Dropless

What it does

Dropless aims to reduce water consumption while showering through behaviour change strategies like social comparison, eco-feedback, gamification and self-monitoring. Therefore, Dropless does not only contribute to a green environment, but also saves costs.

Your inspiration

Water is an essential building block of life. However, due to rapid population growth, a rising standard of living and agricultural expansion there is pressure on water resources. Many may blame the industry for consuming a lot of water, both directly and indirectly. However, two-thirds of the total available (drinking) water is consumed by regular households. Therefore, an effective market area to conserve water is by targeting those households. As it concluded from research that one of the major water consumers in a household is the shower, Dropless aims to actively reduce water consumption while showering.

How it works

Dropless aims to reduce water consumption through behaviour change strategies. The members of a household share one droplet to track their water consumption while showering. A shared maximum water consumption goal is determined, which the entire household will strive for. As the user enters the shower, they activate the droplet. The water consumption is measured with a flow meter, in series with a hydroelectric generator, thus providing a green power source to power the circuit more sustainably. Subsequently, a Bluetooth signal is transferred to the droplet. The more water is used, the fuller the droplet appears to be as LEDs light up from the bottom as the user proceeds to use the shower. The light also gradually changes from a blue tone to red, indicating to approach the goal. When the user finishes showering, the droplet registers the user’s performance, which is shared with all household members in the app. Additionally, in-depth statistics are provided.

Design process

The process started off in November 2021 by investigating water scarcity, behaviour change techniques and performing user studies on the needs for developing a water saving tool. After brainstorming, sketching and exploratory prototyping, the first lo-fi iteration was born, solely consisting of the physical droplet and illustrating the shape and general concept. After slight alterations due to user testing, a (technologically) experienceable MVP was developed. As we considered user involvement to be highly important to gain insights on the potential effectiveness, user tests were once again performed with the MVP. As a result, the app supporting the droplet was added to enable richer insights on one's water usage, and digitalize some features which were once only physically operable, thus optimizing efficiency. Also, the waterproofness was optimized (e.g., by wireless charging). Furthermore, we considered business and sustainability perspectives. Whereas the goal of Dropless already considers sustainability, we also aim to produce Dropless of sustainable materials (e.g., recycled plastics) and use casings which enable efficient refurbishment in the cashback service to be used after achieving behaviour change, thus forming a closed loop in the product life cycle.

How it is different

Dropless uses behaviour change strategies rather than technologically efficient methods. This is an advantage, as research has proven that the latter (e.g., shower heads which reduce water flow) get used more carelessly and thus result in no or minimal change in ultimate consumption. Therefore, Dropless aims to tackle the core issue of user behaviour, rather than the consequences. In addition, Dropless uses actual water consumption as a variable, rather than the generally used showering time. As showering time neglects any sustainable initiatives taken by users (e.g., cutting water flow while shampooing), water consumption was perceived better by users. Moreover, Dropless utilizes scientifically proven behaviour change strategies like eco-feedback and gamification, which differentiates the product from others on the market for the same purpose using negative reinforcement strategies, which were perceived unpleasant by users.

Future plans

After having developed a preliminary design based on active user involvement, a minimal viable prototype to enable user testing, and a marketing introduction strategy, Dropless has no concrete plans yet for the near future. However, as we, but also external parties have expressed enthusiasm towards the concept and a desirability and perceived potential for further development, Dropless may have an innovative (and sustainable!) future ahead.

Awards

Due to the recent development of Dropless, the product has not yet appeared in any other contests.