Aqua-Intelligence: The Smart Water Quality Innovation Challenge
Aqua-Intelligence: The Smart Water Quality Innovation Challenge
How might we introduce AI Powered Smart Meters to proactively and continuously measure Water Quality in KAHRAMAA’s DMA?
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything You Need to Know: From Registration to Submission Guidelines and More
This challenge focuses on introducing AI-powered smart meters to proactively and continuously measure water quality within KAHRAMAA’s District Metered Areas (DMA). The goal is to transition from reactive, lab-based sampling to a continuous, 24/7 predictive water quality and contaminant management system.
Key aspects of the solution include:
- Real-Time Monitoring & AI Detection - Implementing a system with a response time of less than 60 seconds per measurement and AI detection accuracy of >90% for anomaly events.
- Integrated Sensing Capabilities - Utilizing industrial-grade sensors to monitor critical parameters including pH, EC, turbidity, chlorine, and temperature.
- Advanced Analytics & Dashboards - Providing AI-enabled dashboards for monitoring trends, sending automated alerts when thresholds are exceeded, and generating historical reports in multiple languages.
- Robust & Scalable Implementation - Ensuring hardware can withstand harsh operating conditions (-10°C to +55°C) with high reliability (≥95% uptime) and seamless integration with existing SCADA systems.
The goal is to ensure water services are sustainable, efficient, and resilient, ultimately enhancing public health through early contamination detection and building customer trust through transparent reporting.
This challenge is open to SMEs and startups that can deliver solutions implementable in a relatively short timeframe (TRL 5 and above).
To register, click on the “Participate here” button at the top of the brief page. Follow the steps to create an account and complete your profile.
Key Dates:
- Submission Deadline: April 12th, 2026 (UTC+3)
- Shortlisting Deadline: May 2026
- Evaluation Deadline: June 2026
- Awarding of Winners: August 2026
Participants are required to complete and submit a participation form. Make sure to follow the guidelines provided in the "Challenge Details" section.
Participation in this challenge is strictly on behalf of startups. Each startup is considered a single participant, and submissions should represent the organization's collective solution. While internal collaboration within the startup is encouraged, the entry must be submitted under the startup's name rather than individual team members.
Winners will receive up to 100,000 USD in QRDI funding for solution development , access to operational datasets , a trial environment at pilot sites and collaboration opportunities with KAHRAMAA technical, IT, and finance teams , mentorship and support for solution development , and the potential for commercial deployment within KAHRAMAA and beyond to other GCC water utilities and smart city initiatives.