Mekorot launches startup for remote monitoring of water data

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Mekorot launches startup for remote monitoring of water data

The new company is known as Watersight and will focus on developing advanced sensing and monitoring solutions in the water field.

From left to right, Mekorot CEO Eli Cohen with Eli Assoolin, CEO of Newsight (photo credit: OREL COHEN)

From left to right, Mekorot CEO Eli Cohen with Eli Assoolin, CEO of Newsight

Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, has announced the establishment of a new startup that will focus on remote monitoring and interpretation of water quality data. The subsidiary was established in collaboration with Newsight Imaging from Ness Ziona, which has developed both the technology and a chip for online spectral monitoring.

The new company is known as Watersight and will focus on developing advanced sensing and monitoring solutions in the water field for the local and global markets. The company has announced an initial round of raising capital with an interest in integrating strategic investors. According to leading research organizations, the demand for water quality control monitoring is expected to reach $6 billion by 2025. The new company intends to develop various products ranging from home monitoring capabilities, water and building system monitoring for buildings and neighborhoods, to water systems for monitoring entire countries.

The establishment of the company concludes an 18-month cooperation between the parties, and the technology that is being offered to customers has already completed two independent tests – the first held in collaboration with the Shamir Research Institute in Katzrin, where they measured water quality using monitoring devices embedded in an innovative chip developed at Newsight. The second tested the system at Mekorot’s Eshkol lab, where the company brings water from the national water carrier. Both trials demonstrated the technological feasibility of remote water quality monitoring.

The new system, which is a few centimeters in size, will be placed in water sources up to the level of the tap and will take thousands of photos per second of the water flow. Using artificial intelligence technology, photo processing will provide rapid analysis of the water quality. “The system can instantly detect substances in water with high accuracy. “Its small dimensions and operating cost allow water companies or other commercial customers to integrate it into water systems or in various devices that require rapid and available spectral testing,” says Erez Lev, director of the Spectral division at Newsight.

Mekorot CEO Eli Cohen says that “Mekorot is taking yet another step into the world of technology. The ability to remotely monitor water quality will improve the service that we provide to Israeli residents, and from there to future customers who can save time and additional financial expenses while maintaining strict control over water purity.” Eli Assoolin, CEO of Newsight, who is serving as temporary CEO of Watersight, said, “Technology reaches the water sector. Last year, together with Sheba Hospital, we launched Virusite Diagnostic, which specializes in spectral detection of pathogens and has received CE approval for its products. Now, we are launching Watersight, which will focus on water solutions. During the testing period, we received a great deal of attention from various organizations worldwide who heard about this collaboration, which will be launched only after it has proven its efficacy.”

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