More than 3.5 million people die each year as the result of water-related disease according to the World Health Organization. Water Canary, a new device unveiled this week at TED Global in Edinburgh, Scotland, hopes to put a dent in this number by providing real-time information on potential outbreaks of disease- infected water.
The device lets anyone test water with the push of the button and then submits the results along with location data wirelessly. In turn, the company hopes it can identify problems much more quickly than chemical-based testing and prevent communities from drinking contaminated water.
Water Canary analyzes water samples by using light and measuring what wavelengths to draw conclusions. A red light flashes to alert the user to a potential water problem. However, the company’s founder, Sonaar Luthra, told Mashable that the goal isn’t to tell you instantly whether or not you can drink a given sample of water.
“It’s not ever going to replace a lab but maybe we don’t need that to make better decisions. We’re not trying to compete with water testing companies. What will hopefully happen is if you get enough red readings in an area you’ll take a more extensive kit there to do a more extensive reading of the area,” he said.
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