IIT Kanpur develops system to monitor Ganga

In its current capacity, the Niracara Svayamsasita VedhShala (NSVS) system can sense three important parameters -- pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen capacity of water.  

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has developed an Aquatic Autonomous Observatory named Niracara Svayamsasita VedhShala (NSVS), for in situ monitoring, real time data transmission and web-based visualisation of the Ganga river. The NSVS system was inaugurated by AR Harish, Dean of Research and Development, IIT Kanpur, at the Laxman Ghat of Bithoor.  The project has been implemented by a team of earth scientists, mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineers from IIT Kanpur, led by Bishakh Bhattacharya as the principal investigator.  

IIT Kanpur’s NSVS system is developed as a low-cost, multi-parameter, water quality monitoring platform that would consist of array of sensors and auto sampler placed on a stationary platform which is semi-submersible, all-weather, robust and perfectly stable.  

Prof Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, “The Ganga is not just a river but a cultural heritage for us, and therefore it is our responsibility to safeguard it from any harm. IIT Kanpur has been doing rigorous research and developing various mechanisms to study the ecosystem of the Ganga and the impact of climate change on it.” 

Key features of the system

In its current capacity, the NSVS system can sense three important parameters -- pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen capacity of water. This can be further utilised to estimate total dissolved solid (TDS), specific gravity and presence of metallic ions in water.  

The system autonomously collects the data in every 15 minutes and report it through wireless network to the institute. For self-sustenance, the platform is equipped with energy harvesting systems consisting of solar cells and a unique vortex induced vibration (VIV) system which can extract energy from the flow of river. The system has an open platform architecture such that other institutes developing sensors may integrate it with the IITK system in a collaborative mode. 

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