Deployment of Open Data Kit for Information Management for Various Engineering Projects In Rural, Indonesia Ken Evans, Monishka Narayan, Bijay Lamsal, Rozeeta Thapa & James Miller Water Engineering and Mining Technology Group, School of Engineering and Information Technology, Charles Darwin University, Australia ken.evans@cdu.edu.au Sarah Hobgen, Bronwyn Myers, Penny Wurm & Penny Godwin School of Environment, Research Institute of Environment and Livelihood, Charles Darwin University, Australia Norman RiwuKaho & Jenny Markus University of Nusa Cendana, Adisucipto, Penfui 850001, West Timor, Indonesia Abstract—Open data kit was used in an Engineering context as a data collection, storage and management tool for diverse data types from irrigation channels, weirs, saturated rice paddies and ephemeral stream catchments in the Eastern Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur. In the islands of West Timor and Flores, information was primarily used to report maintenance issues in the weir, primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary channels. In Sumba, data was recorded for flow velocity and elevation in saturated zones and sedimentation in an ephemeral stream. Information regarding physical characteristics from groundwater wells was also collected to assess drinking water quality. Smart phone data input forms were developed progressively using Open data kit Build, according to the specific needs of each research project. It was found to be a very user-friendly and effective tool to use in the Engineering context. The features of Open data kit Build allowed us to modify the various forms in remote locations. Developing multiple choice input focused forms made data collection easier for farmers and local government workers. It virtually eliminated the need for hardcopy data, and allowed for versatility with respect to the nature of the multidisciplinary research. IndexTerms: Open data kit, irrigation channels, saturated zone, ephemeral stream, groundwater. I. INTRODUCTION Open Data Kit (ODK) is a free, open-source set of tools developed at the University of Washington's Department of Computer Science & Engineering. It assists in building application specific information services for use in resource constrained environments [1] and comprises of ODK Collect, Aggregate, and Build [2]. ODK is implemented through the use of hand-held Android Smart Phones (ASPs), and is known to reduce survey times and eliminates the need of paper surveys [3]. The application of mobile phones to data collection is not a new concept for example,open platform applications such as Frontline SMS and Rapid SMS are available.However, these platforms are useful for simple text and short form data strings. ODK is suitable for more complex data including photographs, GPS data and voice recording[3]. ODK has potential for use by a variety of data users including government workers, agricultural extension officers, teachers, crisis workers, and clinicians [2, 4]. Most previous applications of these open platform tools are focused on collecting health data in under-serviced communities. In a recent study by Tom-Aba et al.[5], ODK was used as an Ebola outbreak response measure in Nigeria to follow-up on reported cases, and the identification, investigation and management of Ebola cases, which allowed for strategic planning during the response. Successful application and an enormous improvement was noted in reporting of follow-up contacts after ODK was implemented. Although many successful deployments of ODK involve health assessment and management[5, 6], there is potential to apply this technology to sustainable engineering applications in subsistence farming areas of underserved communities. The focus of this study is to highlight the development and deployment of ODK for various Engineering research projects which we carried out in the eastern Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). ODK forms were built to report and record data for issues such as maintenance in irrigation channels and weirs, flooded rice paddies, sedimentation in ephemeral streams and physiochemical parameters in groundwater (GW) quality. The focus of this study is to identify issues for each of the Engineering contexts and develop and deploy ODK forms. Also, there was a focus on performing detailed analysis of the maintenance issues in irrigation channels and weirs in the eastern Indonesianprovince,NTT. II. STUDY SITE The study started as a need to deployan open-source field data collection and information management tool for use in irrigated farming areas in the eastern Indonesian province of NTT, which consists of the major islands of Sumba, West Timor 1 DOI: 10.24178/irjece.2017.3.1.01 International Research Journal of Electronics & Computer Engineering (ISSN Online: 2412-4370) IRJECE Vol 3(1) Mar 2017 IRJECE