The Aquahacking competition focuses on solving water related issues. My team and I designed a solution to the problem of contaminated water in cisterns in rural communities in Canada. We designed a system that uses a specially designed inlet to prevent animals and debris from entering the cistern. Later on in the project, I worked on the software side of the project, designing a ESP8266 system that would monitor water level and temperature and send this data to a server. This project was a great learning experience and I was able to learn a lot about water systems and the challenges that rural communities face.
Solving the Real World Problem of Contaminated Water
The actual solution we designed was actually quite simple. Our inlet was designed to fit over the top of the cistern opening. Our inlet raised the entry point of the water above ground level. It also featured a 45 degree angle to prevent animals and debris from entering the cistern. I always love solving real world problems with simple ideas.
The Software Side
Later on in the project, my team decided to add a monitoring system to the cistern. I was able to design a system that used an ESP8266 to monitor the water level and temperature of the cistern. This data was then sent to a server where it could be accessed by anyone. This was a great learning experience for me as I was able to learn a lot about the ESP8266 and how to use it to monitor sensors. I also designed a simple mobile app that could be used to access the data from the server.
The Takeaway
One thing that I am always thinking about is how to take concepts from one project and apply them to another. When prototyping the inlet, I 3D printed a cap using TPU, One thing I realized is that TPU is much tougher than I thought. I was able to take this knowledge and apply it to the Marine Design Club where I suggested we use TPU for the thruster mounts as we wanted something that could not only isolate the thrusters but also provide some protection from impacts.
Software Utilized
