Argus Czujnik jakości wody by Harpreet Singh Sareen

Argus Czujnik jakości wody by Harpreet Singh Sareen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 Srebrna Nagroda A' Design Award in Cybernetyka Competition Category.

SrebrnaCybernetyka· 2021

Argus Czujnik jakości wody

by Harpreet Singh Sareen

Client: Parsons School of Design

Srebrna Nagroda A' Design Award Winner in Cybernetyka Category

605,200
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #106623

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Argus Czujnik jakości wody

Argus to system monitorowania jakości wody oparty na żywej roślinie. Nanoczujniki są wstrzykiwane do liści, gdzie pozostają w przestrzeni międzykomórkowej. Czujniki wytwarzają widoczną poświatę o określonej długości fali światła. Gdy ołów z otaczającej wody dociera do liści, poświata słabnie, co wskazuje, że woda zawiera zanieczyszczenia. Roślina pobiera próbki wody w sposób ciągły i nie wymaga zasilania. Wynik pojawia się w ciągu piętnastu minut do dwóch godzin, co jest szybsze niż badania laboratoryjne.

The Recognition

About the Srebrna Nagroda A' Design Award

Argus Czujnik jakości wody to laureat Srebrnej Nagrody A' Design Award, niezwykle prestiżowego wyróżnienia przyznawanego przepięknym, imponującym projektom z najwyższej półki. Laureaci Srebrnej Nagrody to niezwykle błyskotliwe i wyjątkowo twórcze dzieła, które ukazują wybitną wiedzę, talent i przenikliwość ich twórców. Argus Czujnik jakości wody ma być wspaniałym, reprezentacyjnym dziełem, które jest niezwykle profesjonalne i głęboko innowacyjne. Ten projekt nagrodzony Srebrną Nagrodą A' Design Award to bardzo godny uwagi, podziwiany wynalazek, który przynosi korzyści i przesuwa granice sztuki, nauki, designu i technologii. Argus Czujnik jakości wody to dzieło, któremu wielu zazdrości, które budzi pragnienia, wprowadza pozytywne uczucia oraz wzbudza zdumienie i zachwyt.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Argus is a living plant that continuously monitors water for heavy metal impurities, with nanosensors inside its leaves. These sensors, of the order 2nm, are injected inside the leaves and stay within the intercellular space. A living plant continuously samples water in the environment and any impurities that come along with it. Such method of detecting heavy metal toxicity is real time, showing a visible output within 15mins to 2 hours, in contrast to current lab methods.
Dimensions & Packaging: 457mm x 821mm x 304mm
This includes height of the plant and the imaging setup to read from inside a plant
Tags: nanosensors, carbon nanotubes, living plants, DNA, water monitoring
Production Technology: Argus is a plant with DNA nanosensors inside it that detects Lead (Pb2 Heavy Metal). This novel method allows living plants to provide an optical readout of Lead in water. First, a DNAZyme is used as sensor assay inside leaves, double stranded DNA that breaks into single stranded on contact with Pb2 and binds to single walled carbon nanotubes. Following introduction of Pb2 ions, the fluorescence output is quenched and this reduction is proportional to the Lead(II) concentration.
Design Challenge: The following challenges had to be overcome to create world's first electricity free water monitoring platform.
No current real time off the shelf sensors exist for Lead toxicity monitoring. Sample testing takes approximately 1 to 2 weeks.
The chemical sensors inside plants also needed a digital connection with the digital world.
This sensor scheme did not have to use electricity, since it relies on a plant acting like a motor. Such process is then able to sample water 24 hours a day.
Research: Industrial waste management has lead to depletion of water quality in rivers in many regions. Current processes of monitoring the water quality are not realtime. Our traditional sensors have been centered around synthetic and completely artificial techniques. We propose new nanosensors providing auxiliary sensing in conjunction with the natural system of a plant. These nanosensors provide an optical readout of lead in water by relying on a plants natural function near riverbeds.
Inspiration: This project is motivated by Flint water crisis, New Jersey school water problems, Austin Mar 2019 water advisory and many more. Current trend shows that by the time impurities are usually found in residential or agricultural, it is too late and has previously proven to be fatal. This is because continuous, cheap or off the shelf monitoring methods along river beds do not exist today. Argus on the other hand, provides an electricity free fully continuous water monitoring platform.
Project Duration: This project was stated in 2017 and finished in 2019. It has been exhibited around the world such as Science Gallery Bangalore, Future of Everything WSJ Festival in NYC.
Operation Flow: Argus has nanonsensors injected inside the leaves of a living plant. A plant is like a natural motor in the environment operating twenty four hours without electricity. It continuously samples water and with that any impurities as well. Our nanosensors normally produce a visible glow of a specific light wavelength on the plant. When lead impurities from the environment come in contact with the nanosensors, this glow disappears to indicate that there are impurities in the environment.
Team Members: Harpreet Sareen
Pattie Maes
Image Credits: Images: Harpreet Sareen CC 4.0
Motion graphics: Jiefu Zheng