Tap Sends Water Alert SMS to Women

According to a Microsoft project, taps can be fitted with sensors that send SMS alerts to women

In times of severe water crisis, here is a simple idea aided by technology that can make life of rural women easier.

Developed by a team of four employees from Microsoft India, the project called ‘Water Alert for Women in India’ was the winner of a recently-held contest ‘Code 4 Her’.

The model involves fitting public water taps with sensors so that whenever there is water availability, SMS alerts are sent to women of the area.

Also Read: RBI Governor Keen on Mobile Banking

Yet to be implemented, it took more than a month to develop a prototype of the model. Each set-up would cost close to Rs. 1,500. The developers have used Azure server so as to send bulk SMSs to the recipients.

Project displayed at ‘Confluence’

The project was displayed at ‘Confluence’, a signature conference of the Microsoft on diversity and inclusion, which was held on Friday.

The day-long event was attended by about 500 employees from across the country. With six break-out sessions and a host of speakers from various fields such as actress Shabana Azmi and cricketer Anjum Chopra, the event focused on addressing gender, generational and abilities challenges.

If a workshop titled ‘Antarakshu’ gave an insight into the world of the visually-impaired, then ‘Yuva Katha’ was about understanding the attitude and expectations of the younger generation.

“The event is about bringing ideas together. Technology is a great enabler and the organization recognizes the importance of working with differently abled or newer generation. Since the early years, the event was also about creating awareness about gender equality. We recognize the biases and want to do something about it,” said Chitra Sood, Director, Business Management, Microsoft India R&D Pvt. Ltd.

She said that programs like ‘reverse mentoring’ was about senior employees learning from younger ones and ‘I am U’ campaign centered on gender sensitivity.

Speaking on the theme and sharing her experiences, actress Shabana Azmi said, “Till the age of 9, I lived in a commune, which was actually a large flat in which 8 families were living. They all had a room which was just 225 sq.ft, and a strip of a balcony which my mother had converted into a kitchen. And there was 1 toilet for 8 families. So I think inclusion and diversity I absorbed through a process of osmosis. For me, it was something I took as a given. If I were to paint a picture of an ideal world, it would for me mean equal opportunity to all, rich or poor, belonging to any nation, gender or caste.”

Source: The Hindu

'Like' our Facebook Page for useful & interesting updates
Contact Aadishesh for Internet Connection & Bulk SMS Services