The has attracted engineers and designers from 18 countries, each tasked with designing something that solves a problem. Fifteen finalists will be announced on 14 September, but in the meantime, here are some of 51¶¯Âþ‘s favourites, including a life raft that produces drinking water from salty brine, and a hub system to convert a pedal bicycle into an electric-powered mobile environment monitoring station.
Firefighters’ latest weapon
When wildfires take hold, the first to arrive on the scene are “quick attack” vehicles – little more than modified off-road vehicles. What little water they carry for fighting the fire can destabilise them, leaving the vehicles prone to rolling.
The Amatoya, a concept vehicle designed by Liam Ferguson of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, offers the driver a better view of the fire from a high, central cockpit. The vehicle can carry 2200 litres of liquid in tanks just above the wheels, helping to stabilise the vehicle.
An onboard thermal imaging camera will help guide the driver into the thick of the action, where the Amatoya can do most to fight the wildfire.
(Image: Liam Ferguson/James Dyson Award)
Retrofitted bicycles go electric
Students at the at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hope to encourage more city dwellers to get on their bikes with the Copenhagen Wheel, an add-on device that turns an existing bicycle into a hybrid electric bike, while also converting them into mobile air-quality monitors.
Controlled from a user’s smartphone, the red hub contains a motor, batteries and an internal gear system to help cyclists reach their destination with minimum effort. It also houses location and environmental sensors that will help build up city-wide air quality maps which other cyclists can use to plan their journey.
(Image: Senseable City Lab/James Dyson Award)
Clean water with light
Chlorine and iodine tablets can take about 30 minutes to sanitise dirty water. This ultraviolet sterilisation bottle – designed by , a recent graduate of , UK – does the same thing in just 2 minutes.
The bottle contains a cafetière-like plunger to filter out particles larger then 4 micrometres. The clear water is then sterilised using a UV bulb powered by a wind-up generator. After 90 seconds, the water is safe to drink.
Tests demonstrate that the prototype can neutralise 99.9 per cent of bacteria and viruses.
(Image: Timothy Whitehead/James Dyson Award)
Water, water everywhere…
Dirty water is one problem, but salt water is equally undrinkable – a big problem if you’re on a life raft. Kim Hoffman, a graduate of the , designed the SeaKettle to convert seawater into fresh water.
Salt water is pumped into a Gortex-covered reservoir, where it evaporates in the sun, leaving the salt behind. As the evaporated water rises, it condenses on the canopy above, before trickling down into a separate storage pocket near the base of the raft.
The raft also offers survivors protection from the sun.
(Image: Kim Hoffman/James Dyson Award)
Gardening made easy
These seeds come encased in chemical fertiliser to give each the boost it needs to thrive once it germinates.
The designers point out that to novice gardeners, most vegetable seeds can look alike. To help aid recognition, the fertiliser “shell” is designed to match the seeds within – in this case, tomato seeds.
(Image: James Dyson Award)
