10/05/2025
Meshtastic radios are designed to send messages where there is no internet or cell phone service – like on a remote mountain trail, or underground subway train, on open water, extensive farm fields or TRAVELING IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. It is even possible to get basic internet based information from the internet, if one of the radio nodes is connected to the internet using the radio’s MQTT option.
This article shows some interesting use cases for an AI powered “Chat bot”, that can provide basic simple text information as long as there is a MQTT link configured correctly in the meshtastic chain of radios. Much of this is very experimental at the present time, but its evolving quickly with a lot of open source volunteers working towards perfecting these concepts. This approach can also be viable in rural areas if there are spots with the old fashioned low speed cell phone coverage like GSM or Lte where small amounts of data can be sent.
Weather: Since weather can change quickly, it can be important to know the current weather conditions and near future forecast where ever you are located.
Tides: Those who spend time on ocean water for fishing or boating need to know when the high and low tides are for their area.
Sunset / sunrise times: It can suddenly be important to know when the sun will set, if you are walking on a trail and encounter a problem, or even a flat tire in a remote stretch of highway.
Check in / Check out: If a group is travelling together either on a trail, or in a roadway convoy, it can be useful if each member of the party check’s in, and out as they pass certain milestones, so the others will know their status, or even notify your partner if you will be home late for dinner…
Meshtastic chatbots do weather, tide, sunrise, sunset and more
