Intelligent Water Systems for Smart Cities: A Microsoft Research and IISc Collaboration

Creating Intelligent Water Systems to Unlock the Potential of Smart Cities

This article discusses the critical issue of water scarcity in India, particularly in rapidly growing cities like Bangalore. It highlights the challenges in water management, such as tracking consumption and unaccounted-for water, and presents a solution developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in collaboration with Microsoft.

The Bangalore Water Crisis

Bangalore faces a looming water crisis, with experts predicting it could become unlivable due to water scarcity. The city's primary water source, the Cauvery River, is over 100 kilometers away, and the monsoon's unpredictability necessitates efficient water distribution and conservation of groundwater. A significant challenge is the unaccounted-for water, with one-third of pumped water not accounted for in terms of usage.

IISc's IoT-Based Solution

To address this, Professor Yogesh Simmhan and his team at IISc have deployed an Internet of Things (IoT)-based network of sensors on the IISc campus. This network aims to efficiently monitor water flow from source to consumption, providing real-time data for better management.

Leveraging Microsoft Azure

The project utilizes Microsoft's Azure cloud services to collect, process, and analyze data from the IoT sensor network. Key Azure services employed include:

Azure Event Hubs: Used for receiving real-time alerts, such as water quality incidents reported via a smartphone app.
Azure Analytics Capabilities: Enable data-driven decision-making for efficient water distribution.
Apache Storm: A service on Azure used for analytics.

This cloud-based approach allows for monitoring each node in the network, generating alerts, and gleaning insights from the data. Edge devices are visible in the Azure resource directory, facilitating the monitoring of hardware malfunctions.

System Components

The system comprises three main components:

Physical Sensors: Microcontrollers that collect data.
Networking Components: Wireless communication to a gateway, which then transmits data to the cloud.
Cloud: Microsoft Azure services for data processing and analytics.

Vision for End Users

Rashmi B., a project assistant, envisions a future where end-users can log in from anywhere to monitor the health of the water resource network, intervene to prevent leakage, and avert crises.

Scaling to Smart Cities

The Indian government plans to designate 100 cities as 'Smart Cities' with services comparable to global standards. This water management project at IISc can serve as a model for efficient water services provisioning, scalable to these cities and across the country. It offers a path towards conserving precious water resources and improving the lives of millions.

Related Resources

The article also points to related resources for further reading:

Internet of Things (IoT) For Smart Cities
Summer Institute unpacks the future of IoT
Smart cities harness the power of the Microsoft cloud
Explanimators: Internet of Things

Research Areas Highlighted

Data platforms and analytics
Systems and networking

Related Academic Programs and Labs

Microsoft Azure for research
Microsoft Research Lab - India

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Microsoft Products and Services Mentioned

Microsoft Azure
Azure Event Hubs
Apache Storm
Microsoft Cloud
Surface devices
Microsoft Copilot
Windows 11
Microsoft 365
Dynamics 365
Power Platform
Microsoft Teams
Visual Studio

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