Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) has developed a new water sensor technology that is able to detect a variety of contaminants and natural substances in the water in real time.
Most water sensors currently available can only detect one substance at a time but this sensor has been able to successfully target up to six substances at a time during its trial phase.
Researchers at SMART said the water sensor can detect excessive plankton present in the water.
Excessive plankton resulting in low levels of oxygen in the water might have been behind the recent mass fish deaths.
The sensor can also be connected to other devices that can be triggered according to safety measures.
Dr Kevin Ng Chee Loon, research scientist at SMART, said: “If the sensor senses high levels of phytoplankton in the water, it will trigger the oxygen system in the fish farm. The oxygen system will release more oxygen in the water and will send an SMS to alert the fish farmer about the situation.”
SMART’s researchers spent five years to develop the technology, and it is understood that the intended market value of the baseline sensor is to be more than S$25,000.
