According to NASA Science, the Earth’s surface is covered by 71% of water and 96.5% of this water is saltwater, rendering the ocean water unsafe to drink.
Fortunately, ocean water will soon be drinkable especially by the sea nomads, thanks to three Malaysian students and their creative and unique invention! The WaterPod, as they call it, is a solar desalination system designed to provide drinking water to sea nomad communities in Malaysia, reported New Atlas.
The stylish and practically designed Waterpods are made with recycled waste from the ocean, and here’s how they work.
- