Cortana Intelligence helps secure safe water in Kenya

During Build 2016 this year, Microsoft pitched a world of connected devices and sensors all speaking through cloud-backed machine learning models to developers. Microsoft is betting on a future that involves developers utilizing sensors that link to a vast pool of intelligent data to return immediate real-world benefits. Practicing what the company preaches, Microsoft's Solution Architect and Technical Manager of Microsoft Research, Kenji Takeda talks about how Cortana Intelligence suite is being used to secure safe drinking water for thousands of villages in rural Africa and Asia. A team consisting of Dr. Robert Hope of the REACH initiative, and machine learning experts David Clifton, an associate professor, and graduate student Farah Colchester have come together to try and secure safe and healthy water sources for 5 million poor people in Asia and Africa. The REACH program utilizes a series of mobile sensors connected to cloud computing to monitor water wells to secure a safe supply of water in more rural areas.