Smart Public Toilets with Beilai R40 Router

In the current major trend of smart city construction, public toilets, as an important part of urban infrastructure, urgently need intelligent upgrades. Traditional public toilets suffer from low management efficiency, difficulty in real-time monitoring of hygiene conditions, and resource waste. This case study focuses on a batch of public toilets in the central area of a certain city, utilizing the Beln Technology R40 4G industrial router, a powerful industrial IoT gateway, to build a smart public toilet IoT solution to improve the management level and service quality of public toilets.


Solution Architecture
The Beilai Technology R40 serves as the central hub of the entire smart public toilet system, undertaking data acquisition, transmission, and communication functions. Various sensors are deployed inside the public toilets, including hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and ammonia (NH₃) sensors for real-time monitoring of air composition to determine the degree of odor and air quality; smoke sensors to promptly detect abnormal smoke and prevent fire hazards; and environmental monitoring equipment to sense environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, and light intensity for adjustments based on actual conditions. Additionally, water meters and electricity meters are installed to achieve precise metering of water resources and electricity consumption.
The R40 router connects various sensors and meters through RS485 and RS232 interfaces to collect data in real time. For on-site network environments, if the wired network is unstable, data can be uploaded to the cloud server via the 4G network; Ethernet or WIFI can also be used for data transmission. In some specific areas, WIFI devices are also equipped to facilitate user connections and provide more options for communication between devices. In addition, cameras and SOS emergency call buttons are installed in the public toilets to ensure the safety of users.

Actual Application Effects
Through the real-time transmission and analysis of data from hydrogen sulfide and ammonia sensors, management personnel can monitor the air conditions inside the public toilets at any time on the cloud management platform. Once the gas concentration exceeds the standard, the system immediately triggers an alarm, and staff can promptly go to clean and ventilate. At the same time, based on the temperature and humidity data from the environmental monitoring equipment, ventilation and temperature control equipment are automatically adjusted to maintain a comfortable environment inside the public toilets. For example, in hot summer, stronger ventilation and cooling equipment can be automatically turned on according to the temperature increase, while in winter, a suitable temperature is maintained, improving the experience of citizens using the public toilets.
With the data acquisition function of water meters and electricity meters, the management department can clearly understand the water and electricity usage of each public toilet. Through the analysis of long-term data, peak periods of water and electricity consumption and potential waste problems can be identified. For example, data analysis revealed abnormally high water consumption in a certain public toilet at night. After investigation, it was found to be due to leakage in some facilities, and timely repairs effectively avoided the waste of water resources. According to statistics, after the implementation of smart transformation, the average water and electricity consumption of this batch of public toilets has been reduced by 15%.

Reliable Safety Guarantee
The installation of smoke sensors and SOS buttons greatly enhances the safety level of public toilets. When smoke is detected, the management platform can immediately receive alarm information and quickly take countermeasures to prevent fire accidents. The SOS emergency call function provides safety for citizens using the toilets. If a user encounters a sudden situation in the public toilet, pressing the SOS button will immediately send a distress signal to the management personnel and locate the public toilet's position, buying time for rescue.

Convenient Management and Services
Management personnel can remotely view various data and equipment status of the public toilets through the cloud management platform, achieving intelligent permission management and equipment linkage. At the same time, the data is stored in the cloud, which is convenient for long-term statistical analysis and historical inquiries. In some important areas, public toilets are also equipped with large-screen display devices that real-time display environmental data and the number of available stalls inside the public toilets, making it convenient for citizens to understand the situation in advance and make informed choices.