Water & Wastewater Treatment

Technological trends The Talk: innovation C ustomers can expect to hear lots more about the 'barnacle', 5g pow- ered super sensitive sewer sensors and 'Dragon y' as the company begins to prototype and roll out these brand new inventions across the North East in the new year. 2020 is going to be a huge year for us here at Northumbrian Water. It's set to be a really exciting 12 months for the company, for the industry as a whole and for all of our customers. We've got a lot of innovation ideas being worked on that have come from previous research projects, and innovation festivals, and we're expecting a number of these to come to a head during 2020 and be in a po- sition to get them rolled out into households and our networks. We innovate to make a diƒ erence. For our customers, for our employees, for our communities and for our environment. Expect big things from us in 2020. These are the 10 innovation trends to watch out for: 1. Collaboration – The new £200 million innovation fund announced by Ofwat will kickstart more collective innovation working across the sector and lead to exciting outcomes for customers. Innovate East in September will be a particular hot ticket! 2. Thinking bigger – Working together and sharing the risks will focus the sector equipment (wearables) and interaction with smart devices we'll be able to track mental and physical wellness. 8. Super IoT (Internet of Things)– Our use of sensors and IoT will signi' cantly increase as reducing costs make the mass use of this technology more possible. Innova- tion projects such as Barnacle, Dragon y and the Torpedo (smart sewer device) are capitalising on this to create sector leading possibilities. 9. Computer vision – The improved ability to identify places, objects and people via camera or sensor will allow us to extend the use of this medium. 10. 5G – 5G internet is already here at North- umbrian Water, as we've just kicked oƒ our ' rst trial with O2. It'll be a huge enabler for IoT and smart machinery due to the increased bandwidth allowing us to collect and transfer more data.• Northumbrian Water's head of innovation Angela MacOscar outlines what she expects to be the most innovative trends making a splash in the water industry during 2020. on tackling some of the biggest and most di– cult challenges. Autonomous sewer inspection robots, anyone? Or how about those non-invasive leak repair technologies for in-service water mains? 3. Artifi cial Intelligence (AI) – 2020 will be the year where AI will ' nally start to live up to the hype and deliver real limitless busi- ness bene' ts. 4. Digital twins - Digital twins will cement itself as the decision support tool for opera- tional applications going forward. 5. Improved human interface – CMEX will trigger new and creative ways to deliver great customer experiences. 6. Less and safer digging – Underground mapping will help reduce utility strikes, make excavation less frequent and much safer for our people in all industries. 7. Better employee wellbeing – Through the introduction of physical monitoring 8 | MARCH 2020 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk communities and for our environment. Expect big things from us in 2020. These are the 10 innovation trends will kickstart more collective the sector and lead to exciting outcomes for customers. Innovate East in September will be a particular – Working together and sharing the risks will focus the sector www.wwtonline.co.uk 19 th 20 th MAY 2020 NEC BIRMINGHAM FREE TO ATTEND #UWL20 #UOTF Register now www.u lityweeklive.co.uk

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