Silicon Valley-incubated FloWater is one step closer to making it easier than ever before for the growing numbers of consumers looking to ditch the plastic water bottle. Attendees at CES this year (Las Vegas. January 7-10) will get the first glimpse at a ‘smarter,’ IoT-connected drinking water platform. FloWater, makers of new-tech water refill stations, will unveil a development project for a cloud-connected, ‘smart’ water Refill Station and mobile app, powered by Microsoft’s Azure Sphere, at Sichuan Changhong Electric’s booth (# 11439).
FloWater’s development of an IoT mobile app works hand in hand with its ‘smart’ water Refill Station, providing consumers with the first end-to-end, plastic-free drinking water experience. They can now find the nearest FloWater Refill Station, track their hydration and get hydration reminders. This IoT mobile app is specifically designed to encourage consumers to track their environmental impact by displaying how many plastic water bottles they have saved and for sharing this real-time data on social media. Since the company’s launch in 2013, FloWater’s Refill Stations have saved over 170 million plastic water bottles from entering the environment and is on target to hit one billion by 2022.
As part of its ‘Tech for a Better World’ family of products, Sichuan Changhong Electric has designed and will manufacture a custom Microcontroller Unit (MCU) that will be integrated into FloWater’s advanced Refill Station technology, which eliminates the contaminants that can be found in tap water and delivers superior drinking water that dispenses into any size reusable container, eliminating the plastic waste and toxicity caused by single-use plastic water bottles.
“We are proud to align our technology with FloWater’s innovative solution. We share a common goal to impact the world in positive ways,” says Gary Tu, CEO of Changhong North America.
The FloWater IoT mobile app will connect to the Cloud and be powered by Microsoft Azure Sphere, Microsoft’s latest IoT cloud solution built specifically to work with certified MCUs for multi-level security and real-time data views.
According to Rich Razgaitis, FloWater’s CEO and Co-Founder, “We are honored to team up with Microsoft and Changhong at CES in our development of this entirely new, cloud-based drinking water platform for consumers and enterprise. Soon, on a massive scale, we will satisfy the mega-consumer trend away from plastic waste by making it easier than ever before to access great-tasting, safer and plastic-free drinking water wherever people work, rest and play.”
With 5,000 FloWater Refill Stations now deployed nationwide, fast-growing FloWater has addressed the consumer safety and taste concerns in tap water, and with enhanced taste and wellness benefits, has become the beverage of choice at the likes of Hyatt, Google, Red Bull, PlayStation, Specialized Bikes, Alaska Airlines, Urban Remedy, the Oakland Unified School District and at the Oakland Airport.
for developers and enthusiasts
