Efficient Water Quality Monitoring Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Internet of Thing Technologies

Climate change, human activities, and manufacturing have significantly impacted water quality. Consequently, water quality is increasingly threatened, leading to pollution in many lakes that renders them unsuitable for drinking water treatment or agricultural activities. The need for emergent and frequent monitoring of water quality is vital. Traditional methods of water quality monitoring typically involve sampling water and analyzing it in laboratories. While this approach guarantees the accuracy of water parameter assessment, it is time-consuming and incapable of capturing real-time changes in water quality. Moreover, in certain hazardous areas (e.g., toxic lakes), accessing water samples can pose risks to human safety. This paper proposes an efficient solution for water quality monitoring using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), enabling real-time and spatial water quality monitoring. The UAV is equipped with a commercial controller, IoT system, and water quality mapping tool to provide an efficient method for water quality monitoring and management.