Intelligent water metering system: An image processing approach (MATLAB simulations)

The scarcity and misuse of fresh water pose a serious and growing threat to sustainable development. The population growth, severe droughts and uneven distribution of water resources are the reasons for water scarcity, and this scarcity will only continue to grow more severe. The technical sophistication of meters for measuring water flows has increased noticeably in recent decades in order to improve management of water. This paper proposes simple image processing approach for an intelligent metering system. The proposed system uses simple image processing algorithms and DSP processor, capable of executing MIPS; which makes whole system respond faster. As meter image is being captured from set distance, meter mask generation reduces the need of algorithms for detection and segmentation of meter reading. The proposed system improves the efficiency of drinking water management and reduces power consumption as image sensor is activated as per predefined billing cycle.