💧 AquaSense

💡 Inspiration

Water is one of the most vital yet overlooked resources. Many households and communities have no clear way to track how much water they use or waste daily. Inspired by UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, we wanted to build something that not only monitors water usage but also drives behavior change through awareness and instant feedback.
AquaSense was born from the idea that technology can turn awareness into measurable conservation.

💧 What it does

AquaSense is a smart flow sensor and dashboard system that helps users monitor, analyze, and reduce their water footprint.

A non-intrusive ultrasonic flow sensor clamps easily onto existing pipes — no cutting or plumbing required.
It sends real-time data on flow rate, duration, and anomalies to a connected dashboard.
The interactive dashboard shows current water flow, past usage trends, and progress toward monthly goals.
Users receive instant mobile notifications when leaks, overuse, or abnormal activity is detected.

Together, these features empower users to make smarter, more sustainable water choices.

🛠️ How we built it

Hardware: Designed a small, durable ultrasonic flow sensor with modular layers — including a sensor module, motherboard, power subsystem, and antenna.
Software: Built a React-based dashboard that visualizes live and historical data using charts and analytics.
Connectivity: Integrated Wi-Fi and BLE modules for fast and reliable cloud communication.
AI Integration: Implemented a lightweight AI model to classify water usage types (tap vs. shower vs. leak).
Design Tools: Used Figma and Illustrator for product modeling, and Next.js for the web interface.

⚙️ Challenges we ran into

Building a non-invasive sensor that could capture accurate readings without pipe modification.
Ensuring low latency and stable connectivity between the IoT device and dashboard.
Making the dashboard both data-rich and beginner-friendly.
Designing for energy efficiency so the sensor can operate for long periods on battery power.

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

Developed a working end-to-end prototype that collects, transmits, and visualizes real water flow data.
Created a user-friendly dashboard that promotes water awareness and conservation habits.
Designed a scalable and affordable solution — AquaSense is sold at minimal profit to make sustainable technology accessible.
Built a product that directly supports SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

📚 What we learned

How to integrate hardware sensors with web-based analytics.
The importance of UX design in encouraging sustainable actions.
Real-world IoT challenges like calibration, power management, and data syncing.
That meaningful innovation doesn’t always mean big profit — sometimes it’s about big impact.

🚀 What’s next for AquaSense

Expanding our dashboard into a mobile app for instant leak alerts.
Adding community insights, allowing users to compare their footprint with local averages.
Partnering with schools, cities, and sustainability organizations to scale impact.
Refining our hardware design for mass production with recyclable materials and longer battery life.