In 2005, Dr. Ivan Howitt, a tenured professor at UNC Charlotte embarked on a joint research project to evaluate whether acoustic signals could be utilized to detect pipe blockages and anomalies between manholes. This research was motivated by a critical need at Charlotte Water to focus the deployment of their cleaning trucks on the right pipes at the right time.

With funding from the National Science Foundation, InfoSense was founded, and first prototype of the Sewer Line Rapid Assessment Tools (SL-RAT^®) was sold to Charlotte Water in 2009. Based on the success of the first device, four improved beta prototypes were purchased by Charlotte Water a year later. The current production version was released in early 2012 and quickly gained recognition as a leading Smart Water technology – winning WEF’s Innovative Technology Award.

Our efforts to create innovative wastewater solutions did not stop at hardware. Understanding that utilities equally rely on software to manage their collection systems, we launched the Sewer Line Data Organizer (SL-DOG^®) in 2014. The SL-DOG portal was designed with a utility’s needs in mind – allowing operators to quickly archive, visualize, manage, and export SL-RAT data. Following the release of the SL-DOG Portal, we created a mobile application that allowed field crews to add asset ID’s, measurement notes, and general field observation information.

Today over 1350 utilities around the world have experienced how our technology can help overcome the challenges inherent in managing a wastewater collection system. Approximately 700 units are in use around the world with customers ranging from Charlotte Water to Singapore PUB. We look forward to learning more about your collection system challenges and how we might help you solve them.