era of continuously evolving technology, remote monitoring has emerged as an innovative and effective solution for monitoring and managing remote areas.Remote areas are often characterized by limited accessibility or physical constraints, and the utilization of remote monitoring technology plays a pivotal role in acquiring real-time data and enabling efficient remote monitoring from a distance [1], [2].Several sectors where remote monitoring could benefit include Water Gate Monitoring [3], Weather Base Station [4], Sea Level Monitoring [5], and large-scale Solar Panel Monitoring [6].The primary benefits of remote monitoring in such areas include enhanced efficiency and accuracy in monitoring and management, which can assist researchers or field personnel directly accessing data from inaccessible locations and to promptly identifying and monitoring threats [7].
Remote devices, including the Remote Terminal Unit (RTU), commonly employ nonrechargeable batteries.The RTU serves as a controller for remote monitoring and control operations [8].In remote areas where a power source is absent, the RTU relies on battery power for its functionality.Thus, the implementation of a remote monitoring on nonrechargeable battery and a battery redundant system becomes crucial.These measures allow Submitted : May 30, 2023.Accepted : July 13, 2023.Published : July 16, 2023.field operators sufficient time to replace batteries while ensuring uninterrupted operation of the RTU device.
By implementing remote monitoring to the non-rechargeable battery components, field operators can manage battery usage through remote monitoring.This achieved by leveraging, the Internet of Things (IoT) and employing the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) communication protocol [9], [10].The quality of data transmission is analyzed based on Quality of Service (QoS), considering parameters such as delay and packet loss [11].As the loss of non-rechargeable battery power poses known threat to the functionality of these remote devices, a battery redundant system is regularly implemented to serve as a second power supply [12].This paper highlights two preceding studies that reflect similar usage and circumstances of the current study [12], [13].These precursor systems [12], [13] utilize two microcontrollers (Arduino and Wemos) to monitor and transmit data through the MQTT communication protocol respectively.The MQTT communication protocol is connected to a Node-RED interface where the monitored data are presented.In addition, the two preceding studies have two distinct battery redundant systems and goals.One study focused on the development of an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) monitoring system that aims to ensure continuous power supply and monitor the performance of the UPS device [13], while the other monitors the power switching and notifies when the backup power generator is utilized instead of the main power supply [12].
The previous study [12] had some limitations, including the absence of sensor calibration testing for the ACS current and voltage sensors, as well as the lack of analysis on network quality such as delay and packet loss.Similarly, in another study [13], the system design merely involved a simulation using a potentiometer as a voltage and current sensor for monitoring the UPS device.The circuit design was implemented on a breadboard and lacked a mechanical casing design for the monitoring circuit.Additionally, the interface display in Node-RED was relatively simple.Moreover, the monitoring of multiple devices was limited to only two simulated devices.
Acknowledging the aforementioned, this study proposes an improved system in multiple devices remote monitoring, battery redundant, and communication from previous studies [12], [13] to be applied to multiple-device monitoring of non-rechargeable batteries.The new design proposed in this study is utilizes one microcontroller (Wemos D1 Mini) for each devices to improve working efficiency.The data received by the microcontroller are transmitted to the Node-RED interface through MQTT communication protocol.On that note, this study adds the concept of multiple device communication (multipoint-to-point) to a Node-RED interface is possible through MQTT communication protocol.This study also proposes the usage of a novel battery redundant system that is capable to manage battery switching using a Bootstrap High-Side circuit.To summarize, the aim of this study is to improve the working efficiency of remote monitoring systems, introduce the concept of multiple device monitoring on one interface, and develop a novel non-rechargeable battery redundant system.

METHOD General Design System
This study focuses on the monitoring of battery current usage, battery voltage, and power consumption, as well as the battery box environment, including temperature and humidity, implemented for long-distance monitoring of non-rechargeable batteries.For this purpose, INA219 and DHT11 sensors were used to obtain the aforementioned data respectively.These accumulated data are then taken by the Wemos D1 Mini [14] microcontroller and presented on a Node-RED interface [15] through the MQTT broker using the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) communication protocol.
This study also introduces a novel battery redundant system that uses a Bootstrap High-Side circuit to remove concerns of power loss and memory loss during power supply switching.To indicate this, the battery pack was tested by employing an RTU simulation.The RTU simulation consists of an Arduino UNO microcontroller running a LED program that uses the monitored battery as a power supply.The block diagram of the system is shown in Figure 1.

