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Keep rivers clean with an innovative water-measuring sensor
Challenge Type: engineering
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$2,000
top 7
24
submissions
DONE
113 months

Measuring water cleanliness on an ongoing basis is expensive, time consuming, and inefficient. This struggle has given rise to many localized non-profit organizations that have taken up the challenge of water monitoring to preserve their way of life both now and for future generations. In most cases, this network of volunteers engages in manual water gathering and testing techniques that are (at best) slow, costly, and inefficient. One of these exemplary organizations is the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, located in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Chattahoochee River Basin alone supports the drinking water and health of almost 5 million people, including metropolitan Atlanta. Now Ericsson and the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper want students to to join them to build a more sustainable environment for future generations.

Deliverables

Propose a creative idea using sensor technology to remotely measure water quality continuously in a specific location. Ericsson has the expertise to connect, secure, and transport data across a wireless network to the cloud. What they need are student ideas for devices that will cost no more than $200 to create that can gather and report relevant water quality data on a perpetual basis.

Please suggest a way to measure any combination of the following, as well as any other measures you deem important:

- Conductivity

- Temperature

- pH level

- Turbidity

- Dissolved oxygen

- Optical brighteners

- Nitrates

The above seven measures are ranked from easiest to most difficult, and preference will be shown to students who successfully tackle difficult aspects of the challenge.

DEVICE CHARACTERISTICS: Your designed device must be waterproof, RoHS compliant, environmentally-safe, and low-power. Additionally, it should be easily deployable by a single person, anchorable in the river, and durable.

Please provide a diagram showing how to assemble your device. Additionally, describe your device and its intended usefulness.

    Submissions will be graded on the following criteria:
  • Meets Deliverables
  • Creativity
  • Clarity
Additional Materials:
Reward Tiers
2 Winners
will receive $750 each
5 Honorable Mentions
will receive $100 each
Leaderboard
$750.00 John Marshall Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
$750.00 Michael Sotiriou Suffolk County Community College
$100.00 Ryan Potter Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
$100.00 Matthew Allan Purdue University
$100.00 Joseph Nardone New York University
$100.00 Neal Cardoza Purdue University
$100.00 Mason Chee Pennsylvania State University
Submission questions


0 characters Average: 1710 characters
Your solution must be at least 200 characters long
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