Two teams affiliated with the UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute (QI) competed against more than 200 software developers and technology designers for $5,000 in prizes, an hour of quality time with Electric Imp co-founder and CEO Hugo Fiennes (an early advisor of the famed Nest Labs) and the chance to see their ideas implemented in a city threatened by drought, wildfires and other impacts of climate change.

Taking home the prize for the “Best in IoT” (Internet of Things) award was QI2Max, comprised of team members Carmel Fiscko, YiDing Fang, Max Oliver Geislinger, Shu-Meng Lydia Ko, Max Xing and Changeun Mason Park and advised by QI Director Ramesh Rao. The students – who hail from the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering and Bioengineering – created One Drop, a software and sensor system for monitoring water use that informs residents about how much water they use compared to their neighbors and also reveals consumption habits over time.  The system is designed for use by both the general public and city officials, and also features a 3D-printed, Raspberry-Pi-controlled water flow rate sensor designed by the students.

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