PiMaax is a Raspberry Pi based mobile environmental sensing system developed for high resolution Urban Heat Island mapping and urban climate monitoring.
The system combines temperature, wind speed, GPS, and time measurements in a single platform. It is designed for mobile surveys to collect georeferenced environmental measurements across urban areas.
PiMaax complements satellite, aerial, and geospatial observations with in situ measurements at street and neighborhood scale.
PiMaax was developed in the context of two climate resilience projects in Cyprus, with a focus on Urban Heat Island monitoring and fine scale urban temperature mapping.
The Limassol Pathways2Resilience project focuses on strengthening the climate resilience of Limassol through improved climate risk assessment, adaptation planning, and resilience actions. The project addresses multiple climate risks, including extreme heat, Urban Heat Island effects, flooding, drought, wildfires, and water scarcity.
Project website: Limassol P2R
The CLIMAAX NIC project applies the CLIMAAX climate risk assessment framework in the Municipality of Nicosia. The project focuses on assessing flooding, Urban Heat Island effects, and heat related vegetation damage to support local climate adaptation and risk management planning.
Project website: CLIMAAX NIC
PiMaax collects:
- Air temperature from three TMP117 temperature sensors
- Wind speed from an anemometer
- GPS latitude and longitude
- GPS altitude and speed
- Date and time from the real time clock
The main components include:
- Raspberry Pi
- SparkFun Qwiic HAT
- Three SparkFun TMP117 temperature sensors
- DFRobot SEN0170 anemometer
- SparkFun ADS1015 ADC
- SparkFun RV-8803 real time clock
- USB GPS receiver
- PTN04050C boost converter
The complete component list is available in the Bill of Materials.
pimaax/
├── docs/
├── pimaax-firmware/
├── pimaax-hardware/
└── README.md
The repository is organized into three main parts.
The docs directory contains the complete setup instructions for
building and configuring PiMaax. The guides cover the Raspberry Pi
setup, temperature sensors, anemometer, real time clock, GPS, and
firmware setup.
PiMaax measurements are used as part of a broader Urban Heat Island mapping framework combining in situ observations, remote sensing, geospatial information, and data driven modelling.
Research Paper:
Karatsiolis, S., Hadjinicolaou, P., Padubidri, C., and Kamilaris, A. "Decomposing Urban Heat Islands at Micro-Level: A Hybrid Physics-Inspired and Data-Driven Modelling Framework." Available at SSRN 6805812.
PiMaax measurements contribute to Urban Heat Island mapping and climate risk analysis. Open the interactive CYENS Climate Risks Platform
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