Getting Started with Waterworks

Waterworks is a camera-first iOS app for documenting and managing ranch water infrastructure. This guide will help you understand the app's core concepts and get started quickly.

Key Concepts

Camera-First Philosophy

Every workflow in Waterworks starts with a photo. Instead of filling out forms, you:

1. Point your device at equipment
2. Snap a photo
3. Check the experimental suggestion and choose the correct type

The app's on-device machine learning identifies equipment types and (in future versions) reads gauge values automatically.

Elements

An Element is any piece of water infrastructure:

Type	Icon	Description
Well	💧	Water source with depth and flow rate
Tank	🛢️	Storage container with capacity
Trough	🪣	Drinking station for livestock
Valve	⚙️	Controls water flow
Pump	⬡	Moves water between elements
Junction	◆	Connection point for pipes

Systems

A System is a logical grouping of elements. For example:

• "North Pasture Water System" - wells, tanks, and troughs serving the north pasture
• "Main Distribution" - primary pump station and distribution pipes

Systems help you organize infrastructure and visualize connections on a map.

Quick Start

1. Add Your First Element

1. Open the app - you'll land on the Camera tab
2. Point at a piece of equipment (well, tank, pump, etc.)
3. Tap the large capture button
4. Check the type suggestion and confidence percentage
5. Edit if needed, add an optional name
6. Tap Save

2. View Your Elements

1. Tap the Elements tab
2. Browse your documented infrastructure
3. Use search or filter by type
4. Tap any element for full details

3. Organize into Systems

1. Tap the Systems tab
2. Tap + to create a new system
3. Name it (e.g., "North Pasture")
4. Open the system and tap Add Equipment
5. Select elements to assign

4. View on Map

1. Open any system
2. Toggle to Map view
3. Tap pins to navigate to element details

Design Principles

These principles guide every feature in Waterworks:

Principle	What It Means
Camera-First	Photos are the entry point for equipment records.
AI Assists, Humans Decide	Every experimental suggestion must be checked.
Offline + On-Device AI	Works without internet. ML inference runs locally.
Glove-Friendly	44pt minimum tap targets. Minimal typing required.

Next Steps

• Field Pilot - Mapping routine and feedback checklist
• Product Overview - Current pilot scope
• Camera Capture - Deep dive into the capture flow