Development of Unmanned Surface Vehicle for In-Situ Water Quality Measurement Using IoT

Purpose Water pollution is a major concern to human life, and periodic monitoring of water quality parameters across water reservoirs such as lakes, ponds, dams and rivers is necessary to examine the water contaminants. The present work focused on developing an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) to collect water samples in remote water body locations. Design/Methodology/Approach A solenoid-actuated water sampling system with an automatic cutoff of storage was devised. In addition, an onboard water quality monitoring system consisting of pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, and dissolved oxygen sensors was integrated with USV. Findings The USV mounted with a water sampler and sensor unit was tested in a lake near our institute. 1200 ml of water samples from the six polyethene terephthalate (PET) storage containers were collected and tested in a laboratory, and their contamination levels were estimated. The spatial distribution maps of water contaminants were generated based on the water quality analysis. Originality The in-situ water quality measured using the Internet of Things (IoT) enabled USV is an efficient choice for online monitoring of water quality parameters. The USV was also tested for its stability on the water surface under various wind loads, and it was able to withstand the wind conditions for effective water sampling and in-situ water quality measurements.