Hydrax represents a cohort of student innovators united by a singular vision—to tackle one of the 21st century's most insidious environmental crises: microplastic contamination. At the Agentic AI Founders Hackathon—Zero to One Hack with Uttar Pradesh—these engineering students from PSNA recognized that sustainable water management isn't just about quantity; it's about purity.
While many hackathon projects focus on digital solutions, Hydrax chose to engineer intelligence into environmental monitoring. Their mission is clear and urgent: to detect, measure, and mitigate microplastic pollution in water systems through AI-powered precision and real-time intervention.
What are they building
Hydrax is an intelligent microplastic detection and monitoring system designed to revolutionize water quality assessment for municipalities, industries, and communities. It combines hardware sensors, AI-driven image recognition, and cloud-based analytics to identify microplastic particles in water ecosystems with unprecedented accuracy.
Unlike traditional water quality testing—which is slow, expensive, and labor-intensive—Hydrax automates detection and provides actionable intelligence for water management authorities. Every detection becomes a data point in a larger sustainability narrative.
Key Components of Hydrax:
AI-Powered Image Recognition: Machine learning models trained to identify and classify microplastic particles by type, size, and composition from real-time sensor feeds.
Smart Sensor Hardware: Deployable detection units positioned at critical water collection points, treatment facilities, and distribution networks for continuous monitoring.
Cloud-Based Analytics Dashboard: Real-time visualization of microplastic concentrations, contamination trends, and geospatial hotspots across water systems.
Predictive Intelligence: Agentic AI that forecasts contamination risks based on seasonal patterns, industrial discharge data, and environmental variables.
Automated Response Protocols: Integration with water treatment systems to trigger filtration adjustments and mitigation measures when contamination thresholds are exceeded.
This isn't just monitoring—it's intelligent water guardianship.
Tech Stack
AI/ML: Computer vision, image classification, time-series forecasting
IoT Hardware: Microplastic detection sensors, edge computing units
Cloud Infrastructure: Real-time data processing and storage
Analytics: Geospatial visualization, predictive modeling
Integration: Water treatment system APIs, regulatory compliance systems
Why are they building or to solve what?
The microplastic crisis is invisible yet catastrophic. Every year, millions of tons of microplastic particles contaminate water systems—from drinking water supplies to agricultural irrigation. The health implications are devastating: microplastics in drinking water, bioaccumulation in ecosystems, and systemic environmental degradation.
Yet water quality testing remains archaic. Traditional methods require laboratory testing, manual sample collection, and weeks of analysis—by which time contamination has already spread.
Hydrax transforms this paradigm. By deploying Agentic AI at the point of detection, the team enables real-time intervention, preventing contamination before it reaches vulnerable populations.
Their work addresses a critical gap: the intersection of environmental sustainability and technological innovation. While many initiatives focus on remediation, Hydrax prioritizes prevention through intelligent early detection.
Scope
Hydrax: Smart Water Ecosystems for Sustainable Futures
Hydrax envisions a world where water quality is continuously monitored, intelligently analyzed, and proactively managed. The team is not just building a hackathon prototype—they're architecting a scalable solution for global water challenges.
The platform's future iterations aim to:
Expand Detection Capabilities: Move beyond microplastics to detect heavy metals, chemical pollutants, and biological contaminants in integrated monitoring systems.
Deploy Across Municipalities: Partner with water treatment authorities to establish Hydrax networks across cities, creating interconnected smart water grids.
Enable Community Engagement: Build public-facing platforms where citizens can access water quality data and participate in environmental monitoring initiatives.
Integrate with IoT Ecosystems: Connect with smart city infrastructure to enable autonomous response systems that optimize water treatment in real time.
Establish Open Data Standards: Create industry-standard protocols for microplastic detection and reporting, advancing global water sustainability initiatives.
In doing so, Hydrax doesn't just solve a technical problem—it democratizes access to environmental intelligence.
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