Keeping the water flowing is equally important in both urban and regional environments, and with Davey Water Products’ IoT-enabled Monsoon IQ water pumps, the job of remotely controlling and keeping tabs on this flow is made much simpler.

Melbourne-based Davey has been in the water management business for over 80 years, and has wholeheartedly embraced the Internet of Things to bring its products into the 21st century.

Following on from the success of its Remote Start Firefighter water pumps which use heat sensors and SMS notifications to activate fire mitigation water systems, Davey brought its IoT expertise to its range of commercial pumps together with its development partner and experts in autonomous decision-making cloud-based applications, WidgetBrain.

Connecting to IBM’s Bluemix cloud platform via Cisco Jasper-managed 3G SIMs, these smart pumps are equipped with industrial-grade single board computers (SBCs) to allow for remote control, optimisation and monitoring to occur from any internet-connected device such as a laptop or smartphone.

Furthermore, a touchscreen tablet interface has been integrated into these pumps, communicating to the SBC for a seamless and intuitive user experience.

Using feedback provided by users, this interface has been developed to be easy to navigate, and includes a charts and status function for operators to obtain operational data at-a-glance and identify faults quickly.

Integration with legacy systems is also provided, with SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) and BMS (building management system) connectivity points provided.

While connectivity to these smart pumps is decidedly modern, the Monsoon IQ is underpinned by its use of proven variable speed drives to control and cascade supply to match changing water demands.

This, together with the always-on connectivity, provides users with peace of mind when it comes to their water pumps.

According to Davey’s Innovation GM Joel Gresham, the Monsoon IQ “provides an easy-to-use interface that allows our customers to manage and understand multiple pumping systems from anywhere in the world.”

“With access to real-time data, users can make important decisions and react to events quickly to reduce downtime and minimise water and energy usage.”

Davey has launched the IQ range to target a number of market segments including large-scale irrigation, commercial buildings and apartments, and rainwater harvesting.

The company is also in development of advanced algorithms to automatically detect a number of failure conditions that previously could only be detected onsite by professional technicians.

These and other updates will be rolled out over-the-air to ensure every customer is receiving the latest experience and benefits that the IQ can provide.

Cross-cloud compatibility is also on the horizon, using open APIs to provide added layers of functionality for its customers and commercial partners.

This project has been named a finalist in the Primary Industry category of the Australian IoT Awards 2017. View the full list of finalists here.