White Paper on Smart Water Sensors dissemination

Draft 09/03/2021

 

SWANSET are preparing a white paper on Smart Water Sensors as well as a R&I oriented paper unambiguously aligned to the WE VISION that intends to provide the audience with the opinion of the WG(s) on R&I topics, challenges, possible way forwards and recommendations.

Summary in progress

In the last decade, the spread of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), digital technologies and new monitoring systems assumed a key role in a water-smart society.

Smart water sensors are expecting to foster innovation across the Water Value Chain. In the water sector, innovative meters allow to identify novel solutions able to face the socio-economic challenges of water use, water quality and management according to various stakeholders’ operational needs.

 

The integration of smart meters and biosensors with cloud computing and innovative software allows the improve network management and align water sector to other public utilities sectors as electricity, telephone and internet, gas, etc. A more effective monitoring in terms of quantity and quality variables makes partitioning of large water networks possible, thus improving customer service, quality of maintenance and protection from accidental or intentional contamination.

 

Anyway, as appropriately reported in many scientific and technical papers, more coordination between academia, industry and government is required to transform traditional water networks in the new paradigm of smart water networks. So, in order to meet the demands of industry and government and successfully turn this new paradigm into practice, the research and industry worlds showed that it is necessary to obtain a consensus from conceptual, technical, and practical perspectives with reference these following main aspects:

 

Hardware bullets

  • measurement data validation
  • sensor technologies
  • law of physics and algorithms
  • data trust (accuracy, consistency, etc..)

Software and ICT bullets:

  • Data Models, protocols and interoperability
  • Open data
  • Water Data Sharing Space
  • Big Data and AI