The problem DewDrop solves
Clean drinking water is scarce in arid and remote regions, where traditional sources are unreliable or costly. An efficient, sustainable solution is needed to extract water from the atmosphere for communities, agriculture, and emergencies.
Fog, often seen as a waste resource causing visibility issues and health concerns, can be turned into a valuable water source. Our solution captures moisture from fog using advanced mesh-based collectors while also reducing its density in high-risk zones like highways and airports—addressing both water scarcity and fog-related hazards simultaneously.
Challenges we ran into
One of the major challenges faced in the Dewdrop project is ensuring high voltage safety, as the system operates around 10–15 kV to generate corona discharge for fog ionization. This level of voltage poses serious risks such as arcing, accidental shocks, and potential short circuits if proper insulation, grounding, and safety protocols are not maintained. Additionally, wind disturbance presents another significant obstacle; outdoor wind can disrupt the electrostatic attraction zone by displacing fog droplets, ultimately reducing water collection efficiency and requiring physical shielding or airflow control solutions. Another layer of complexity arises in the integration of hardware and software, where seamless communication between fog sensors, the high-voltage module, and automation logic is essential. Synchronizing real-time data from sensors with actuation commands for the ionizer while maintaining system stability and energy efficiency requires careful circuit design, robust firmware, and reliable control algorithms.