UNSW Water Research Laboratory

Current project
CoastSnap

The Challenge

Our coastlines are under threat under the dual challenges of rising sea levels and extreme storms. This is particularly the case in developing countries, where resources are particularly limited and millions of people and entire nation-states are exposed. What is needed is a low-cost technology to help track and understand how our coastlines are changing. CoastSnap is an innovative tool that was developed by the UNSW Water Research Laboratory. It works by crowd-sourcing smartphone images taken by the community at specially installed CoastSnap camera cradles located next to a beach. While this technology has proved extremely successful such that it is now located in 13 countries worldwide, what is needed now is to take this roll-out to the next level and make it accessible to a much wider range of communities worldwide. Through this roll-out, we would be able to scale up the technology and open our eyes to how our coastlines are changing from the local to global scale.

What types of students would be successful in this challenge?
Computer Science & Engineering 
Civil & Environment Engineering 
Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering 
Art & Design

Useful skills or knowledge for challenge completion?
Programming/ Language (C, MATLAB, Python), Data Analytics, Woodworking, Metalworking, CAD, 3D printing, AI

Learn More & Join the Team!

Students can learn more and join the UNSW Water Research Laboratory team here: https://makergames.challeng.unsw.edu.au/