Sensing Platform
Our development strands
Our Shared Destination
Efficient water management enabled through real-time, dynamic data at scale.
Ease of Measurement
To make the real-world available through the ease of a dashboard.
- Remove the cost and operational complexity barriers associated with data collection
- Expand our direct sensing capabilities
- Expand our proxy measurement capabilities
- User-driven dashboard development
Data Foundation
To create a platform for data leveraging and data product development.
- Expand our dashboard real-time insights
- Expand our application based notification service
- API data handover to support third party developments
Where We Are Today
Optics
Having overcome both the cost and operational complexity barriers, our platform is offering optical measurements as its first measurement grouping. This grouping includes turbidity, colour and application-specific combinations known as underwater optics.
Turbidity
The measure of optical clarity in water. This is sensed from 0 – 1,000 NTU.
Colour
The measure of red, green and blue absorbances in water. This is sensed in the APHA/Hazen scale from 0 – 500 PCU.
Underwater Optics
Highly tuned sensing can be deployed through unique optical combinations. Tell us what you want to measure and we’ll let you know if/how we can.
What We Are Working On
Expanding Optics
We’re continuing our optical work to add complementary sensing.
Hyperspectral
By tweaking our optics to match hyperspectral imaging research, we will add sensing on variables such as micropollutants and relevant organic molecules.
This addition will also add into our existing underwater optics offering enabling customers greater selectivity in customised measurements.
Oxygen
We’ll be adding the ability to measure oxygen levels in real-time. This measurement will complement other direct and proxy measurements when investigating biological activities and impacts.
What We Will Do
Acoustics
Acoustic measurements will be the second measurement grouping offered by our platform. It will enable a selection of measurements highly complementary to our existing optical offerings.
Depth
Water depth to a range and accuracy that optimally complements our customer base and associated proxy measurements.
Flow Rate
Water flow rate within the depth range that we measure. There is also the capability to monitor flow rates at different depths simultaneously for deeper water bodies.
T.S.S
Total suspended solids within the water under investigation without the need to take and filter samples.
Thermal Mass
The total thermal mass passing the sensor’s location.
Additional Direct Sensing
Our development efforts won’t stop at acoustics. With the addition of additional direct sensing before acoustics and an openness to third-party sensing technologies joining our platform, further direct sensing additions will be directed by customer interest.
Data-Driven Water Sampling
The FreeUP Water Sampler will be a low-cost water sampler driven by real-time data.
When a proxy measurement of interest is triggered, the water sampler linked to that notification will take a physical water sample and store it until it can be collected. At the same moment, the user will receive a notification alerting them and enabling them to plan their actions.
This will enable users to leverage the full selection of accredited wet chemistry analytics to water samples that matter. Due to the simple customizability of this approach measurements that are currently limited to labs will be able to be virtually deployed at scale.
What We Always Do
Collaborate, understand and make the data we collect useful to those who use it.
We don’t aim to make data collection work at scale, we aim to make water management work at scale
This means collecting and presenting data in the form that ‘just works’ for you and your application. We know that the water sector is vast, nuanced and at times slow to adopt new technologies. That’s why we actively welcome customer inputs, requests and pilots.
By sincerely repeating this process, we believe that we can expand and eventually overlap our system’s utility, enabling water management at scale.
Expand Proxy Measurements
We talk with prospective customers to learn what’s important to them before showing how proxy measurements can be used to address the area of interest.
The possible measurements through proxies are vast and so (much like our method of dashboard creation) we are customer lead in their expansion and showcasing. If you want to measure something, please get in touch.
Dashboard Development
Data is only helpful if it’s in a form that’s useful. We aren’t the ones using our dashboard, our customers are. This is why our dashboard is never finished and we are always open to hearing how it could work better for you.
We aim to create a selection of dashboards, with each one customised to a specific sub-sector or job role. A dashboard that each person can feel at home in.
Real-Time Insights
As with our proxy measurements and dashboard constructions, the real-time insights we generate are determined by all the customers that have engaged with us so far.
We add algorithms to present data in the format that is useful to you and reduce/remove the need for people to work up data to gain insight.
Expand Our Notifications
What triggers our notifications to be sent is driven by what insights our customers can action.
We are always open to customising our notification, as in many ways, we see a notification as a dashboard so efficient that the user didn’t even need to log in.
API Data Handover
If you’re a water software company you can use our stack to get the training data you need. We want to enable software companies to do what they do best by removing the data collection barriers that exist today.
Third-Party Measurements
If you have novel sensing and are interesting in being part of our approach then please get in touch.
We have methods to incorporate sensing through our proxy measurement system even when the physicality of sensing prohibits its miniaturisation and cost reduction.