SMARTCAMPUS IoT MONITORING SYSTEM
Technical Requirements Specification v2.1
Portland State University — Facilities & IT Division
Last Updated: January 15, 2026

1. PROJECT OVERVIEW

SmartCampus is a building monitoring system that collects
temperature, humidity, occupancy, and energy usage data across
12 campus buildings using IoT sensors. The system provides
real-time dashboards for facilities staff and generates
automated alerts when readings fall outside defined thresholds.

The project replaces the legacy BAS (Building Automation System)
installed in 2011, which only covers 4 of the 12 buildings and
has no remote access capability.

2. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

2.1 Sensor Layer
- 480 sensor nodes total (40 per building)
- Protocol: MQTT over Wi-Fi (802.11ac)
- Sensor types: DHT22 (temp/humidity), PIR (occupancy),
  SCT-013 (energy via current transformer)
- Sampling rate: every 60 seconds for environmental,
  every 15 seconds for occupancy
- Battery: CR123A lithium, estimated 18-month lifespan

2.2 Edge Gateway
- 12 Raspberry Pi 4B units (one per building)
- Runs Mosquitto MQTT broker locally
- Buffers up to 72 hours of data if cloud connection is lost
- Performs local threshold checking for critical alerts
- OS: Raspberry Pi OS Lite (Debian Bookworm)

2.3 Cloud Platform
- AWS IoT Core for device management and message routing
- Amazon Timestream for time-series data storage
- Data retention: raw data kept 90 days, hourly aggregates
  kept 2 years, daily aggregates kept indefinitely
- API: REST endpoints via API Gateway + Lambda (Python 3.11)

2.4 Dashboard
- Built with Grafana OSS v10.2
- Accessible via campus VPN only
- Role-based access: Facilities (full), Department Heads
  (their building only), IT Admin (system health only)

3. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Network
- All sensor traffic on isolated VLAN (VLAN 42)
- MQTT connections require TLS 1.3
- Edge gateways authenticate to AWS via X.509 certificates
- No sensor node has direct internet access

3.2 Data
- Data encrypted at rest (AES-256) in Timestream
- PII policy: occupancy data is aggregated to room level,
  no individual tracking or identification
- Access logs retained 1 year

3.3 Compliance
- Must comply with FERPA (student space occupancy data)
- Must comply with Oregon SB 90 (state cybersecurity standards)
- Annual penetration test required per university IT policy

4. TIMELINE

Phase 1 — Pilot (Feb–Apr 2026)
  Install sensors in 2 buildings (Karl Miller Center,
  Engineering Building). Validate data pipeline end-to-end.

Phase 2 — Expansion (May–Aug 2026)
  Roll out to remaining 10 buildings. Hire 1 additional
  technician for installation support.

Phase 3 — Optimization (Sep–Nov 2026)
  Tune alert thresholds based on 6 months of data.
  Build predictive maintenance models. Train facilities staff.

Project completion target: November 30, 2026

5. BUDGET

Total approved budget: $285,000

  Hardware (sensors, gateways, networking): $94,000
  Cloud services (AWS, 2-year estimate):   $36,000
  Software licenses (Grafana Enterprise):   $0 (using OSS)
  Labor (installation, configuration):     $120,000
  Contingency (15%):                        $35,000

Budget authority: VP of Facilities, with IT Director sign-off
for any single purchase over $10,000.

6. KNOWN RISKS

R1: Wi-Fi dead zones in older buildings (esp. Lincoln Hall,
    built 1911). Mitigation: site survey in Phase 1, may
    require mesh extenders ($2,400 per building).

R2: Supply chain delays on Raspberry Pi units.
    Mitigation: order placed Jan 2026, 8-week lead time.
    Fallback: Intel NUC at +$120/unit.

R3: Facilities staff adoption. The legacy system has 2 users.
    Mitigation: hands-on training in Phase 3, designate one
    "champion" per shift.

R4: FERPA interpretation of occupancy data. Legal review
    pending. Mitigation: default to room-level aggregation
    until guidance received.

7. OPEN QUESTIONS (Unresolved as of v2.1)

- Should the system integrate with the existing HVAC controls,
  or remain read-only? (Decision deferred to Phase 3.)
- What is the data retention policy after the project owner
  (Dr. Vasquez) rotates off in 2027?
- Will the university renew AWS commitment or migrate to
  Azure under the new Microsoft campus agreement?