'Aquasense' trials have been done in Lake Victoria, Uganda along with Makerere University College of Natural Sciences collaboration.
CENSIS
Aqsen Innovations has partnered with CENSIS-Scotland’s innovation center for sensing, imaging, and IoT technologies to develop a "low-cost" Internet of Things (IoT) sensor system that will help fish farmers test different variables in water.
In more detail, 'Aquasense' can be adapted to test in water properties such as temperature, oxygenation, salinity, and the presence of chemicals such as chlorine. Therefore, farmers will detect, monitor, and manage water quality in real-time and mitigate climate change effects.
Moreover, Aqsen Innovations has worked to offer a tool just 25% to 30% cheaper than other sensor systems with similar features. Also, CENSIS components combined with the start-up tools have enabled this competitive price.
'Aquasense' trials have been done in Lake Victoria, Uganda along with Makerere University College of Natural Sciences collaboration. Additionally, it was used in India to monitor the quality of water in floodplains and on farmland.
Thanks to 'Aquasense', fish farmers can monitor water quality in real-time by collecting data remotely via a mobile device and consequently take relevant actions.
According to CENSIS, this will be quite convenient for areas that rely on climate-sensitive sectors such as aquaculture, as well as areas prone to flooding.
Thus, they will track the temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and pH level of water, and identify the perfect time for feeding and checking fish health.
Regarding these functions, co-founder of Aqsen Innovations, Rinku Dasbiswas, detailed: "Aquasense provides real-time, dynamic insights on water quality that can support communities and help to improve productivity across a variety of sectors grappling with environmental challenges."
Furthermore, he commented on the idea of adding new tools: "Once we reach commercialization, we hope to develop the product further and begin incorporating satellite imaging. CENSIS is playing a key role in integrating the IoT technologies into our sensor systems."
On the other hand, Rachael Wakefield, business development manager at CENSIS, expressed the use of these types of sensors not just only in Africa or India: "Accessible, affordable environmental sensing is not just a challenge for developing nations, it is useful here in the UK too – especially for small farms and not-for-profit organizations that need data-evidenced land management change."