NIT Andhra Pradesh Develop WiFi-mounted Microcontroller to Integrate Sensors for Smart Rainwater Harvesting

Hyderabad: National Institute of Technology Andhra Pradesh (NIT-AP) students have developed a ‘Wi-Fi mounted Microcontroller’ that can integrate sensors for Smart Harvesting of rainwater. This system can automate the process of water storage, reduction in water-borne disease and efficient storage.

The students from Team LinkLer aim to address water shortage in Indian cities by deploying Deep Tech such as IoT (Internet of Things) and Machine Learning. The team developed an end-to-end Software Stack that provides an easy interface to manage and control in-house water resources.

The system monitors wastewater and supply systems such as rainfall recorded, water remaining in the storage tank, water quality index and water supply in a given area. The NIT-AP students have also designed an underground storage tank with a material capable of holding the water for a long-term basis and its treatment process being monitored on a feedback IoT system.

This project came from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s ‘Open Innovation Lab’ at NIT Andhra Pradesh. A demonstration of their system can be downloaded from this link – https://fromsmash.com/Team-LinkLer-NITAP

NIT Andhra Pradesh’s Team LinkLer won the prestigious ‘India Innovation Challenge Design Contest 2019’ (IICDC), which was organized by US-based Texas Instruments, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The content featured more than 18,000 teams with a total of nearly 75,000 students from across India taking part.

Team LinkLer is now undergoing Indian Institute of Management Bangalore’s (IIM-B) ‘NSRCEL Technical Program’ to drive the product to the market. This program extends support for incubation, incubation, design and product launch. NSRCEL brings together startups, industry mentors, eminent academicians from its parent institution IIM-Bangalore and researchers who thrive on continuous interaction of theory and practice.

Highlighting the ecosystem created by the Institute to support such innovative projects, Prof. C.S.P. Rao, Director, NIT Andhra Pradesh, said, “I would congratulate the team for their collective efforts for making a sustainable solution with interdisciplinary contributions. The future holds the stage for ‘Deep Tech based solutions for sustainable ecosystem’. The institute being the youngest NIT, it is equipped with cutting-edge technology and the team stands as an example for effective utilization of the institute resources. I wish them all the best for future endeavors.”

The Unique Aspects of the System developed by Team LinkLer include:

Ø Process Automation & autonomous control

Ø Data Analytics

Ø Web Application coverage

Ø Machine learning for demand response & API integration

Ø Surplus storage feature

Elaborating on how such a system could benefit India, Dr. Sri Phani Krishna Karri, Team LinkLer’s Faculty Mentor and Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, NIT Andhra Pradesh, said, “The system is an end-to-end technological solution for the raising water mismanagement in cities. The system has been developed by students from various disciplines making it a robust, efficient and cost-effective solution. The system is customizable based on the demand of a household or an entity. The students are in process of commercializing the product after approval of the patent.”

Speaking about the current status of this project and future goals, Shrish Shukla, Fourth Year, Department of Electrical Engineering, NIT Andhra Pradesh, said, “We have been considerate of the impact which this solution offers and how it can ease our worries on the rising water concerns. We are currently focusing the technical detailing for improving its efficiency during scaling and adaptation to different use cases.”

Team LinkLer’s Members include:

Ø Dr. S.P. K. Karri, Team LinkLer’s Faculty Mentor, and Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, NIT-AP,

Ø Mr. Shrish Shukla (team leader), (4th Year), Department of Electrical Engineering (EE), NIT-AP,

Ø Mr. Manish Roy, (4th Year), Department of Electrical Engineering (EE), NIT-AP,

Ø Mr. Shubham Kumar, (4th Year), Department of Mechanical Engineering, NIT-AP,

Ø Mr. Pranav Dadhich, (4th Year), Department of Mechanical Engineering, NIT-AP,

Ø Ms. Aarti Sartape, (4th Year), Department of Electrical Engineering (EE), NIT-AP,

Ø Ms. Ritvika Sonawane, (4th Year), Department of Electrical Engineering (EE), NIT-AP, and

Ø Mr. Ravi Jain, (4th Year), Department of Computer Science and Engineering, NIT-AP.