GSN is hosting a GSNs at Work webinar
Thursday, April 28, 2016—11:00 AM, EDT
Akvo FLOW — Can GSNs accelerate innovation through partnerships?
Click to register:
WEBINAR REGISTRATION
Join our GSN/Akvo FLOW Webinar leaders:
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Mike Dover, GSN Senior Fellow
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Mark Tiele Westra, Product Manager, Akvo FLOW
Discussion questions include:
- How does thin technology deliver great results?
- What are the unexpected benefits of simple mobile apps?
- Does highly specific innovation impact local job markets?
- Can GSNs accelerate innovation?
One of Akvo Flow’s most exciting new developments—The Akvo Caddisfly suite of water quality field tests—is an example of rapid innovation created by GSNs.
What makes it a breakthrough technology?
The Caddisfly tests are designed to be simple, low cost and portable. Using an inexpensive plastic card with calibration colors and a test strip, a smartphone with an open source app compares the results to a central database. To date, the software supports measurement of chlorine, phosphate, iron, nitrate/nitrite, and pH. Work is underway to enable the software to support new parameter tests.
The brilliance of this program is the cards are inexpensive and low-tech while the engine dwells in a smartphone—an increasingly ubiquitous tool—so the overall costs are low. The test can be done on the spot without the expense and trouble (and possible contamination) of shipping physical water samples. When the Caddisfly indicates a problem, officials can mark that location for follow-up when necessary. The overall impact of the program is that water quality tests can be undertaken more quickly and efficiently, meaning that more data will be collected. Since water quality is fundamental to so many health factors, this innovation can be transformational.