“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

Global water use is expected to increase by 20 to 50 per cent above current levels by 2050 – putting even greater strain on water resources.

A step-change is needed in how we use, conserve and value water in all settings. The fastest pace of growth is anticipated in industrial and domestic sectors, and so the onus will be on individuals and organisations to play their part in building a more sustainable relationship with water.

IoT, Big Data and AI will invariably play a part in helping people to manage their water use.

Our client, Droople, is at the forefront of this drive. Founded in 2018 by CEO Ramzi Bouzerda, Droople is committed to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (particularly SDG6, to ensure access to water and sanitation for all). Mr. Bouzerda says, “We want to improve the way we use water to ensure a sustainable future for humanity.”

At the heart of this vision is their ambition to develop the ‘Internet of Water’, a plan to connect the over 100 billion offline water assets in order to better predict their need for maintenance, to support water conservation, and to enable smarter decision-making.

The Droople iLink™ Technology

Droople’s smart water monitoring consists of a complete full-stack, retrofit multi-sensing platform that is able to monitor and digitise any type of water asset, such as water treatment systems, sanitary fixtures or appliances deployed in the built environment.

The Droople iLink™ sensor can be installed directly onto existing equipment or plumbing where it can monitor:

• Water cycles (Flushes, start-stop, or uses)
• Flow quantity
• Flow temperature
• Flow rate
• Time length of flow
• Pressure drop between inlet and outlet of any ultrafine filtration system
• Gas pressure for CO2 canisters

The data is relayed to the cloud, where it can be viewed and analysed via an interface that suggests actionable insights to improve water management, timely maintenance and sustainability metrics.

The early success of Droople iLink™ has seen Droople broaden their reach across Europe, North America, Middle East and AsiaPacific across a wide range of customer types – such is the value of real-time reporting on water assets.

Their customer base includes water treatment manufacturers, hospitality service providers (e.g., for beverage dispensing machines) and building facility managers (commercial, residential and public services).

A world of opportunity

Although a young company, the Droople team is finding their application has uses far beyond their initial vision. As they venture into new markets, new opportunities are coming to the fore.

In the education sector the sensors are being piloted as a means of ‘gamifying’ personal hygiene and handwashing.

Droople offers evercleanOS, a digital package for smarter planning in maintaining clean restrooms and personnel. Based on affluence-based usage, cleaning visits can be cut by 50%, saving up to 30% in operating costs (OpEx). It is perfect for large transportation hubs, workspaces and schools to ensure proper hygiene at the right space, at the right time.

Also, fountainOS is Droople’s service specifically for monitoring water fountains. It’s perfect for clients in Germany, for example, where sparkling/carbonated water is preferred by 78% of the population. Users can know when a fountain needs refilling with either water or gas, or when new orders are required, avoiding unnecessary work and expenditure. As the only IoT solution on the market that monitors both gas and water – it’s a core area of focus for Droople.

“There are areas we expect to see growth in, a sector such as agritech has so many opportunities to improve water management,” says Lisa Etter, Senior Digital Sales and Marketing Manager at Droople. “What our first few years have shown, though, is that there are so many innovative uses for our technology.”

“There’s something truly exciting about what might be on the horizon. The same iLink™ sensors we use in residential housing projects can also be used to check for the presence of legionella. That’s the beauty of our sensors. We can monitor so much, and when we’re able to do that, we can make a positive difference in the world.”

*All images provided by Droople