CURRENT RESEARCH
AREAS
Fertiliser
Injection Monitoring and Control System
ECI is involved in the design and development of an electronic fertiliser
injection control system for irrigation that will replace the existing
obsolete systems, mainly imported, that are being installed in the
country and the region. ECI is in the process of designing the irrigation
monitoring and control system, which will allow the injection of chemical
fertilisers into the main irrigation water supply for agricultural
purposes. Charge
Controller for PVP Systems
ECI has designed an intelligent charge controller. The unit is used
in a photovoltaic-based electrification system that closely monitors
the charging and discharging regime of the battery to prevent overcharging
and over-discharging, which damages the battery. The charge controller
designed by ECI also incorporates theft detection of the panel without
the need for additional wires from the panel to the battery.
DC
to AC Sine Wave Inverter
ECI has designed two inverter types. The first type is a DC to AC
sine wave output inverter as a solution, to supply power for sensitive
electrical and electronic equipment such as freezers. The second
type is a modified sine wave inverter for use mainly during power
cuts in households for lighting and entertainment.
Security
and Surveillance
ECI has designed a stand-alone electronic door lock system that
will allow multi-user access by the assignment of pin numbers specific
to each individual. The unit is a basis for a much broader security
and surveillance project that ECI is has embarked on.
Egg
Incubator
A 4000 capacity chicken egg incubator has been developed within
the institute. It has been successfully used to incubate chicks.
This project will go a long way in assisting with employment creation,
food security and foreign currency generation through the export
of incubators to neighbouring countries within the SADC region.
It can also be used to incubator other bird species like ostriches,
guinea fowl,s, turkies, ducks etc.
Agricultural
Sector Projects
ECI is involved in Research and Development related to the use,
among farmers, of solar energy for electricity generation, solar-driven
water pumping, and automatic irrigation scheduling. In collaboration
with the Meteorological Office, ECI has also completed the design
of a low-cost automatic weather station for small-holder farmers.
Other products include devices for microclimate monitoring of small
plots and greenhouses for those agricultural enterprises that may
benefit from them.
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