Archer Student STEM Symposium

The Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences InvenTeam received $4,500 from the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Grant Program to invent a product that would assist homeowners and water departments in measuring domestic water usage. As California enters the fifth year of one of its worst droughts in history, consumers and suppliers of water have been strongly encouraged to lower water usage. Recognizing that 25% of used water is residential, the team has designed and manufactured the H2.O Attachment for a household water meter that provides live water usage data through a mobile application. This invention increases consumers' awareness of water usage and detects leaks. Real time access to water usage data allows for an active approach to monitoring and lowering water consumption. Additionally, correspondents at a nearby water meter facility have expressed encouragement and excitement at the prospects of integrating the attachment with current procedures and products. The device relies on a microcontroller-linked camera which sends images to a server for analysis, generating numeric data from captured image files. These figures are then converted into easily read and digested displays via the mobile application, accessible on a smartphone, tablet, or other device. The app provides real time display of water usage with a graph relating volume of water to time and easily digestible graphics, such as bath tubs and pools. The app also offers a digital badge reward system to encourage lowered consumption.