AquaMate

The Project

AquaMate is an innovative IoT solution to track water intake and provide reliable alerts. Dehydration can cause significant harm to employees, such as reduced productivity, impaired concentration, health issues, and in severe cases, hospitalization, or fatalities. Studies show that it can decrease workplace performance by up to 20. AquaMate is a smart water coaster that can help office workers monitor their water intake and stay hydrated throughout the day. It comes with a microchip, a load cell weight sensor, a light indicator, and a buzzer. Its associated web/mobile application enables users to personalize light, sound, and email reminders, set daily goals, and adjust reminder frequency. The application also provides consumption statistics on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Unlike its competitors, AquaMate provides customizable goals and reminders, consumption sharing options (IoT), and cost-effective tracking mechanism. During the COVID pandemic, I spent a lot of time with my computer and neglected to drink enough water. My parents had to remind me to stay hydrated. Interestingly, I stumbled upon a news article featuring a research paper that revealed that 77% of employees are not drinking enough water. Another survey states that dehydration reduces productivity by 20%. This prompted me to realize that there was an opportunity to create a solution to help employees improve their hydration habits. After speaking with working adults, including my parents, I realized that studies I had referenced were accurate, confirming that dehydration is caused by work-related stress, cool environments, and sugary drinks. After conducting further research, I found a study that compared two groups - one receiving reminders to drink water and one without. The results showed that the group receiving reminders had a significant increase in water consumption, providing additional evidence to support my hypothesis. Hence I wanted to build a device that tracks water intake and reminds employees. My device is a cutting-edge IoT tracker that can help office workers monitor their water intake and stay hydrated throughout the day. It comes with a microchip, a load cell weight sensor, a light indicator, and a buzzer. Its associated web/mobile application enables users to personalize light, sound, and email reminders, set daily goals, and adjust reminder frequency. The application also provides consumption statistics on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Its algorithm tracks weight changes to assess when users consume or refill water. Using this information, it reminds and congratulates users for reaching their goals, and shows consumption trends on mobile. Currently, several hydration solutions are available in the market. However, these alternatives are often restricted by one or more of the following factors: Firstly, they lack automatic tracking, users have to input how much water they drink or take pictures of their water bottle. Secondly, there is a lack of customization options, which means users cannot set their hydration goals. Thirdly, they do not support bottles of varying sizes and may have embedded coasters that compromise the durability of the bottles. Fourthly, some options are too expensive for many potential users. Finally, many alternatives do not possess IoT capability, which is essential to promote workplace challenge programs. My product, AquaMate, addresses all of these limitations, providing a unique solution to the problem of dehydration, with a cost less than a movie ticket. One of the major challenges I faced was false alarm due to minor variations, so I added an algorithm to confirm weight after receiving a constant value at least five times in a row. However, if the employee doesn't place the bottle back after the last sip, the device assumes the last amount of water was not consumed. Hence it's recommended to place the empty bottle back. Nonetheless, it's a minor obstacle compared to the benefits it provides. With organizations spending billions of dollar yearly on corporate wellness initiatives, AquaMate can capitalize on a vast market of working adults. AquaMate has the potential for workplace challenge programs focused on healthy drinking habits, an area currently overlooked. Remember, water matters.

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Team Comments

The pandemic made me forget to drink water while working on my computer, until my parents reminded me. Surprisingly, later I found that 77% of workers don't drink enough water, causing a 20% decrease in productivity. I saw an opportunity to create a solution for better hydration habits for employees

I added an algorithm that confirms weight after receiving a constant value five times to avoid false alarms caused by minor variations. For accurate measurements, it's recommended to return the empty bottle after the last sip, despite it being a minor inconvenience compared to the device's benefits.

Given more time, I could have incorporated a few additional elements to add some coolness. a) Integration with Apple Watch, Fitbit, etc., where the reminders can be displayed. b) A mobile application where users can calibrate their water bottles. c) Make it a waterproof and battery operated coaster.