When you work in science, you are supposed to find your own niche, find your own contact angle, and find your own unusual question. Then you go to conferences and write papers to share it.
ORCA Hub, the project that we are working on, focuses on offshore industry applications. Within ORCA, the Stokes Research Group developed the Limpet, a multi-sensing, portable robot. Well the Limpet is so versatile and unique that we discovered that it could distinguish between drinkable and non-drinkable water. This is a peculiar application for a robot thought for a completely different task.
We presented our idea to the 19th Biennial Seminar on Water Resources and Environmental Management, which took place in Edinburgh at the John McIntyre Conference Centre, 3-4 September. The audience really appreciated our research, so now we are back at work with plenty of encouraging and bright suggestions.
During the conference, participants shared their original and engaging research. We learnt about the Scottish innovative water management approach, using cutting edge technology and we learnt about an interesting flood-monitoring project, which involves citizens and the Internet of Things. Speakers shared results about dissolved toxic substances impact on people and the environment, they unveiled the applied solutions, removal techniques and disaster forecasting. Do you know that there are macro-algae able to bio-absorb heavy metals from the water even when they are dead? And that the North Atlantic Oscillation influences our ground water resources? Did you ever wonder how can we estimate the Atlantic salmon population swimming in a river? How are artificial wetlands managed in torrid environments? At the conference, we learnt all that we could and came away more curious and with more questions about the environment and how our work can interact with it.
For now, back to hunting for answers.
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