Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Emerging Tech
  3. News

Singapore has a flock of robo-swans patrolling its waters. Here’s why

Luke Dormehl
By
Robot swans bring new advanced technology to water testing
Faced with the problem of how best to track pollution in the country’s reservoirs, engineers in Singapore have
Recommended Videos
come up with a unique solution: robot swans. An acronym for Smart Water Assessment Network (although they really do look like swans as well), the robo-swans are designed to take constant measurements of Singapore’s water supply in a way that both saves on human labor and looks aesthetically pleasing in the process.
Related

“​The robotic swans swim around lakes and reservoirs ​and measure water quality parameters,” Mandar Chitre, associate professor in the department of electrical & computer engineering at the National University of Singapore, told Digital Trends. “The data collected is available in real time over the cloud to experts from water management agencies, so that they can respond to any water quality related issues promptly. The swans can also be commanded over the cloud, so that they can be directed to monitor certain areas or bring back water samples to the shore for lab analysis.”

1 of 5
robot swan water quality
Image used with permission by copyright holder
robot swan water quality img 9130
Image used with permission by copyright holder
robot swan water quality img 9144
Image used with permission by copyright holder
robot swan water quality 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder
robot swan water quality img 0889
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Water measurements which can be taken by the swans include water pH level, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and chlorophyll. Due to the cloud connection, which analyzes the water data in real time, authorities can be alerted immediately if there is some reason why the local H2O may not be safe to drink. This is particularly useful in areas where dry weather prompts greater growth of algae, thereby making it more important to closely monitor water quality.

The remote control swans themselves feature heavy duty construction, allowing them to survive minor collisions with kayaks or other boats. Chitre said that five of the swans are currently being used to monitor water quality in lakes and reservoirs around Singapore.​ He said that the team has also received interest from other countries looking to replicate the system to test their own major bodies of water. They aim to be able to offer this service in the years to come.

“​We hope to see a larger global adoption for the technology,” he said.​ “In parallel, we are working to add sensors and capabilities of the swans, and upgrade the control systems and data analytics. We also aim to have fleets of swans autonomously cooperate to adaptively monitor lakes and locate sources of pollutants.”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Luke Dormehl
Luke Dormehl
Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
The Navy wants a fleet of half-humanoid, half-wheeled robots. Here’s why
sarcos office of naval research detail 2

Guardian XT Teleoperated Dexterous Robot

Imagine a high tech robot centaur with an upper body that resembles a humanoid robot and a lower half that’s a tracked or wheeled robot. Picture it armed with a power tool in one hand and, say, a blow torch in the other; capable of manipulating heavy, 200-pound objects as if they were made of foam rubber. Sound like science fiction? Don’t tell that to the folks at Sarcos Defense, a subsidiary of the company Sarcos Robotics, who this week announced that they have been awarded a contract by the Office of Naval Research to develop just such a robot exoskeleton for potential use in the field.

Read more
Robotic rubdown: New robo-masseuse could make its way into your home
Massage robot thumbnail 1

Massage robot demo

Robots are all about automating certain pain points, whether that’s Roombas carrying out the vacuuming in our home or Starship Technologies-style delivery robots grabbing takeout food and bringing it to us wherever we happen to be at the time. A new home massage robot developed by researchers from the U.K.’s University of Plymouth takes this idea of pain points quite literally -- by promising to rub and knead them out of your shoulders and back whenever and however you require.

Read more
Turns out Jupiter has far more water in its atmosphere than we thought
The JunoCam imager aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this image of Jupiter's southern equatorial region on Sept. 1, 2017. The image is oriented so Jupiter's poles (not visible) run left-to-right of frame.

The JunoCam imager aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this image of Jupiter's southern equatorial region on Sept. 1, 2017. The image is oriented so Jupiter's poles (not visible) run left-to-right of frame. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

NASA's Juno spacecraft has made a significant discovery about the atmosphere of Jupiter -- that it contains water, with more water clustered in some areas than in others.

Read more