Chennai's Madras Christian College has unveiled a smart duck designed to monitor the water quality of a lake situated within its expansive 300-acre campus in Tambaram. The IoT-enabled, remote-controlled duck moves around the lake and collects real-time data on seven crucial parameters such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH. The lake, a significant water reservoir within the campus, underwent desilting courtesy of Bisleri International Limited as a part of their CSR initiative. Additionally, they provided funding for the development of a prototype for water quality assessment. A team from MCC-MRF Innovation Park developed the sensor-equipped 3D-printed duck and created an app for data reception and analysis. "With the collected data, we can make informed decisions to preserve the lake and safeguard the campus's ecosystem and wildlife," affirmed Paul Wilson, principal of Madras Christian College, who spearheaded the concept of deploying the smart duck. The solar-powered duck, equipped with built-in solar panels, can operate for up to two days without sunlight and can be manually charged if necessary, as mentioned by Kousik, the founder of KOLOZEN, the startup behind the duck's creation. The startup has been gathering and transmitting data for the past two weeks. Researchers envision deploying similar ducks beyond the campus to monitor water bodies and provide data to local authorities. "This data will offer insights into the water body's condition during different seasons, environmental health, and potential diseases. It can help establish a hydroinformatics platform for water bodies," explained Professor T Pradeep from the Department of Chemistry at IIT Madras. The MCC campus's scrub jungle is a habitat for approximately 90 spotted deer, porcupines, toddy cats, and bats.Lenses were installed in its eyes to assist the college in monitoring the movements of wild animals on the campus.