About us

Liqwiz is a startup founded in 2015 by two engineers looking for a way to detect pesticides and contaminants in drinks and food products, right at a grocery store or at home. The existing methods of analysis either required complicated and expensive lab equipment or were simply unreliable.

While looking for a solution, we conducted initial market research and realized that there was an untapped market for a contaminant detecting consumer device. We also came to the conclusion that while all basic technologies were available, a new engineering approach was needed to utilize them for developing a consumer product.

Determined to meet market demand, we examined tons of scientific literature and spent years experimenting and developing a new technology. Throughout the process, we relied on our expertise in optical spectroscopy and semiconductor inspection systems as well as on  recent advances in LED and sensor technologies. Finally, we came up with the concept of a consumer device, built around a low-cost miniaturized spectroscopic sensor, optimized for testing water, drinks, and other liquids and controlled by a smart phone.

We have developed product prototypes that

• can analyze water, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, milk, juices, and oils
• are sensitive to typical contaminants
• can measure concentration of sugar, alcohol, etc.
• are affordable and fit in a pocket
• require no technical knowledge and are user friendly

We expect to be ready for the manufacturing stage in the next few months and are seeking funding to enable us to ship first LiqWiz products to customers before the end of 2017.

Problem

Water test kits, devices and methodologies are widely available to professionals and consumers.  Some are very specific and others are more broad-based as to what they measure and the degree of knowledge required to utilize the devices as well as their accuracy varies greatly.  What these methods all have in common is the need for human interaction to produce results.  If they are not used, they are not effective.  Based on changing environmental conditions, pollution, aging infrastructure, industrial agricultural practices, and increased awareness of potential risks there is a rising need for quick, easy, automated, cost-effective monitoring in the field and at the final delivery point for specific contaminants in potable water.  LiqWiz would provide an additional level of safety by continuously monitoring a household drinking water supply, without any action required on the part of the consumer, and notify the consumer of potential issues allowing them to take appropriate action to protect their health.

Solution

Our solution is a patent-pending system for household and small lab/educational optical monitoring and analysis of water and liquids. The system utilizes the physical phenomena of fluorescence and absorption. It consists of  2 major components:

1. LiqWiz hardware sensor platform

LiqWiz is a spectoscopic hardware platform, specifically designed for analysis of water and liquids. 

LiqWiz will be packaged as either an inline continuous system or a portable device that fits in the palm of  a hand. Both inline and handheld versions are IoT devices that connect to a smartphone, laptop, or cloud database via WiFi or Bluetooth technologies.

In the initial release, LiqWiz will allow to measure fluorescence and absorption spectra using built-in illumination sources and the patent-pending high-light-throughput spectrometer. Optical spectra present distinct characteristics of water, drinks, and other household liquids allowing to detect tiny changes in sample content as well as traces of harmful contaminants.

2. LiqWiz Analyzer software

LiqWiz Analyzer is built into the inline version or can be downloaded into a smartphone or laptop for the portable version. It can be used to automatically analyze LiqWiz HW platform output and determine concentration of select substances and contaminants in a pre-defined set of samples that includes water, soda, wine, milk, and some other typical drinks.

Analyzer will exchange information and updates with central database, allowing you to keep track of history of water quality in your household, as well as look up potential water quality issues in your area.