In an era where clean water is increasingly under threat from pollution and climate change, innovative solutions are more critical than ever. Today, I'm thrilled to announce the successful completion of the AquaSense project, an EU-funded initiative under NebulOuS Open Call #2. Developed by Sensifai bvba, AquaSense harnesses cutting-edge IoT technology to deliver real-time water quality monitoring, empowering authorities and industries to detect and respond to contaminants swiftly. Funded by the European Union, this project not only advances environmental tech but also showcases the power of hyper-distributed computing in solving real-world challenges.
Project Overview: From Concept to Deployment
AquaSense was born from the need to address water insecurity—a crisis affecting over 2 billion people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Our platform deploys compact sensors in rivers, reservoirs, and urban water systems to measure key parameters like pH, turbidity, temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, oxidation-reduction potential, chemical oxygen demand, and salinity. Data is ingested via MQTT at 1-second intervals, preprocessed for efficiency, and analyzed using AI for anomaly detection with 95% accuracy—all within under 2 seconds.
What sets AquaSense apart is its integration with the NebulOuS Meta-Operating System, which orchestrates a seamless edge-cloud pipeline. Starting with 3 Raspberry Pi 4 edge devices (each with 8 sensors) in the mid-term phase—handling manageable loads without scaling—we expanded to 8 devices, each equipped with 14 sensors, generating 112 readings per second. NebulOuS automatically scaled our broker server to 4 replicas and AI server to 8 replicas, ensuring robust performance during dynamic loads like rainfall surges or localized contaminations.
Key Achievements: Innovation in Action
Scalable Deployment
From mid-term's low-load setup (no replication needed) to full-scale with 112 r/s, NebulOuS enabled automatic up/down-scaling of cloud/fog resources, maintaining 99% uptime and zero data loss via 1-hour edge buffering.
Real-Time Adaptability
In scenarios like heavy rain (activating extra sensors for turbidity monitoring) or contamination detection (integrating nearby sensors to map affected areas), the system dynamically adjusts without manual intervention—crucial for real-world efficiency.
Cost and Performance Gains
Achieved 30% operational cost reductions through geographic-aware preprocessing (prioritizing urban loads at 70%) and SLO-driven orchestration, reducing latency by 60% compared to static baselines.
Pilot Validations
Collaborations with Belgian authorities (e.g., De Watergroep) confirmed timely alerts, potentially averting $1 million fines per undetected event.
Our mid-term foundation—proving single-instance viability—paved the way for this robust expansion, highlighting NebulOuS's role in turning variable IoT workloads into reliable insights.
Broader Impacts: Beyond the Project
AquaSense isn't just tech—it's a step toward sustainable water management. Technically, it validates NebulOuS for hybrid infrastructures, offering a blueprint for sectors like smart agriculture. Economically, the cost savings and compliance tools benefit industries facing EU regulations. Environmentally and societally, it empowers proactive pollution control, aligning with the EU Green Deal and protecting ecosystems and communities.
Industrially, the platform's predictive maintenance features reduce downtime in manufacturing and utilities, while fostering collaborations with sensor makers like those behind RK500-09.
Looking Ahead
As we wrap up, AquaSense is primed for commercialization through Sensifai bvba. Future expansions could include heavy metal detection or integrations with broader EU initiatives. A massive thank you to the NebulOuS Consortium, our mentors, and EU funders for making this possible.
If you're in IoT, environmental tech, or edge computing, let's connect! Share your thoughts below or reach out for collaborations.