A Low-Cost Solar Disinfection Indicator for Safe Water

We present the design and context of a simple electronic indicator which aids in the disinfection of drinking water. The indicator provides visual feedback of the solar disinfection process, which is otherwise unobservable to the user. We discuss the competitions, hosting institutions, partner organizations, and novel Internet-based social technologies which fostered and shaped this product development process. We emphasize the importance of user acceptance and scalable business model in our continuing design process.