# The Internet of Septage (with Akiba)

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2017-08-14
- Length: 1h 29m
- Episode: 355
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-14-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/355-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba/

## Summary

Akiba from Freak Labs discusses his work on an industrial IoT project in Egypt with the World Bank to monitor septic tank trucks and prevent illegal dumping, detailing the use of solar power, 3G connectivity, and non-contact sonar sensors. He reflects on reorganizing his product lines, moving away from ad-hoc designs like the Wrecking Crew lighting kits toward a focused lifestyle business model centered on environmental monitoring and agriculture. Akiba also shares insights on building low-cost test fixtures in Shenzhen, the benefits of using the Analog Discovery 2 for automated testing, and the importance of creating a 'lifestyle plan' rather than just a business plan.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-14-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba#t=0) Introduction and Travel Update
- [5:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-14-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba#t=328) Egypt Septic Tank Monitoring Project
- [18:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-14-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba#t=1082) IoT Technology and Network Choices
- [36:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-14-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba#t=2174) Agricultural Monitoring and Farming
- [52:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-14-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba#t=3169) Reorganizing Product Lines and Business Strategy
- [1:05:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-14-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba#t=3911) Test Fixtures and Analog Discovery 2
- [1:14:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-08-14-the-internet-of-septage-with-akiba#t=4465) Lifestyle Business and Future Plans

## Topics

- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Test & measurement](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/test-and-measurement)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Freak Labs (company)
- World Bank (company)
- SimCom (company)
- Sigfox (other)
- Semtech (company)
- LoRa (other)
- Wrecking Crew (product)
- Dangerous Prototypes (company)
- Let's Encrypt (other)
- Stripe (other)
- Zapier (other)
- Python (other)
- Flask (other)
- DJI (company)
- OpenMV (product)
- Raspberry Pi (product)
- STM32 (chip)
- Contextual Electronics (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Intelligent Dumpsters and Sustainable Waste Disposal with Ben Chehebar, VP of Hardware at RoadRunner Recycling, and Jason Gates, Senior VP of Strategy at RoadRunner Recycling](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-03-30-intelligent-dumpsters-and-sustainable-waste-disposal-with-ben-chehebar-vp-of-har) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [522: The Information Is In Poop](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2026-03-06-522-the-information-is-in-poop) (Embedded.fm)
- [Closing the Digital Divide with IoT | Kajeet's Greg Jones](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2022-03-01-closing-the-digital-divide-with-iot-kajeets-greg-jones) (IoT For All Podcast)
- [The Waste Management Industry with Jeff Satwicz, Co-Founder of Bigbelly](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-06-23-the-waste-management-industry-with-jeff-satwicz-co-founder-of-bigbelly) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Connected Workers and the Evolution of the Industrial Workforce | SensorUp's Steve Liang](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2021-10-18-connected-workers-and-the-evolution-of-the-industrial-workforce-sensorups-steve) (IoT For All Podcast)

## Citing this page

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