Dive into pristine waters with Aqua Insight, the smart water quality monitoring system dedicated to maintaining the perfect balance in your aquatic environments. Whether it’s the tranquil waters of a home aquarium, the refreshing expanse of a swimming pool, or the essential purity of a small-scale water treatment system, Aqua Insight is engineered to provide real-time data on critical water quality parameters. By tracking pH levels, temperature, and turbidity, our system ensures the health and safety of your water, offering peace of mind and safeguarding the wellbeing of both inhabitants and users. Embrace clarity with Aqua Insight and keep your waters thriving.
POSEIDON
UN SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Empowered and Driven:
Delivering Solutions for Global Issues
Our project, Aqua Insight, aligns with several critical United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aimed at preserving our planet for future generations:
Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being – Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential, and Aqua Insight contributes directly to this goal by monitoring water quality, which is a key factor in preventing diseases. Clean water is crucial for hygiene and is the first defense against the spread of infectious diseases. By ensuring water is safe and clean, we support overall health and well-being.
Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Access to clean water and sanitation is a human right, yet billions are still faced with daily challenges accessing even the most basic of services. Aqua Insight aids in addressing this issue by offering a sophisticated monitoring system that ensures water quality and sanitation standards are met, thus supporting the achievement of universally accessible and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Goal 14: Life Below Water – Conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas, and marine resources is imperative for sustainable development. The health of our planet’s water bodies is directly linked to the health of our ecosystems and aquatic life. Aqua Insight’s technology is designed to detect changes in water quality that could negatively impact marine ecosystems, thus contributing to the conservation and sustainability of life below water.
DESIGN STORY
Challenges
``Technological Learning Curve: The integration of unfamiliar technologies such as Arduino microcontrollers and complex sensor arrays requires a steep learning curve. Team members are required to rapidly upskill, grappling with both the theoretical and practical aspects of these advanced components. Hardware Integration: Seamlessly integrating disparate hardware components such as resistors, pH sensors, and turbidity meters poses a significant challenge. Ensuring these components communicate effectively without interference is critical to system reliability. Calibration and Accuracy: Fine-tuning the sensors to achieve high accuracy in diverse environments remains a hurdle. Incorrect readings could lead to false alarms or oversight of critical water quality issues, undermining the system's efficacy. Design and Aesthetics: Balancing form and function is a creative challenge. We strive to design a system that is not only efficient but also aesthetically pleasing, ensuring that it doesn't detract from the environment it's intended to monitor.``
Solution
``Structured Training Programs: We are investing in comprehensive training programs and workshops for our team members to expedite the learning process of working with Arduino platforms and sensors. This includes bringing in expert consultants to conduct hands-on training sessions. Modular Design Approach: Adopting a modular design for hardware integration allows us to isolate and test components individually before full-scale system integration. This method also facilitates easier troubleshooting and replacements. Advanced Calibration Protocols: Implementing rigorous calibration protocols ensures sensor accuracy. We’re developing software that can automatically adjust calibration based on environmental feedback to maintain consistent and reliable sensor performance. User-Centric Design: Collaborating with design specialists to create a system that blends seamlessly into its environment. We prioritize user feedback in the design process to create a product that meets functional requirements without compromising on aesthetics.``
Use Case
``Use Case: Monitoring Home Aquariums for Optimal Fish Health Actors: Aquarium owners, fish enthusiasts, pet care stores. Goal: To maintain optimal water quality conditions within a home aquarium to ensure the health and well-being of aquatic life. Scenario: Installation: The user purchases the Aqua Insight system and follows the guided setup to install sensors in their home aquarium. The sensors are calibrated to the specific water type and aquatic life present in the tank. Continuous Monitoring: The system continuously monitors key water quality parameters such as pH levels, temperature, and turbidity. Data is collected in real-time and transmitted to the user’s smartphone application and cloud storage for analysis. Alerts and Notifications: When Aqua Insight detects any parameter deviating from the predefined safe range, it instantly sends an alert to the user's smartphone app, detailing the exact parameter fluctuation and providing recommended corrective actions. Data Analysis and Insights: The system's backend processes the collected data to provide insights on water quality trends, potentially predicting future conditions and suggesting preemptive measures. Reporting: The user receives weekly and monthly reports summarizing the aquarium’s water