Business
Mudwatt
Track your power and bacteria population
OPPORTUNITY
For most of us, mud is nothing more than the sludge that ruins our carpets, clothes and shoes. For one California company, however, it could be a revolutionary source of sustainable energy. MudWatt has built a device designed to harness the energy released by mud-based microbes.
The device converts chemical energy found in the sugars and nutrients into electrical energy, and it uses special electric bacteria to drive that reaction. When bacterial fission reactions start, it start producing energy. Mudwatt team needed a way to track those electrical charges for enhancing capabilities of the device.
The device converts chemical energy found in the sugars and nutrients into electrical energy, and it uses special electric bacteria to drive that reaction. When bacterial fission reactions start, it start producing energy. Mudwatt team needed a way to track those electrical charges for enhancing capabilities of the device.
APPROACH
To track these charges, one way was to build an electrical device that can detect electrical charges but it was a costly method. To overcome the cost, our team decided to provide an application based solution. Our engineering team implemented an algorithm that can detect charges produce by mud-based microbes.
SOLUTION
The app leverages the technology of computer vision & algorithm to detect the power of your MudWatt by analyzing how fast the MudWatt's light is blinking. It also estimates bacteria population based on that power measurement and gives a graphical representation of that population. Users can even email their data for further analysis to their friends, parents, or teachers. The app also features a fun and educational comic of a growing community of electric bacteria trying to survive in this crazy muddy world.
IMPACT
User must have a Mudwatt Microbial fuel cell for the app to work. App is installed by thousands of users & is now helping young child to learn biology mechanics.
