Intending to improve the welfare of pond farmers, the Politeknik Negeri Semarang (Polines) Student Creativity Program (PKM) Team took the initiative to create an IoT-based pond water quality monitoring tool named "Mantau Mbak". In making Mantau Mbak, PKM Polines Team consisting of Maulana Widi Nurhidayat, Winstar Aji Mabrur, Refin Ananda Putra with Ilham Sayekti as the advisor lecturer, collaborated with the farmer group "Salemba" in Mororejo Village, Kaliwungu, Kendal.
Maulana Widi Nurhidayat (Team Leader), Tuesday (6/25) said that monitoring of pond water quality can be done through cell phones (cellphones) in real time. "Using the temperature sensor ds18b20 (temperature)," he said. Other devices used include: analog turbidity sensor (turbidity), Dissolve Oxygen (oxygen content, TDS Sensor (salt content) and PH sensor. "We use Arduino Nano as a microcontroller," he added.
Previously the measurement of salt content in ponds had to be done manually by relying on the sense of taste, said Sudiyono as a pond farmer. "After using the Mantau Mbak tools, everything is easier," said Sudiyono as a farmer.
Mantau Mbak, made by the PKM Polines Team, helped facilitate the monitoring of pond water quality. "What makes it different from the others, Mantau Mbak uses salinity sensors to find out the levels of salt," explained Yudi, head of the Salemba farmer group.
Water quality monitoring can be done 24 hours in real time. By this, the level of life expectancy of fish will become higher. Farmers are no longer wary of pond water quality even at night. The installation of Mantau Mbak is expected to reduce the problems experienced by farmers.