Nature-Inspired Water Leak Detection System Wins the 2019 $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize

Nature-Inspired Water Leak Detection System Wins the 2019 $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize

MINNEAPOLIS, Jun. 18 /CSRwire/ - Twenty percent of the world's clean pumped water is lost due to leaking pipes, and current technology cannot detect leaks accurately enough or early enough to prevent either water loss or major infrastructure damage. Startup company Watchtower Robotics is tackling this problem creatively and effectively, and today was awarded the 2019 $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize® for its efforts during the GreenBiz Circularity Conference.

The prize is sponsored by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and awarded annually to the top team in the Biomimicry Launchpad, an accelerator focused on nature-inspired solutions to global challenges.

“I’ve never been more convinced that biomimicry is the perfect design tool,” said John A. Lanier, executive director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. “With this year’s competitors for the Ray of Hope Prize, we see how broadly biomimicry can -- and should -- be applied. This challenge just keeps getting better and better at identifying substantial innovations that are near-ready to go to market.”

Boston-based Watchtower's patented soft-bodied robot mimics elements of octopuses, jellyfish, and the lateral line system in fish. They are capable of detecting leaks in pipes of any material and in any structure -- including pipes with small diameters -- unlike current technologies available on the market. Watchtower has completed pilots in Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, including with two of the largest water utility companies in the world. Saving just half of the water lost globally every day through leaks would be enough to meet the needs of one billion more people.

SOURCE TO PRESS RELEASE ABOUT AWARD WINNING BIOMIMICRY LEAK DETECTION ROBOTIC SYSTEM 

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Taxonomy

• Leakage Detection
• Leakage
• Leakage Reduction
• leakage
• Lead Reduction