FindingwaterandHydratingyourBody

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Manypeopleacrosstheworldarefacedwiththeproblemofstayinghydratedespeciallyduring
thesummer[1].Inaddition,findingwatercanbeasomewhatdifficulttask,especiallyifyouare
newtoanarea.Dehydrationwhenthebodylosesimportantelectrolytes.Manyofthese
electrolytesarerequiredforimportantorgansofthebodyandcanoftenbeoverlooked[3].
Millionsofpeopledieeveryyearbecauseofdehydrationandmostdonotevenknowthatthey
aredehydrated[3].Drinkingplentyoffluidsisoneofthetopwaystoavoiddehydrationbutthere
areafewproblemswiththat.Therearethreemainissueswithstayinghydrated:findingwater,
makingsureitisclean,andknowingwhenyouaredehydrated[2].Iproposetocreateawater
bottlethathasabuiltthatcan1)monitorthewaterinyourbottle2)detectyourhydrationlevels3)
sharelocationstowhereyoufillyourwaterbottlewithotherusers4a)filterthewaterand4b)be
abletocheckifthewateryouarefillingyourbottlewithisclean.Currentlythereisasmart
waterbottlethatonlymeasuresthewaterthatisinthebottleandthewaterthatistakenout
throughthestraw[6].However,thereisnocurrentmethodtoincorporatethesharingof
locationstowherewecangetwater.Inaddition,thereiscurrentlyamethodtodetecthydration
butitisincorporatedintoapatchlikeobjectinsteadofabottle[5].Inadditionthisinformationcan
beshared/viewedontheapporwebsite.

Ibelievepeoplewhoarewantingtodrinkcleanwaterandstayhydratedwillbetheoneswho
benefit.Withthatbeingsaid,everyonewillbeabletobenefitfromthisnomatterwheretheare.
Forexample,peopleinfirstworldcountriesmightnotbeinterestedinfindingwaterormaking
sureitiscleanbutalotofpeopleliketomonitorwhattheydoandmakesuretheyaredoingit
right.Thisdiffersfrompeopleinthirdworldcountrieswherepeopleneedtofindthewaterand
makesureitiscleanbeforetheydrinkit.Beingabletosharethelocationtowheretheygotthe
waterwillbeabletoallowotherpeopletogetwateraswell.Iwillbeusinganiterativedesign
methodtotesteachprototypewithusersandredevelopwherenecessary.Afterthedeviceis
built,wewilluseitfirsttomapouttheplacestogetwateroncampusanddeployittocertain
studentstoseehoweasyitistouse.

References:
1. IraR.Byock,M.D.,PatientRefusalofNutritionandHydration:WalkingtheEverFiner
Line.AmericanJournalHospice&PalliativeCare,pp.813.(March/April1995)
2. Biondi,S.(2014,January9).FindingCleanWater:ARisingProbleminAfrica.Retrieved
September7,2014.
3. Meletis,C.(2003,January1).DehydrationAnImbalanceofWaterandMinerals.
RetrievedSeptember7,2014.
4. Klein,S.(2013,June27).DehydrationMyths:7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutStaying
Hydrated.RetrievedSeptember7,2014.
5. HydrationSensorNews.(2013,March15).RetrievedSeptember7,2014.
6. About.(2013,June6).RetrievedSeptember7,2014.