The decisionLab hAQUAthon 2017 attracted over 80 people for the first “hacker” style collaborative event hosted on the 22nd & 23rd November 2017 at Future Cities, London. The event was supported by the Future Water Association, Artesia Consulting and The Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN-UK) and sponsored by South East Water, Affinity Water and WWF.
A variety of teams and individuals entered which provided a rich mix of skills and backgrounds; including Oxford University, Arcadis UK, Wheatley Solutions, WRC plc and representatives from all partners and sponsors.
Once briefed on the three challenges offered by each one of the sponsors, participants were able to form teams of five to tackle:
- Water in the home
- Water in pipes
- Water in the environment
After a day and a half of devising solutions and reviewing data supplied by partners, each of the 12 teams presented to the judging panel a short summary of the solution, benefits and possible utilization in the market.
The judges awarded the principal prize to “Smarticus” team comprised of members from Wheatley Solutions, South East Water, Exeter University, and decisionLab entrants. The solution outlined a process for better leak detection through real time consumption and visualization.
One of the winning teams, represented by David Buxton and Christina Morariu from decisionLab, presented at the Future Water Networks event on the 4th December.
“It was very rewarding to be involved in hAQUAthon 2017, to see the energy and enthusiasm of mixed teams from different organisations sharing ideas and working together to develop novel and exciting solutions to the industry’s most challenging problems. A really exciting innovation event for the water industry”
Gordon Squire – Senior Consultant at decisionLab
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