A small German company is specialized in water treatment for building technology and process industry. The company has long term and special knowledge in water side corrosion prevention and water treatment by use of ion-exchange resins. Thereof this company works as a consultant for bigger companies that are active in the field of water treatment as well.

As part of this consulting activity the company has the task to develop in behalf of one of his bigger clients an electrical water meter that combines different functions in one device. The functions are the measurement of electrical conductivity (μS/cm) of water, water temperature (°C), flow rate (l/min) and a flow rate totalizer (l).

The electronics and software to be developed shall be part of a transportable and compact device. It will be used by plumbers and service staff on construction sites.

An industrial partner is sought for technical co-operation who is able to accomplish the electronics and software part. A partner for 3D-engineering of the housing for the meter and for building the injection mold is already part of the project that shall consists of three or four cooperators. The German company that will provide the background knowledge of the field of use, the 3D-housing engineer and one or two electronics and software engineers still to be found.

Expertise sought:

• ability in circuit boards development and individual software applications therefore
• ability in conceptual electronics device design
• knowledge in development of battery and power adapter operated devices
• knowledge in developing electronical devices to measure physical units, such as electrical restistance
• knowledge of modern, energy-saving electronics components.

Tasks to be performed:

• compilation of conceptual specifications and operation of the device in close cooperation with the German company
• investigation for suitable standard parts available on the market
• development of the electronics, such as circuit board design and software programming for device operation
• development of software for Windows PC to communicate with the device.

The circuit board design, the software and all other data and information, such as standard parts, shall be transferred to the client at the end of the project in a way so that the client is able to produce the circuit boards etc. at cooperators of his choice. The development of the electronics and software should be documented in such a way that an independent third party provider could take over the data and continue the work.