Clean Water With Innovation: A Race Against Time

The global water crisis is a complex and urgent challenge that requires a coordinated and holistic response. By gaining access to Arrow’s technological expertise, local tech innovators and entrepreneurs like Refillbot and Saafwater are able to put the right technology to work for addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges.

Spotlight Desk

Updated on: 10 November 2023 7:56 am

Clean Water with Innovation

As the global population continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, the demand for clean and safe water is becoming increasingly pressing. According to a UN report released in March, the number of people in urban areas facing water scarcity in general is projected to increase from 933 million in 2016 to between 1.7 and 2.4 billion by 2050. India is expected to be the most severely affected, with its rapidly growing urban population making it particularly vulnerable.?

The report also highlights that two billion people worldwide already lack access to safe drinking water while 3.6 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation, putting them at risk of diseases and other health problems. In India, less than half the population has access to safely managed drinking water, and the impact of waterborne illnesses costs the country's economy an estimated USD600 million annually, affecting both public health and economic growth.?

Addressing the water challenge with the locals in mind??

To ensure more people across different communities have access to safe and clean water, and enjoy the associated health, social and economic benefits, technological offers a potential answer. A notable example is the collaboration between Arrow Electronics (Arrow) and local startup RefillBot to develop a remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution that improves access to clean water in Indian villages. The essence of this collaboration is to empower local innovators to easily create, manage and advance the technology of tomorrow.? It elevates the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) incubation process, fostering deeper engagement between startups and corporates. With support from Arrow and STPI IoT Open Lab’s equipment, market-specific innovations are conceived, extensively tested and rapidly prototyped, ensuring the development of impactful end products with a higher probability of success.???

Arrow's technical experts played a crucial role in helping RefillBot bring their solution to life, including designing a wireless module capable of real-time communication over mobile networks and ensuring uninterrupted access to cloud servers, smart sensors and data analytics. Additionally, they incorporated an external LTE antenna to extend coverage in low-signal areas.? The RMM platform, powered by advanced sensing and IoT technologies, enables 24/7 water quality monitoring. The solution has been deployed across 100 villages in India’s Karnataka state within a span of just four months.?

Apart from RefillBot, Arrow also supports Saafwater, a startup by young Indian entrepreneurs who aspire to help provide reliably clean water and reduce health risks.? Saafwater’s solution – a smart IoT sensor package enhanced by AI – won the 2021 Call for Code global competition for humanitarian technologies. The contest is supported by Arrow, charitable partner United Nations Human Rights, founding partner IBM, and others.? In 2022, Arrow connected Saafwater to eInfochips, an Arrow-owned design engineering firm in India.? Arrow’s eInfochips team helped Saafwater revise their platform using 4G to amplify the device’s capabilities, allowing for faster real-time data and quicker turnaround for analyzing contaminated water.????

Easy to manufacture at scale, the device can be flexibly attached to water pipes serving different kinds of buildings. Onboard sensors continuously measure water quality and store the data in the cloud for analysis. The ongoing measurement and reliable data can also be easily shared with water utilities and residents via text message or mobile notifications for timely action. The Saafwater team has been field tested during 2023 in the city of Hyderabad, with a population of 11.5 million. Encouraged by the results of field testing, Saafwater plans to install hundreds more units across different communities in India within a year.? Saafwater was also included by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual Goalkeepers Conference in September.? The Goalkeepers community is a global collective of collaborative and diverse changemakers who are committed to achieving the Global Goals for sustainable development.?