All's Well

The Community-Directed Relief Device for Water Crises.

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No AI was used to generate this write-up :)

💧 All's Well! 🏮

Team Name: LASST // Problem Statement: Clean Water & Sanitation Project Nature: Hardware + Software (Physical Prototype + Centralised Online Dashboard)

// Inspiration & Directions »

Picking this Problem, with Purpose Whenever our team sets out to problem-solve with our Hackathon projects, we'd always gun for a problem statement that reflects issues close to us, one that's relevant to everyday people - when we innovate closer to home, we can spark change closer to hearts.

BUT... here presents the problem: Water scarcity is hardly an issue that any of us in Singapore will, and hopefully ever face. So how could we innovate for a problem that seems so distant to us? Our answer is to re-define the issue..

"When water scarcity has been overcome, the new threat is not to lack water, but to lose it"

To us, Water Vulnerability isn't about the threat of our taps drying up fully, but more of sudden incidents that can temporarily disable our water sources, such as:

⚠️ A flash flood that contaminates water treatment facilities ⚠️ Power outages that disable water pumping stations ⚠️ Malicious attacks on our water supply systems, cyber or physical

For these key moments, we identified that there is a need for a solution that:

  • Allows individuals to be self sufficient during such crises
  • Enable neighbours to support one another when central systems are under stress.
  • Provide authorities with the means to effectively roll out aid during a water crisis.

This 3-tiered hierarchy of needs ensures that communities can remain resilient in dire times where water security is suddenly threatened.

Our Direction Sets the Vision, Lets Get to Work! With a goal in mind, plan in place and tools in hand, the team set out to ideate and prototype a product that empowers people to prepare in the same way that Singapore does with its always-prepared mindset when it comes to water security.

And after 2 days of work, we're proud to showcase....

🌟 All's Well! 🌟

Alls Well - A Double Meaning:

  • 🛡️ "All is Well"
  • 💧 "A Well for All"

// What the Hack?- does it all do? »

At the heart of the All's Well system is the device we created: the HydroBeacon. Unioning this hardware prototype with our software, Project All's Well consists of 2 key halves that our target audience will interact with:

✦ 🏮 All's Well HydroBeacons ✦ 📱 All's Well Accompanying App ✦ 🗺️ All's Well Central Command

All's Well HydroBeacons : ✦ Emergency Water. Uses mechanical filtration and UV disinfection to turn contaminated water into drinking water.

✦ Purify on the go! Unlike other available emergency systems that require a constant feed of water, the HydroBeacons store unpurified water which can be cleaned while allowing the user to move about, critical after certain natural disasters.

✦ Light the way to safety. Stored water also doubles up to diffuse light from the in-built LEDs, turning the HydroBeacons into a handy lantern during emergencies.

✦ Hand-in-hand ~ Beacons can ping one another their location - such that users may find and share water or administer aid with others post-disaster. This functionality remains even WITHOUT the use of the accompanying app.

All's Well Accompanying App : ✦ Expanded lantern network ~ Extend user's reach to more HydroBeacon users during a crisis with the neighbour map, with information expanded to other users' statuses (water level, distress status).

All's Well Central Command : ✦ Status updates from the ground. Rescue teams may view the status of user's beacons to better manage water resources in any affected regions post-disaster.

✦ Resource for rescuers. Through a mesh network, connected HydroBeacons allow first responders to see a map of where each user is to more accurately deploy rescue teams.

// How We Built the Thing »

The lanterns were designed using Autodesk Inventor Professional and fabricated our prototype using the BambuLab A1 & A1 Minis (not sponsored!).

The brain of our lantern is a ESP32 board which serves as the control unit, integrating a generic fluid pump to provide water pressure for the filtration system, buttons to toggle the functions of the lantern (pump, lights etc) and finally LEDs for the lamp functionality.

The accompanying app is built using Unity (C#), connecting to a Node.js server deployed using Render. The Google Maps and Mapbox APIs were used for the app locator's functionality.

// Challenges We Ran Into »

Integrating the hardware and software was by far the most time-consuming at difficult part of designing our solution, as the app was built in C#, many brains were racked to seamlessly integrate it with the ESP32 board's code which was built in Python.

// Accomplishments that we're proud of & what we learned »

Despite the time limit, we're glad that we were able to create the entire experience loop of the system that we set out to create!

This project also proved to be a lot heavier on the hardware side - with us needing to be strategic and skillful in how we CAD-ed the designs as there was a lot to print in the limited time.

// What's next for All's Well »»

We would like to greatly refine the design of the HydroBeacons -where should-have features include solar power as well as replaceable filters. The team hopes to further iterate on the current version to end up with a design that could even be deployed overseas as humanitarian aid.

The All's Well system. Hope that you wont need it, but know that you'll be ready.

All's Well that ends well!

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