quality, offering insights into the overall health of the ecosystem and maintenance recommendations. Maintenance Actions: Based on the system's recommendations, the user can take necessary actions such as adjusting the water temperature, cleaning the tank, or adding specific nutrients to maintain a balanced environment. Community Sharing: The user can opt to share their aquarium's data with a community of fellow enthusiasts for comparison, advice, and enhanced knowledge sharing. Feedback Loop: The user provides feedback on the system’s performance and usability, contributing to the iterative improvement of Aqua Insight. Outcome: The health of the fish and plants within the home aquarium is consistently maintained, thanks to the accurate and timely data provided by Aqua Insight. The user gains peace of mind and saves time, as manual testing of water conditions is significantly reduced. Aqua Insight’s data-driven insights help prevent fish illness and mortality, contributing to a thriving home aquarium community. Business Impact: The successful deployment in the home aquarium market segment establishes Aqua Insight as a reliable and necessary tool for fish enthusiasts, driving word-of-mouth referrals and boosting sales. The data collected provides valuable insights into aquatic care, positioning Aqua Insight as a thought leader in the market for pet care innovation. ``
TECHNOLOGIES
List of Essential Tools and Technologies
THE PROCESS
PROTOTYPE DESIGN
”
Your prototype IS a water quality monitoring system built on a breadboard. It consists of an Arduino Uno that serves as the main controller, and several components are connected to it:
Grove 16×2 LCD: Connected to the Arduino via a series of jumper wires, likely using the I2C communication protocol given the number of wires attached to it. This screen will display information such as temperature, pH (simulated), and water clarity.
Temperature Sensor (Velleman VMA311): Connected to the analog pin A0 on the Arduino, this sensor will measure the temperature of the water.
LDR (Light Dependent Resistor): Plugged into the breadboard and connected to another analog pin (A3), which will measure the clarity of the water based on the amount of light passing through.
Potentiometer: Connected to analog pin A2, which you are using to simulate pH levels until a proper pH sensor is integrated.
Buzzer: Intended for audible alerts, currently connected directly to power and ground, which will need to be changed to be controlled by a digital pin for on-demand activation.
Breadboard: This is being used to facilitate the connections between the components and the Arduino without the need for soldering, making it easier to modify the circuit as needed.
Jumper Wires: Various colors of jumper wires are used for connections, following a common breadboard prototyping practice.”
Stage
Online Marketing
Creative agency
Web development
PLEDGE
Impact on the market
Such a system can provide real-time data on water quality, allowing for immediate responses to pollution events. It could be especially beneficial for monitoring bodies of water near industrial areas, agricultural regions, or urban runoff points where contaminants are likely to enter the ecosystem.
RESULTS
FINAL PRODUCT
“Conceptualization: This stage involves identifying the need for a water quality monitoring system. The goal is to create a device that can measure various parameters of water quality, such as temperature, pH, and clarity, and provide alerts if the readings are outside acceptable ranges.
Design: Once the concept is clear, the design phase begins. This includes selecting the appropriate sensors (like temperature sensors and LDRs for clarity), output devices (LCD displays and buzzers for alerts), and control units (such as the Arduino Uno).
Component Sourcing: Acquire all the necessary components according to the design specifications. This may include purchasing sensors, LCD modules, buzzers, potentiometers, breadboards, jumper wires, and the microcontroller itself.
Prototyping: With all components at hand, the prototyping stage involves assembling the circuit on a breadboard. It’s a crucial step for validating the design concept without the need for permanent soldering, allowing for easy troubleshooting and adjustments.
Programming: Develop the firmware that will run on the microcontroller. The code is written to manage sensor readings, control the LCD display, and handle the buzzer operation. This software development phase is iterative, often requiring debugging and refinement to ensure accurate readings and reliable performance.
Testing: The fully assembled prototype is then subjected to a series of tests. These tests assess functionality, sensor accuracy, system stability, and user interface. Any issues discovered during testing will lead back to adjustments in both hardware connections and software programming.
Refinement: Based on the testing results, the prototype may undergo several rounds of refinement to address any flaws, improve performance, or add new features.
Finalization: After thorough testing and refinement, the prototype is finalized. The breadboard setup could be transferred to a permanent PCB (Printed Circuit Board), and enclosures may be designed to house the electronics for real-world application.
Pilot Production: Before mass production, a pilot batch is often produced. This small-scale production run is intended to identify any manufacturing issues and gather user feedback.
Market Analysis and Launch: Assess the potential market impact by analyzing competitors, potential customers, and market demand. If the product proves viable, it’s launched to the market, accompanied by marketing campaigns to promote the product.”