Mechanical Design System
The mechanical system houses a controller box, Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) simulation box, battery pack box, and acrylic base (Figure 2).Controller box contains a Wemos D1 Mini microcontroller, INA219 sensor, and bootstrap high-side circuit.The battery pack box has two battery packs (A and B), and the RTU simulation box was used to store the RTU simulation.
The main components of the mechanical system design are described in the following sections, as illustrated in

Electrical Design System
The Wemos D1 Mini microcontroller is equipped with an ESP8266 module to execute programs (non-rechargeable battery redundant system monitoring) and transmit sensor data.Figure 3 shows the electrical wiring of the system.

Software Design System
Simultaneously, the Wemos D1 microcontroller uses the data from the INA219 sensor to monitor the current usage, battery voltage and power consumption of the battery, the Wemos D1 Mini microcontroller is able to release commands to switch from one main power supply to another.To simulate this, two AA battery packs (A and B) are used, each capable of producing 12V.The control command applied is switching when the battery pack has reached a voltage of less than 10 Volts.To determine which battery pack will be used, a High-Side Bootstrap circuit was utilized.Simultaneously, the High-Side Bootstrap can also remove the concern of power loss and memory loss between power supply switches.
To indicate that there was no power or memory loss, the battery pack is tested by a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) simulation.This RTU consists of an Arduino UNO microcontroller and a running LED program.On that note, the RTU simulation uses the battery packs (A and B) as a power supply and can determine that there is no power or memory loss if the LED program continues running during power supply switching controlled by the Wemos D1 microcontroller.A flowchart of the program is shown Figure 5.

System Design Testing
In this step, the overall system is analyzed.These systems will be tested to measure the error value of INA219 sensor, QoS (delay and packet loss) based on TIPHON standard, and the success rate of redundant system.
To obtain the percentage error value, the INA219 sensor reading value was compared with the measured value using a digital multimeter.The error percentage measurement is calculated using equation ( 1) [16].
where the measured value is obtained by measuring with a digital multimeter, and the reading value is indicated on the microcontroller.Quality of service (QoS) is a method to measure the performance of a network and its service properties.QoS can assist users in observing the network-based application performance.The measurements for QoS use two parameters, delay and packet loss, based on the TIPHON standard using Wireshark Software [11], [17].Delay is calculated using equation (2) and packet loss is calculated using equation ( 4) Where, Delay 1 = first transmission delay Delay 2 = second transmission delay ∑ = delay difference amount Where, Packet sent = amount of packet volume sent Packet received = amount of packets successfully received Table 1 and Table 2 shows the standard delay and packet loss according to TIPHON.Redundant system testing was performed for this study by applying a High-Side Bootstrap into two 12 Volts AA battery packs as a power supply.The success rate of the redundant system is measured when battery pack A has reached 10 Volts, and it automatically switches to battery pack B. Additionally, functionality testing is performed for the High-Side Bootstrap.The calculation analysis is as follows.Equations ( 5) and ( 6) calculate of the percentage of successful input and output supply requirements for high-side bootstrap circuits.

Mechanical Design Results
During the mechanical design testing, several layout adjustments were made to the boxes of all devices to ensure ease of operation.Each device is equipped with identical electrical wiring, as depicted in Figure 8.The layout adjustment results are shown in Figure 9.

Electrical Design Results
Within the electrical design, there are several tests including the wiring of the Wemos D1 Mini.The electrical wiring results for the devices are shown in Figure 9. Additionally, functionality testing was performed using the High-Side Bootstrap circuit.Figure 10 shows the result of Bootstrap High-Side Circuit wiring and Table 3 presents the results of the input and output efficiency of the High-Side Bootstrap circuit.Among all the devices, there is a dedicated Bootstrap High-Side circuit (Figure 12) in each device that functions to control the utilization of the battery pack.The circuit requires 12 V input and 12 V output, which aligns with the used battery.Consequently, an efficiency evaluation of the circuit was performed, resulting in Table 3. 95 % Bootstrap High-Side circuit efficiency test results average from all devices are 99.35% for input and 95.9% for output.Despite the presence of a voltage drop at the output owing the working voltage of the electronic components, all of the High-Side Bootstrap circuit continues to operate with a success percentage exceeding 90% for both input and output.

