WaterPad

Multi-stage water filtration systems — flow filters, ultrafiltration units, reverse osmosis — are common in health-conscious homes and offices, but they all share one problem: expensive filter cartridges ($30–$150 each) get replaced on gut feeling rather than actual consumption. Someone thinks the water tastes off and swaps a fresh filter. Someone else runs it dead without noticing.

WaterPad is a compact control panel that mounts near the tap and connects to up to three filter outputs. Press a preset button — a measured volume of water flows from the selected filter, then stops. A second button dispenses a precise amount from a different filter. Each filter has its own lifecycle counter showing remaining resource as a percentage, days since last change, and a real-time TDS or quality sensor reading at inlet and outlet.

Practical segmentation: drinking water (reverse osmosis, slowest flow) for tea and direct drinking; carbon-filtered tap for cooking pasta or filling a humidifier; raw tap for boiling. The device routes each use to the right source automatically once the preset is set.

Form factor is the project’s differentiator. Target profile: compact puck or blade, flush-mount on a countertop or tile backsplash. Comparable to BMW iDrive in tactility — a physical encoder for volume selection, backlit segment display, no touchscreen to fog or scratch.

The prototype has been in daily use in our office for two years, covering the espresso machine reservoir, drinking cups, and a humidifier. Circuit board and firmware are stable. The remaining investment is industrial design, injection moulding tooling, and a small production run for a Kickstarter or direct builder/developer channel.