Argus 水質感應器 by Harpreet Singh Sareen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award 銀獎 in 仿生學設計 Competition Category.
銀仿生學· 2021
Argus 水質感應器
Client: Parsons School of Design
A' Design Award 銀獎 Winner in 仿生學 Category
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- Verified Award Winner
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The Design
About Argus 水質感應器
Argus係一套以活體植物為基礎嘅水質監測系統。納米感應器會被注入到葉片入面，並停留喺細胞間隙之中。呢啲感應器會發出特定光波長嘅可見光。當周圍水體入面嘅鉛滲透到葉片時，光芒就會減弱，顯示水中含有雜質。植物會持續採集水樣，唔需要用電。喺十五分鐘至兩個鐘之內就會有結果，比實驗室檢測更快。
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award 銀獎
Argus 水質感應器是 A' Design Award 銀獎得主，這是授予頂級、華美而令人印象深刻的設計的極為崇高的認可。銀獎得主是極其卓越、極具創造力的作品，展現出其設計師傑出的專業技能、才華與敏銳。預計Argus 水質感應器將成為一件出色的典範之作，兼具非凡的專業性與深刻的創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銀獎的設計是一項備受矚目、令人欽佩的發明，造福並拓展藝術、科學、設計和技術的界限。Argus 水質感應器是一件令人羨慕的創作，它喚起渴望，帶來積極的情感，並激發驚嘆與讚嘆。
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
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