It is widely agreed that hydration packs are far more comfortable and can hold more liquid than bottles, but that they have one major drawback — you cannot tell how much liquid you are drinking, nor how much you have left.

Hydrate Mate is looking to solve this problem; it is touted as the world’s first electronic fuel gauge and app for hydration bladders, enabling monitoring and maintaining of hydration levels on the move. In other words, by connecting to the hydration bladder, it knows how much liquid you are drinking and how much you have left, and can send this information to a companion app (on iPhone or Android smartphones).

The device does its magic by measuring the pressure in the hydration pack and from that reading calculates the amount of liquid left inside the pack. It also has an internal accelerometer which measures the tilt or angle of the bladder, and therefore ensures the measurements provided are correct no matter how the bladder is positioned in the hydration pack.

It’s only obvious that Hydrate Mate is not made for everyone; rather, it targets serious runners who can’t get enough water from bottles, or who don’t want to carry them around. The project is looking to raise £12,000 on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo from where a single unit could be pre-ordered for £20. Deliveries are set to start in July.