Auchleeks Estate at Trinafour in Perthshire is benefitting from a custom designed remote weather station thanks to a group of MSc Smart Systems students from the University of Abertay Dundee.
The students designed, built and installed the remote weather system in the hills above Trinafour just north of Blair Atholl as part of their Smart Systems Design module.
Users can text the weather station using a mobile phone and receive weather data in return. Alternatively, the data can be viewed on a website, also designed by the students, where wind speed, wind direction and temperature are displayed in graphical format.
Nial Mackinlay, speaking for the estate, said that he was delighted with the bespoke weather station. ''We were very pleased to be able to assist the students with this work which contributes to their design module by identifying an appropriate bit of hill ground to site the station and I would congratulate the students and staff on their work.
“The station will undoubtedly assist in certain aspects of land management by providing access to real time weather data from a location where the weather can be somewhat different to that experienced on the lower ground.''
The gamekeepers can log on to the website in the morning and use the wind speed and direction information to plan their day's stalking or indeed for undertaking muirburn.
This year’s new team of students plan to add a video camera and data logging facility to the weather station meaning that clients from all over the world can log on to check out the stunning scenery. The data logging facility will enable the team to look back on historic weather data, which will be used to aid year round management of the Estate.
Course tutor Mary-Ann MacKinnon said: “One of the great benefits of this project was that the students were able to work together as a professional team, putting into practice the design techniques that they have been taught such as capturing customer requirements to translate into a technical design specification. They then each took a different role in developing the mobile communications, the computer programme to interpret the data, the database and website.”
Estate Gamekeeper, Bob Pirie, who assisted with the on-site construction, said: "It was great to be involved in this project and to see the result of all the students' hard work. They were totally amazed by the scenery as well!"
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For further information please contact Vicki White on 01382 308935 or e-mail v.white@abertay.ac.uk