IoT Weight Monitor

A complete real-time weight monitoring system with multiple communication protocols (Socket.IO and MQTT), featuring a modern web dashboard with live graphs and data persistence.

🚀 Features

• Real-time Monitoring: Live weight display with 1-second updates
• 5-Minute Graph: Interactive Chart.js graph with historical data
• Dual Protocol Support:
  • Socket.IO (WebSocket) for direct connections
  • MQTT for IoT standard protocol
• Server-Side Persistence: Data survives page refreshes
• Connection Monitoring: Visual status indicators
• Activity Logging: Comprehensive event logging
• CSV Export: Download historical data
• Responsive Design: Beautiful UI that works on all devices

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• MQTT Broker (optional, for MQTT version):
  • Local: Mosquitto, EMQX, HiveMQ
  • Or use public test broker

🔧 Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd IOT-Lab

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Configure environment:

   cp .env.example .env

   Edit .env to configure your setup. See CONFIGURATION.md for details.

🎯 Quick Start

Socket.IO Version (Simplest)

# Terminal 1 - Start server
npm start

# Terminal 2 - Start weight sensor
npm run weight

# Browser - Open dashboard
http://localhost:3000

MQTT Version (IoT Standard)

# Terminal 1 - Start MQTT server
npm run start:mqtt

# Terminal 2 - Start MQTT weight sensor
npm run mqtt:device

# Browser - Open dashboard
http://localhost:3000

See QUICKSTART-MQTT.md for detailed MQTT setup.

📁 Project Structure

IOT-Lab/
├── server/
│   ├── server.js              # Socket.IO server
│   └── server-mqtt.js         # MQTT to WebSocket bridge
├── device/
│   ├── weight-sensor.js       # Socket.IO weight sensor
│   └── mqtt-weight-sensor.js  # MQTT weight sensor
├── public/
│   ├── index.html             # Web dashboard
│   ├── styles.css             # Styling
│   └── app.js                 # Frontend logic
├── .env.example               # Environment template
├── .env                       # Your configuration (git-ignored)
└── package.json               # Dependencies

🎮 Available Scripts

Command	Description
npm start	Start Socket.IO server
npm run start:mqtt	Start MQTT-to-WebSocket server
npm run dev	Development mode with auto-restart (Socket.IO)
npm run dev:mqtt	Development mode with auto-restart (MQTT)
npm run weight	Start Socket.IO weight sensor simulator
npm run mqtt:device	Start MQTT weight sensor simulator

⚙️ Configuration

Environment variables in .env:

PORT=3000                                    # Server port
MQTT_BROKER=mqtt://test.mosquitto.org:1883  # MQTT broker URL
MQTT_TOPIC=weight/sensor/#                  # MQTT topic pattern
DEVICE_ID=WEIGHT_SCALE_001                  # Device identifier
MAX_HISTORY_MINUTES=5                       # Data retention time

See CONFIGURATION.md for complete configuration guide.

📚 Documentation

• README-MQTT.md - MQTT implementation details
• README-WEIGHT.md - Weight monitoring system details
• CONFIGURATION.md - Complete configuration guide
• QUICKSTART-MQTT.md - MQTT quick start guide

🔌 Connecting Real IoT Devices

MQTT (Recommended for IoT)

ESP32/Arduino:

#include <WiFi.h>
#include <PubSubClient.h>

const char* mqtt_server = "your-server-ip";
const char* topic = "weight/sensor/SCALE_001";

void loop() {
  float weight = readScale(); // Your sensor code
  char msg[10];
  dtostrf(weight, 6, 2, msg);
  client.publish(topic, msg);
  delay(1000);
}

Raspberry Pi/Python:

import paho.mqtt.client as mqtt

client = mqtt.Client()
client.connect("localhost", 1883)

while True:
    weight = read_weight_sensor()  # Your sensor code
    client.publish("weight/sensor/SCALE_001", str(weight))
    time.sleep(1)

Socket.IO

JavaScript/Node.js:

const io = require('socket.io-client');
const socket = io('http://localhost:3000');

socket.emit('register-device', {
  deviceId: 'SCALE_001',
  deviceType: 'Weight Scale'
});

setInterval(() => {
  const weight = readWeightSensor();
  socket.emit('device-data', weight.toString());
}, 1000);

🌐 API Endpoints

Health Check

GET /api/health

Returns server status and statistics.

Historical Data (MQTT version)

GET /api/history

Returns last 5 minutes of weight data.

🏗️ Architecture

Socket.IO Version

Device (Socket.IO) → Server (WebSocket) → Web Dashboard

MQTT Version

Device (MQTT) → MQTT Broker → Server (Bridge) → Web Dashboard (WebSocket)

🔒 Security

For production deployment:

• ✅ Use HTTPS/WSS
• ✅ Enable authentication
• ✅ Use secure MQTT (mqtts://)
• ✅ Implement access control
• ✅ Keep .env out of version control
• ✅ Use strong passwords
• ✅ Enable TLS certificates

🐛 Troubleshooting

Port already in use

# Windows - Find and kill process on port 3000
Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 3000 | Select-Object -ExpandProperty OwningProcess | ForEach-Object { Stop-Process -Id $_ -Force }

MQTT connection failed

1. Check MQTT broker is running
2. Verify broker URL in .env
3. Test with public broker: mqtt://test.mosquitto.org:1883

No data appearing

1. Check browser console for errors
2. Verify device is connected (check server logs)
3. Ensure topic patterns match (MQTT)

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📄 License

MIT License

👨‍💻 Development

Auto-restart during development:

npm run dev        # Socket.IO version
npm run dev:mqtt   # MQTT version

🎨 Features in Detail

• Large Weight Display: 8rem font size, center-positioned
• Live Graph: Chart.js with 300 data points (5 minutes × 60 seconds)
• Server Persistence: Data stored in server memory
• Auto-cleanup: Old data automatically removed after 5 minutes
• Dual Status: Separate indicators for WebSocket and MQTT
• Export Functionality: Download logs as CSV
• Responsive Design: Glassmorphism UI with gradient background

📊 Data Format

Weight data should be sent as a string:

"75.50"

The system will parse and display it automatically.

🔄 Comparison: Socket.IO vs MQTT

Feature	Socket.IO	MQTT
Setup Complexity	Simple	Requires broker
Protocol Standard	Proprietary	IoT standard
Scalability	Medium	High
Reliability	Good	Excellent
IoT Integration	Custom	Native
Message Queuing	No	Yes
Offline Messages	No	Yes (with broker)
Best Use Case	Direct connections	IoT deployments

📞 Support

For issues and questions:

1. Check documentation files
2. Review server/device logs
3. Test with simulators first
4. Verify environment configuration

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Made with ❤️ for IoT weight monitoring