Media update, page-37

It is not the most glamorous of topics, but I have recently heard of something that could one day be another Fluence revenue stream.

MIT have begun to use robots to data-mine information from sewers.  By collecting and monitoring samples of effluent material, information can be gathered to help everything from local health management, to consumer practices and even crime fighting.

I heard of this in the context of an Australian city applying for 'Smarter City' status.  The person I saw presenting was from a local chamber of commerce, and had recently been on a related business trip to Shanghai.  They said they visited a municipal compound which had a screen 6 storeys high, from which parts of the city were being monitored right down to the level of an individual person.  That's right, they could go to a particular suburb, a particular address, or even a particular person and bring up data on everything from age to electricity consumption.  Big Brother stuff.

Anyway.....one of the things mentioned was sewer monitoring.  Want to tell the extent of an areas drug problem?  Want to know how much sugar school districts are consuming?  Want to be able spot an outbreak of disease in your city?  Check the sewers.

Data is lucrative.  The ability to derive it from human waste is something I had never thought about.  We already have big plans to monetise sludge via Microbial Fuel Cells as part of EBR.  Energy, and now data.....from sh*t?  What a world!

https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazin...mples-sewer/g1EhuRPbVR2VtwwJuo2DTN/story.html