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AquaSat
Ltd, based in Kings Hill, Kent, provides a unique, remote water
monitoring service which uses advances in satellite technology
to provide a solution for a range of water management issues
including water resource monitoring, leakage reduction, river
level monitoring and sewer overflow.
Government
agencies, water companies, conservation groups and others working
in the fields of water supply management and environmental monitoring
can benefit from the solution. The service is available to clients
all over the World.
The
service enables data to be collected in remote areas, without
the need for visits from company personnel, using sensors connected
to an EcoPod. The EcoPod incorporates a powerful micro-controller
and a miniature satellite transceiver. Sensors measure water
flows, pressures and pollutants. The unit is very compact and
can be sited to blend in with the local environment, for protection
against vandals and for environmental purposes. EcoPods are
intelligent, self-contained units that can transmit a wide range
of sensor data via the AquaSat network directly to its clients'
offices.
Support
from the EDSC
The
initial development of this revolutionary and cost-effective
means of water monitoring has been achieved with the assistance
of the Electronics Design Support Centre at the University of
Kent at Canterbury.
Bob
Catterwell, now Managing Director of Aquasat, had some years
ago, received a DTI SMART award (Small Firms Merit Award for
Research and Technology) to build a technology demonstrator
to test the feasibility of his idea. During the summer of 1999,
Bob and an associate, working together on the project, enlisted
the Support Centre's help with the design of an EcoPod demonstrator,
as they had limited expertise in microtechnology and needed
to produce a working demonstrator within a short timescale.
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An
evaluation of their initial design by Winston Waller and colleagues
at the Support Centre determined that the proposed hardware
was suitable for further development but that major changes
were needed to the software approach that had been selected.
The Support Centre provided the evidence that a high level
programming approach should be used and then assisted with
restructuring the software design and rewriting the system,
as well as with writing some key software components in 'C'
themselves.
The
system was then debugged with the help of the Support Centre
and was proven to work by trials at a Mid-Kent Water Company
reservoir. Mutual co-operation and hard work by both Support
Centre staff and engineers from Aquasat had produced a working
prototype in two weeks, which could then be shown to potential
investors.
Bob
Catterwell then successfully applied for a second SMART award
(Government grants, given to establish the feasibility of
innovations and inventions and to help the development of
products through to the pre-production state) to fund the
development of the Ecopod and the global data network. The
Support Centre played a key role in helping Bob develop the
technical specifications for the SMART proposal.
The
successful SMART funding bid enabled Bob Catterwell to found
AquaSat as a commercial company and to progress the development
of a marketable product with ongoing support and advice from
the team at the University of Kent.
This
successful collaboration has resulted in AquaSat growing to
a company of 4 staff, with EcoPods already installed for their
first customers. AquaSat anticipates a substantial demand
for its products and services especially in overseas markets.
AquaSat
is now starting the development of follow-on products and
adapting their technology to address new markets.
For
further information visit:www.aquasat.com
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