Software Design Results
Software design tests were performed on the microcontroller program flow in transmitting data to the MQTT broker and the Node-RED interface.
MQTT communication between the system and MQTT Mosquitto broker was successful, as confirmed by the reception and display of data in the MQTT Explorer software.The received data include the temperature, humidity, voltage, current, power, and battery usage status. Figure 13 is a display of data received in MQTT Explorer The data obtained from the MQTT broker are effectively integrated into the Node-RED interface, allowing for the visualization and presentation of essential parameters such as temperature, humidity, voltage, current, power, and battery usage status. Figure 14 shows the result of the Node-RED interface

System Design Testing Results
The INA219 sensor was measured ten times for each device, and the results were compared to a digital multimeter as a reference.12V/1A adapter was used as the power supply.
The results show that Device 1 (Table 4) obtained a voltage error value of 0% -1.6% and the current error value of 0.9% -2.7%.The average error values of the voltage and current in Device 1 were 0.80% and 1.76%.The results showed that Device 2 (Table 5) obtained a voltage error value of 0% -1.6% and a current error value of 1.7% -5.4%.The average error value of voltage and current in Device 2 are 0.88% and 2.45%.The results showed that Device 3 (Table 6) obtained a voltage error value of 0% -1.6% and the current error value of 0% -3.6%.The average error value of voltage and current in Device 3 are 0.64% and 2.07%.
Lastly, the results showed that Device 4 (Table 7) obtained a voltage error value of 0% -2.4% and the current error value of 0% -2.7%.The average error value of voltage and current in device 4 are 1.04% and 1.17%, respectively.
In comparison to the preceding study, the implementation of INA219 in measuring the voltage and current demonstrated average error values of 0.29% and 2.29% respectively.These findings indicated that the error values obtained were comparable to those reported in a previous study [18].
According to these results, the error values of INA219 sensor readings are within the tolerable limit of less than 5%.Errors that occur are caused by the quality of the sensors.

Quality of Service (QoS) Result
The results of the Quality of Service testing for measuring two parameters, namely delay and packet loss, are presented in Table 8.The testing was conducted using a personal hotspot with XL Axiata SIM cards, where each device was connected to the same Internet network.The distances between Device 1, 2, 3, and 4 from Internet source were 2, 4, 6, and 8 m, respectively.
The average delay for Device 1 was 40.9 ms.In terms of Device 2, the average delay was 119.7 ms.For Device 3, the average delay recorded was 72.9 ms.Lastly, Device 4 exhibited an average delay of 99.8 ms.Based on the TIPHON standard, Devices 1, 2, 3, and 4 fall into the category of "Excellent."The average packet loss for Devices 1, 2, 3, and 4 is 0%.According to the TIPHON standard, all four devices fall into the "Excellent" category.
In contrast to earlier studies, the utilization of MQTT for monitoring systems yielded an average delay value of 41.91 ms, while achieving a packet loss rate of 0% [19].The distance between the devices and the Internet source, as well as the quality of the Internet provider and MQTT broker, can influence the delay during testing.The farther the devices from the Internet source, the poorer the Internet quality becomes, resulting in delays in the transmission of data from devices to the MQTT broker.Redundant System Result Redundant system testing was conducted five times for each device.The testing involved the transfer of battery packs A to B, battery packs B to A, and the RTU simulation conditions using a bootstrap high-side circuit.Table 9 presents the testing results of the redundant system for Device 1 and Device 2, while Table 10 displays the testing outcomes for the redundant system of Device 3 and Device 4.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Block Diagram of the System

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Layout Design of the Mechanical System

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Wiring Design of the Electrical System (Device 1-4)Additionally, a High-Side Bootstrap circuit schematic is shown in Figure4.This circuit is utilized for battery redundant system.

Figure 5 .
Figure 5. Microcontroller Program FlowchartBy utilizing the MQTT communication protocol, each microcontroller transmits data to the MQTT broker (Mosquitto Broker).The data received by the MQTT broker can be monitored using MQTT Explorer.The design model of the communication system is illustrated in Figure6.

Figure 6 .
Figure 6.Design Model of the Communication Node-RED was utilized to monitor all devices.The interface appearance on the Node-RED shows the data reading from battery voltage, current load, power load, temperature, humidity,

Table 1 .
Delay Based on TIPHON Standard

Table 2 .
Packet Loss Based on TIPHON standard

Table 4 .
Device 1 INA210 Voltage and Current Error Value

Table 5 .
Device 2 INA219 Voltage and Current Error Value

Table 6 .
Device 3 INA219 Voltage and Current Error Value

Table 7 .
Device 4 INA219 Voltage and Current Error Value

Table 8 .
Quality of Service (QoS) Delay and Packet Loss Measurement