USF Students Launch Smart Sleeve to Track Water Intake

College students often struggle to track their fluid intake accurately. Three University of South Florida students have created a device called syp to measure that data automatically.

The product is a silicone sleeve that wraps around the bottom of a standard reusable water bottle. It functions as a miniature scale. Every time a user sets the bottle down after drinking, the sleeve calculates the weight loss to determine the volume of water consumed. This information is transmitted to a companion mobile application.

The app requires users to input personal metrics such as age, height, and weight. It can also sync with smart wearables, including Apple watches and Oura rings. Users can log specific workout details, such as the sport, duration, and ambient temperature. They can also record other beverages consumed outside of the tracked bottle.

Rima El Brouzi, a USF computer science master's student and co-founder, noted that people track sleep, steps, and food, but hydration remains a guessing game. She said, "Today, we track pretty much everything: Sleep, workouts, food, steps, anything, you name it, we track it. And hydration is still such an important part of what impacts our body, yet it's a total guessing game."

The project originated after Mathis Fürst Haugen, a former USF men's soccer player, suffered a severe dehydration episode. The incident ended his freshman season early. Haugen partnered with El Brouzi and his former roommate Nicolas Scargle to develop the device. Scargle serves as the managing director for syp.

Scargle explained that student-athletes often forget to drink water due to demanding schedules involving school, training, and lifting. He said, "Getting lost in your routine throughout the day with school, training, lifts, trying to fit meals in, and just trying to balance everything all at once, we just forget." The app sends customized notifications to users who fall behind on their hydration goals.

The team has scheduled pilot programs with various sports teams at USF and the University of Central Florida to test the device in collegiate athletic settings.