Engineering students from Amrita University have developed a prototype called “Smart Water”, to monitor the growing exploitation of fresh water in the country.

The technique took the Amrita team to a different level at the first-ever “iDeate – The Great Digital India Challenge” organised by Cisco, with several companies evincing interest in taking the prototype forward towards commercialisation.

The result – a start-up is on the cards.

Monitoring method

The technique, considered more efficient and accurate for testing water quality in large water bodies such as lakes, ponds and dam, was also found to be cheaper than the existing manual sampling techniques and remote sensing technology.

To rectify the defects of the manual sampling techniques (which involved significant time and resources), remote sensing technology was introduced. “But, the accuracy of data obtained was completely dependent on the number of nodes installed. Advancements in data analysis, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous boats, have made it possible to monitor water quality without implementing sensor nodes,” Sasangan Ramanathan, Dean, Amrita School of Engineering, explained.

The project is on its way to becoming a start-up. A decision would be taken soon, the Dean added.

The winning team, which got a cash prize of ₹2.5 lakh, included Akshay Balachandran, Surya Murugaian, Parthasarathy R and Murali Siva – all third year students of Amrita.

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