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Advancing Resilient Environmental Monitoring Through Low-Cost Sensing Technologies
EBOS Technologies’ contribution to the Horizon Europe CiROCCO project
Visual representation of an autonomous, solar-powered environmental-sensing node operating under harsh field conditions.
Environmental monitoring for under-sampled regions
Environmental monitoring is increasingly important as climate change, desertification, air pollution, dust events and ecosystem degradation place growing pressure on communities, infrastructure and decision-makers. Yet in many regions, especially remote, harsh or under-sampled environments, collecting reliable environmental data remains a major challenge. Traditional monitoring stations can be expensive, difficult to scale and demanding to maintain. This creates a critical need for monitoring solutions that are reliable, cost-effective, autonomous and capable of operating in real-world conditions.
This is where the Horizon Europe project CiROCCO – Enhancing the In-situ Environmental Observations across Under-sampled Deserts – comes in.
CiROCCO: an end-to-end sensing system
CiROCCO aims to establish an end-to-end environmental sensing system built around a distributed network of cost-effective sensing nodes, supported by wireless communications, satellite connectivity, remote sensing, and data fusion and assimilation modelling.
The project’s technologies are being tested and validated through real-world pilot activities in Cyprus, Egypt, Serbia and Spain, addressing use cases such as planning for renewable energy systems, early warning of air quality issues, ecosystem management, and modelling of greenhouse gas and particulate emissions.
Within this ambitious framework, EBOS Technologies plays a key role in transforming project requirements into practical, deployable and scalable environmental monitoring solutions.
From requirements to real-world engineering
EBOS Technologies contributes across several stages of the CiROCCO project lifecycle, including requirements definition, sensing-node development, technical integration, quality assurance, pilot planning, operational management and field-trial validation.
This broader role is reflected in EBOS leadership of key project deliverables, including pilot requirements, target KPIs, low-cost sensing nodes, high-density sensor network architecture, pilot planning and operational management.
At the centre of this contribution is one of EBOS’s major technical responsibilities: the design, integration and iterative development of CiROCCO Low-Cost Sensing Nodes.
EBOS contribution pathway from requirements and KPIs to deployment, operations, testing and validation for environmental monitoring.
Engineering low-cost sensing nodes for harsh conditions
EBOS leads the development of low-cost in-situ sensing nodes for the project. These nodes are stand-alone electronic systems based on Commercial Off-The-Shelf components and commercially available miniaturised sensors, selected to meet the requirements of the CiROCCO pilot environments.
The node architecture integrates sensing, energy harvesting, power storage, embedded intelligence, data collection, local storage and cloud-oriented data transmission via the wider sensor network.
This is not simply a matter of placing sensors in a box. The development process integrates embedded electronics, energy management, sensor integration, communications, packaging, data handling and remote configuration.
Monitoring the parameters that matter
The sensing nodes are designed to measure environmental parameters relevant to CiROCCO pilot scenarios, including particulate matter, carbon dioxide, wind speed and direction, solar radiation, air temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, soil temperature, soil moisture, and other parameters as required by each pilot.
A key design principle is adaptability. The system is designed to be modular and expandable, allowing additional sensors and future functionality to be added as operational requirements evolve.
Data Transmission under challenging communication
A major challenge in environmental monitoring is connectivity. Remote pilot sites may not always have reliable access to conventional communication infrastructure. For this reason, the CiROCCO sensing architecture supports multiple communication options.
The sensing nodes are designed to work with communication technologies such as WiFi, LTE, LoRa/LoRaWAN, and Bluetooth, and also enable satellite communication.
This multi-connectivity approach supports data transmission from locations where conventional infrastructure may be limited or unavailable, strengthening the resilience of the overall monitoring system.
Designed for field deployment
CiROCCO low-cost sensing nodes are engineered for real-world operation, not just laboratory testing. Field deployments can expose systems to heat, dust, humidity, limited physical access, power constraints and communication gaps.
To ensure reliability in these conditions, the node design includes power management, local data storage, communication modules, protected internal electronics, and system packaging designed for installation in demanding environments.
Remote management is also important. Firmware Over-The-Air functionality supports remote adjustment of system parameters, helping engineers configure, calibrate and optimise deployed nodes without frequent physical access.
Connecting technology development with pilot validation
EBOS’s role in CiROCCO extends beyond sensing-node hardware. EBOS leads the planning, setup and operational management framework for the project’s pilot activities.
This creates a direct link between engineering development and operational validation. Sensing technologies are not developed in isolation; they are planned, deployed, tested, and refined through real-world pilot activities.
The project pilots cover four distinct geographic and operational contexts: renewable energy systems planning in Egypt, desert dust monitoring and air-quality early warning in Cyprus, environmental restoration support in Serbia, and greenhouse-gas and particle-emissions modelling in Spain.
Supporting scalable environmental monitoring
One of the most important advantages of low-cost sensing is its ability to increase spatial coverage. Rather than relying solely on a small number of high-end monitoring stations, distributed sensing networks can capture more localised environmental conditions.
This is particularly valuable in under-sampled regions, where data gaps can constrain modelling accuracy, early warning capabilities and evidence-based decision-making.
By combining low-cost in-situ sensing nodes with high-density sensor network concepts, satellite communication, remote sensing and data fusion, CiROCCO aims to strengthen environmental observation capacity in areas where monitoring has traditionally been limited.
From innovation to impact
CiROCCO is designed with sustainability and future exploitation in mind. The project aims to support the long-term operation of sensing networks, the expansion of environmental monitoring capacity, and the development of services that can continue beyond the project duration.
EBOS’s contribution supports this pathway by helping to transform requirements and research concepts into integrated systems that can be deployed, monitored, validated, and improved.
This includes requirements-driven engineering; integration of commercially available sensing technologies; development of autonomous, solar-powered electronic systems; support for flexible terrestrial and satellite communications; pilot planning and operational validation; KPI monitoring and feedback-driven refinement; quality assurance; and structured project implementation support.
Reliable data. Rugged design. Real-world impact.
Through CiROCCO, EBOS Technologies contributes to the development of resilient environmental monitoring systems capable of operating in challenging conditions.
The low-cost sensing nodes are a key part of this contribution, which ranges from technical development, requirements analysis and pilot planning, to quality assurance, operational management and validation.
By supporting the creation of autonomous, connected and scalable sensing systems, EBOS helps CiROCCO move towards its vision of enhancing in-situ environmental observations across under-sampled desert and dryland regions.
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