Filter condition monitor

Implementing a monitor for the condition of industrial filters. This was the idea behind FilterAI, which reached the podium in the EcoTech Emerge 2025 challenge, organised by AVEVA. The team, which took second place, is made up of four students from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV): Laura Rodríguez Olmedo and Eva Galiana Ruiz de Adana, from the double degree in Business Administration and Management + Bachelor's Degree in Telecommunication Technologies and Services Engineering; and Pablo Vioque Pascual and Javier Valldecabres Casas, from the double degree in Business Administration and Management + Computer Engineering.

'Through the BEST UPV association, we saw the competition announcement in September. We discussed it with friends, thought it was a good opportunity and decided to enter together, even though we are from different schools,' explains Eva Galiana. From there, the group began looking for an idea that combined industrial impact with sustainability.

FilterAI emerged from several hours of work to find cross-curricular solutions. Eva Galiana says they were looking for 'something that would help industries become more sustainable. We thought about applying artificial intelligence to processes that could be easily scaled up, and it was Pablo Vioque who proposed implementing a meter to measure the condition of industrial filters.'

A very realistic idea

The project took shape as an AI-powered software that connects to sensors to monitor filters in real time, anticipate failures, and optimise maintenance. As a demonstration, the team built a prototype with Arduino and a pressure sensor. 'It's a very realistic idea, because all machines have filters and their malfunction can cause serious breakdowns,' says Eva Galiana.

The competition consisted of three phases. Only 20 of the nearly 400 participating teams made it through the first phase. From there, only 10 made it through the second phase, which was also held via videoconference. They presented a 10-minute video they had made themselves and responded to a series of questions. In addition to the diploma, the team received £6,000 to be shared among the four of them. The award reinforces the potential of this solution for future industrial applications.