Live data prototype of a mechanical water-meter digitiser

Abstract

Remote reading using smart metering is the modern and efficient way of gathering consumption data from the users of water, electricity, gas, and other utilities. Smart metering has eliminated the need for the user to report the readings manually to the utility company. On the other hand, it has assured the utility company of a consistent and reliable data feed. Although many households in Estonia enjoy the comfort of smart metering for different utilities, smart metering water consumption seems to be lagging behind the others. Most Estonian households, especially the apartments, still report water readings manually. This thesis aims to build a live data prototype of a digitiser that would add the main benefits of a smart meter, remote reading, and consumption history to a regular mechanical analogue water meter. Thus, serving as a viable low-cost intermediate substitute to an actual smart meter. Building a live data prototype proved that making a low-cost substitute for a smart meter using optical character recognition tool to turn analogue readings from a picture into machine-readable data is possible, and this solution can be turned into a product.