WeatherSTEM and SwitchDoc Labs Announce Partnership
Introducing a Raspberry Pi-based Weather Station from SwitchDoc Labs that Uploads Data and Images to WeatherSTEM
WeatherSTEM is proud to announce a new partnership with SwitchDoc Labs, an innovative Internet Of Things (IoT) company based in Washington and Idaho.
SwitchDoc Labs specializes in the creation of amazingly compact, affordable weather stations and their latest product, called SkyWeather, is integrated with WeatherSTEM.
SkyWeather is based on an invention called the Raspberry Pi which is a credit-card sized Linux computer that retails for around $35 US but has the computing power of laptops and desktops many times more expensive.
The affordability and portability of the Raspberry Pi makes it an extremely attractive option for embedding computer technology into everyday objects which has helped create an entire industry known as the “Internet of Things”, or IoT for short.
WeatherSTEM and SwitchDoc Labs have partnered to create a package called WeatherSTEM Breeze that combines the SkyWeather
station with WeatherSTEM’s cloud-based web, mobile, and social media weather monitoring and education platform.
The SkyWeather station offers an amazingly rich array of sensors in addition to a high resolution “Cloud Camera”.
Empowering teachers to create STEM lessons, activities, and assessments from real-world weather
More than ever in our history, schools across the United States face the challenge of better preparing students to enter careers where competency in STEM-related subject areas (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is a requirement.
We believe weather provides an excellent foundation for STEM education. It also provides myriad opportunities for exposing students to topics from a plethora of disciplines in the scope of a single activity. Any weather situation, from the most benign scenario where a few cumulus humilus clouds dot the sky to the most intense Category 5 hurricane, can turn into a discussion covering everything from algebra to zoology.
Meteorologist and Education Software Developer Edward Mansouri built WeatherSTEM
WeatherSTEM is a platform built by Ucompass CEO Edward Mansouri who has a Bachelors degree (Penn State) and Masters degree (Florida State) in Meteorology. Fascinated by weather since childhood, Mansouri created the WeatherSTEM platform to infuse K-12 STEM curriculum with live data collected by weather instruments, cloud cameras, agricultural probes, and other sensors.
Experience The Data
The WeatherSTEM platform consumes live information to create and deliver interactive activities and assessments. The platform combines data from weather instruments, agricultural probes, Web cameras and other sensors to create immersive science education experiences and an introduction to “Big Data” and computer programming.
What can you Measure with SkyWeather?
- Barometric Pressure
- LIGHTNING!
- Outside Temperature
- Outside Humidity
- Altitude
- Inside Temperature
- Inside Humidity
- Air Quality – AQI (your own local Air Quality Sensor)
- Sunlight
- Wind Speed
- Wind Direction
- Rain
How will SkyWeather Integrate with WeatherSTEM?
Each SkyWeather station will:
- Publish data and images to its own WeatherSTEM website once per minute
- Store data and images permanently that are accessible via the WeatherSTEM Data Mining Tool
- Integrate data and images into WeatherSTEM’s education repository that you and your stakeholders will have access to
- Publish data and images to the WeatherSTEM SkyWeather social media platform integrated with Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube
- Create daily time-lapse “sky movies”
- Integrate data into WeatherSTEM’s Safety Platform featuring lightning alerts and other important situational awareness notifications
- Offer the capability for real-time, moment by moment data streaming
- Enable real-time access to the data via WeatherSTEM’s API
- So much more!
The SkyWeather station will offer numerous power and connectivity options including solar panels for power and cellular and WiFi for connectivity.
Data and images from SkyWeather will flow seamlessly into WeatherSTEM’s robust gallery of more than 100 standards-based weather lessons and our full year high school level Meteorology course.
Education
In addition to the high quality curricular materials available from WeatherSTEM that cover topics from Meteorology and adjacent disciplines, lessons that help students understand the inner workings of the amazing SkyWeather station will be available that promote opportunities for enhanced computer literacy for participating students. (See an example of our lesson on creating weather widgets at https://learn.weatherstem.com/modules/learn/lessons/115/05.html)
SwitchDoc Labs CTO and Founder Dr. John Shovic had the following comments about this newly formed partnership:
“The combination of the WeatherSTEM cloud and the SwitchDoc Labs SkyWeather system takes the idea of local weather monitoring to a whole different level. The thing that has been missing from the “Maker” Raspberry Pi weather station market has been the weather cloud, social integration and educational content. The partnership between WeatherSTEM and SwitchDoc Labs really makes this happen and brings a whole new level of technology to the area. We are so excited to be working with WeatherSTEM.”
WeatherSTEM CEO and Founder Ed Mansouri had this to say about the exciting collaboration:
“Our partership with SwitchDoc Labs enables us to offer a powerful yet affordable product for the individual weather enthusiast for use at their home or small business. We are extremely excited to have met SwitchDoc Labs’ CTO and Founder Dr. John Shovic who is perhaps the World’s most passionate and accomplished creator of miniaturized weather monitoring technology.”
SwitchDoc Labs and WeatherSTEM have partnered to create the SkyWeather line of inexpensive weather station and cameras.
If you would like to be amongst the first to get your hands on the revolutionary SkyWeather station and see how well it integrates with WeatherSTEM, head over to the product page for SkyWeather at https://shop.switchdoc.com/products/skyweather-raspberry-pi-based-weather-station-kit-for-the-cloud
Stay tuned to WeatherSTEM for further information and for full product release and pricing information. Later in 2019, this product offering will be commercially available for purchase from both SwitchDoc Labs and WeatherSTEM.
WeatherSTEM Announces the Breeze Package
The Breeze Package
- SkyWeather weather station
- Benefit: The station makes measurements of wind speed/direction, solar/UV radiation, precipitation accumulation and intensity, temperature, pressure, and humidity.
- High resolution weather camera
- Benefit: Don’t just tell your stakeholders the weather, SHOW them! Our standard package comes with a single high resolution cloud camera but you can add as many as you want to your package.
- Access to the WeatherSTEM Practical Lightning Assistant
- Benefit: Monitor real-time lightning activity and configure notifications when it gets too close for comfort.
- Access to WeatherSTEM Dashboard
- Benefit: Access real-time and forecast radar and satellite imagery to track the storms.
- Access to WeatherSTEM Notify
- Benefit: Get notified when severe weather alerts are issued or when your WeatherSTEM instruments measure conditions at, above, or below user-defined thresholds. Also trigger alerts based on forecast conditions.
- Custom WeatherSTEM website
- Benefit: Each system broadcasts to its own website open to the public like this one at the St George Island Bridge in Franklin County, Florida.
- Mobile App
- Benefit: Your system will have a landing page on the free WeatherSTEM mobile app for iOS and Android.
Add-on Options
- Solar power
- Benefit: There is no risk of downtime from power outages as Breeze Solar is powered entirely by the sun.
- Cellular connectivity
- Benefit: There is no risk of downtime from Internet outages as Breeze Cellular connects to the Internet via a Sierra Wireless device that is part of the package.
2 Trackbacks / Pingbacks
Comments are closed.