Features
Interview with Avraham Davidson, Aquasmart
24 April 2024
Preserving Water Resources
We had the pleasure to interview Avraham Davidson, Founder & CTO at AQUASMART, a intelligent water solution that enables real-time monitoring of flow characteristics in any pipeline.
1. Could you tell us what led you to where you are today?
About my self : I have degrees in engineering and computer science, I have more than 30 years hands-on experience. I also manage my family's property company. I would like to start with a story.
A bank teller who had water dripping on his head, on and off, for a long time. The bank is located in a commercial building of eight floors and we could not find the source of the problem. Each Sunday I got a phone call about a flooding in the building. The teller workstation couldn't be used, and sometimes the water even reached the bank server causing the branch to stop working. The happy ending of the story is that we discovered a small hole in a pipe created by someone who had installed a drywall. But it took months to discover! Our system would have discovered it straight away.
Can I give you another story? This happened last weekend: a small explosion in a water pipe in an apartment I manage. While the family were sleeping at night, the apartment flooded. This caused a big damage to the apartment below. Our system would have detected the problem at the first drops.
I have designed many systems for other startups : I have designed communications, electronics, mechanics systems. That led me to look for a solution to solve these problems automatically.
Another point: When I studied computer science, I understood that the next generation would combine hardware and software – this is an opportunity for us.
2. Why do we even need automatic leak detection systems? Why is Aquasmart Solutions necessary?
The problem we are dealing with is a worldwide problem.
In a survay published about a week ago by the largest water metering system in Israel, we see that one of every seven houses in the urban sector in Israel (that is about 18%) had a water leak, most of them from toilets, while in the non urban sector, leaks were recorded in about 40% of houses. From our study in most European countries the situation is worse.
Worldwide around 20% of water is lost to leakage, And about 50% of all leaks are hidden.
Each problem not detected on time will sooner or later become a serious problem causing a lot of aggravation when someone else will discover it for you.
3. Could you explain to our listeners, in simple terms, how your patented technology works?
Our patented technology is very simple. I saw what plumbers were doing, I have watched experienced plumbers for years, I have seen how they identify small and large water leaks. and I thought I can make this automatic.
My patent combines many disciplines together: electronics, software, physics, chemistry… We know how to detect leaks from the first drops.
We monitor water flow 24/7 and study the characteristics of water use. When we detect abnormal use it means there is a problem with the property.
In serious cases, the system will disconnect the source of the problem.
Another IP we are working on: From studying the needs in the market for years, we have understood customers are afraid to touch their pipes, to cut them and install additional parts, so we designed another sensor which would detect leaks without touching the pipe. We see this is a big demand from the market.
4. When and what sparked your interest in the water challenges?
When I was small, I was always taking things apart and putting them together. I was always interested in electricity and water, I was always interested in how plumbers work, how water systems work. I saw that the technology of water transfer is very old and I understood I had something to bring to the market.
5. What is for you "sustainability"?
Water in the world is disappearing because of climate change. In Europe, places that were full of water are now becoming dry. On the other hand, I see a lot of wasted water. In shopping centers, toilets are dripping; gardening systems have leaks for days, no-one knows about them; in agriculture, farmers realize they have a problem with their irrigation system after days.
The World is wasting a lot of water. Even in places with very little water, we are losing water. Our system helps the world to be more sustainable.
6. From having the goal of being more sustainable in terms of water usage, to patenting your technology, what was the process like?
Firstly I wanted to see if others were doing my idea. Through the internet and other ways, I researched the market very well. Then I needed to know how to transfer the idea to a patent. I used a lawyer with a lot of experience in the field of patents. That made the process very smooth.
Our main challenge was to be very focused, I was confident that I could patent my idea, and I didn't let anyone stop me. Our Patent finally got accepted without any problems.
7. How much did you know about IP before you founded Aquasmart?
Nothing, I didn’t know anything. I followed my dream. The Israeli Innovation Authority gave me the opportunity to be part of an Accelerator program and there I met people with experience who guided me and gave me motivation.
8. How important is IP for your company?
It is very important for marketing, it makes the company unique. The investors look at us differently. It gives them confidence that we have a technological advantage over others.
9. What message/learning experience would you like to share with other entrepreneurs?
You must believe in what you are doing. Don't let others tell you it's not possible. If you think it is a good idea, and you can show that the idea is beginning to work, the money will come.
Another thing: Always take advice from people with experience, who you trust.
10. What’s in the horizon for you and your company?
For example, To give better solutions to agriculture. There is a lot of wasted water in the agriculture field.
Another example: To understand with our system if something happened to elderly people who live alone. Our system shows if water is used or not. If not, maybe something has happened. I would also like to work on improving the efficiency of desalination systems. These are just some examples.
To achieve this goal, we are all the time improving our business plan and our IP.
I have lots of ideas, like gas and electricity systems. There are more options we can work on. Water is only the beginning.
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