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SecureWaters Pioneers New Way to Communicate with Water
[September 12, 2013]

SecureWaters Pioneers New Way to Communicate with Water


CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --(Business Wire)--

SecureWaters announced the launch of AquaSentinel, a new bio-sensor device that will provide widespread water quality data, giving water a global voice.

SecureWater's first live AquaSentinel beta unit located in Soddy Daisy, Tenn. independently tweets u ...

SecureWater's first live AquaSentinel beta unit located in Soddy Daisy, Tenn. independently tweets updates on the state of Soddy Lake (Photo: Business Wire)

AquaSentinel is the only remotely installable device of its kind to take advantage of algae photosynthesis to instantly test for the presence of chemical pollutants in water, without the need for consumables. Effective in both saltwater and freshwater, AquaSentinel's internal software utilizes proprietary algorithms to interpret the specific chemical signatures emitted by algae during the digestion of light and provide an accurate, real-time read of water's contents.

Due to fear of biological terrorist attacks following Sept. 11, 2001, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funded the development by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Biosciences Division of the technological process behind AquaSentinel. Through automatic and continuous detection every three minutes, AquaSentinel can provide early warning of bio-terrorism threats, along with industrial wastewater and natural disaster source water pollution. Cyanide, arsenc, diuron, atrazine and mercury are among the numerous toxins for which the device detects.



Through its effective and self-sufficient detection process that seamlessly marries nature with technology, there is no risk of tampering or manmade false positives, as there are no consumables contained within the unit. This means there is no reason for physical interaction with the device once it is placed. With its easy scalability, AquaSentinel can function as a single detection unit or connect as a network of units, acting as a metropolitan smart grid. The expansive set of data points collected by the device provide valuable insight into the "The Voice of Water," as SecureWaters labels it.

In a push for water transparency, the company is releasing AquaSentinel on the market so that information can be easily disseminated to the public about what is contained within the bodies of water throughout the country. One of the innovative features of the device includes its ability to share information on its own via social media. SecureWater's first live AquaSentinel beta unit located in Soddy Daisy, Tenn. independently tweets updates on the state of Soddy Lake. With the increased connectivity of everything through the ever-expanding internet, SecureWaters has successfully pioneered a technology to tread water into that digital web.


In October, the company can be found in Austin, Texas at SXSW Eco, the third-annual fall sustainability conference. SecureWaters was chosen as a finalist to participate in the Greentech category of the conference's Startup Showcase, a one-day investor pitch competition featuring top new business ideas from around the world. The Greentech category will feature presentations from select companies offering solutions in the areas of agriculture, air, energy, green building, recycling and waste, transportation and fuels, water, materials and more.

"So far in our business trajectory, we've been a R&D focused company, but with our exhibition at SXSW (News - Alert) Eco, we're entering the next phase in our quest to give water a voice globally," said Franco Valentino, CEO of SecureWaters.

In conjunction with the company's participation at SXSW Eco, SecureWaters launched an Indiegogo global-sourced funding campaign to place the inaugural AquaSentinel device in Lake Austin, located within 15 miles of the convention center that will host the conference. Indiegogo is the leading international crowdfunding platform and has raised millions of dollars for thousands of campaigns worldwide.

For more information on the company and its newly-launched AquaSentinel device, connect with SecureWaters on Facebook or Twitter.


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