A Method to Estimate Water Flow Rate Using Sound of Flowing Water

Abstract

With the population increasing exponentially, there has been a shortage of water in various countries. To help people manage water resources in an appropriate way, a water monitoring and management system needed to be built. Several invasive flow meters are present to cater to the problem but there exist several overhead expenses and issues with it. A good alternative for the above, a non-invasive flow meter, would be a more efficient solution. Though, some non-invasive flow meters exist, they’re expensive and unsuitable for use in some critical scenarios. So, a novel method and system, to calculate the rate of flowing water using audio-processing of the sound of flowing water, was developed. The system would be clamped on the surface of the pipe, unlike other systems which operate from inside the pipe. The flow meter developed using this method would only require a microphone on the sensor’s part, which will make it cost-effective. The process involves an algorithm that processes the sound of water using a microcontroller unit and then computes a single value which then depicts the range of flow rate. Further, using IOT analytics, future predictions and other important metrics would be displayed on a simple yet detailed user interface.