Design and Evaluation of a Scaled Autonomous Mobile Rainwater Harvesting System with Automatic Orientation for Rural Communities

Peña L.S.C.; Chipana D.A.C.; Vergaray S.N.C.; Daviran A.M.F. · Advances in Science and Technology (2026) · DOI: 10.4028/p-dnd7qx

Resumen

Rural communities face limited access to safely managed water, a problem worsened by wind-driven rainfall and climate variability. This study presents, at prototype scale, an autonomous mobile rain-harvesting system whose funnel automatically re-orients toward the prevailing precipitation direction, overcoming the inefficiency of static collectors. The device combines a galvanized-steel funnel mounted on a steel post with an Arduino-controlled servo motor, anemometer, inclinometer and tipping-bucket pluviometer, all powered photovoltaic module; a PVC downpipe channels water to a 250 L HDPE tank. Field tests in San Francisco de Asís, Ancalahuata, Chilca District, Huancayo, Peru, compared the prototype with a static collector of equal projected area. The mobile unit captured 40 % to 81 % more water; a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test confirmed normality and an independent t-test yielded p < 0.01, indicating significant improvement. The average re-orientation time to lock onto the dominant direction was 3.7 s, and efficiency was maintained under gusts of 22 km h⁻¹. Surveys (n = 12) showed 92 % perceived intuitiveness and 100% acceptance. The results demonstrate that a mobile, self-powered, auto-orienting rain-harvesting architecture can markedly increase rural water availability while retaining structural simplicity and social acceptance. Future work will scale up the design, optimize control logic for extreme conditions, and conduct life-cycle assessments to support deployment in water-stressed regions.

Instituciones: Universidad Continental