In 2014, a group of University of Minnesota students banded together for the Google Startup weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota to construct a smart water bottle prototype. The team included: Alexander Hambrock, Coleman Iverson, Nadya Nguyen, Daniel Worku, and Alexandra Feeken – all coming from varying backgrounds in engineering, developing, marketing, and design. In less than three days time, they built a water bottle that used a mobile app to track water consumption. After being awarded third place, the team turned their idea into a business: Hidrate.
The HidrateSpark bottle is a 24 oz. reusable water bottle comprised of BPA-free Tritan plastic – making it dishwasher safe – and is paired with a leak proof cap. Here’s how it works: a sensor stick attached to the cap slides into the middle of the bottle, automatically tracking how much water you drink throughout the day. It sends information to the HidrateSpark app on your phone and the bottle softly glows when it’s time to drink more water. The battery merges seamlessly with the streamline cap and will power the bottle’s sensor for over a year.
After inputting your body biometrics, the app calculates the precise amount of water you should be drinking throughout the day to stay hydrated. The app integrates with wearable technology making it easy to view your goals and receive reminders to keep you on track. Using the GPS on your smartphone, the app uses your location to adjust your daily water goal depending on the temperature, humidity, and elevation of your surroundings.
After a successful rollout, the Hidrate squad was accepted into the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator Program powered by Techstars. The program is a three month-long, immersive, mentorship-driven startup accelerator based in Kansas City, Missouri in which 10 mobile-health companies selected from around the world receive funding guidance to build the future of mobile technology. HidrateSpark did very well, and plan on launching their first product shipments in mid-March.
HidrateSpark is revolutionary technology birthed in Minnesota to help fitness and conscious consumers alike support healthy lifestyle choices.
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- Image Compliments of Hidrate
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- Image Compliments of Hidrate
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- Image Compliments of Hidrate
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- Image Compliments of Hidrate
