Water Pollution Simulation

Summary

The WaterSim web app makes pupils aware of water pollution caused by everyday products like sunscreen, cosmetic products or medicine.

Key terms

Angular, Two.js, TypeScript, Canvas

Project goal

Our goal is to provide a fun and immersive learning experience where students can follow pollutants through the unseen sewage system and back into the natural water cycle. Additionally, the pupils learn about measures they can take in their everyday life to reduce water pollution.

Initial situation

Most of us, especially young people, do not know or understand the effects our everyday habits have on the urban and natural water system. The web app should make this complex system understandable for everyone. At the time the project started, the customers had an idea of the complex and dynamic system the web app should simulate, but they had no idea how this simulation should look or how it could technically be implemented.

Benefits of our solution

• Exploring an interactive and virtual map showing the underground pipes instead of streets will help teenagers to grasp the complex, dynamic urban water system.
• By taking the journey through this map, users learn what impact their consumption habits have on the water quality of rivers and lakes around them.
• Surprises, such as an avatar using the toilet and flushing down some pollutants, keep the attention of the pupils
• Funny and entertaining storylines showing the consequences of people's habits on the aquatic ecosystem are included
• The users learn how to improve the water quality.

Results

The WaterSim web app provides the following features:

• Interactive map with important elements of the water system with zoom and move features
• Simulation of different colored and shaped particles flowing urban water system
• Sound and animation effects on the map, like “Mike taking a shower”, “Mike swimming in the lake”
• Pollution displays and pollution warning when pollution reaches threshold
• Speed slider and time display
• Upgrade of waste water treatment plant
• Detail views and explanations of important elements on the map
• Sidebar with user guidance, product and person overviews
• Interactive quiz

Project data

Time frame	February 2022 - January 2023
Total hours	approximately 2500 hours 7 students * 360 hours
Team size	7 part-time students

Clients

Matthias von Arx, Chemistry teacher and lecturer at PH FHNW

Alexandre Thomas, Software developer at IIT at HT FHNW

Project team

Robin Schwaller, Noah Sigrist, Joel Messerli,
Roy Geesing, Fabien Tschanz, Karin Güdel, Dominic Koch

Coach

Valerie Safai

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