Droppler water monitor listens for flow to help you conserve
It's basically Shazam, but for running water.
Nascent Objects has teamed with Shock Top (yes, Shock Top the beer company) to develop and debut a new, modular water conservation device called the Droppler. Its simple white housing holds a pair of microphones that have been trained to recognize the sound of running water. You simply place it next to a sink, toilet or shower and as you use those utilities, the light bar on the front of the device will slowly decrease, giving you a quick and easy visual reference for how much water is moving through your faucets. It also uploads that data to an associated iOS or Android app. Armed with that information, users can more easily change their water use habits.
What's more, the processing unit and microphone are modular which allows users to pull the processor out of its water housing, pair it with a separate modular camera and cram both bits into the red housing you see above to create a WiFi-connected home security camera. It can also be converted into a wireless speaker. The water monitoring setup will be available starting Wednesday and retails for $100 -- thanks, in part, to a $50,000 investment from Shock Top beer as part of the brewer's "Shock the Drought" water conservation campaign.
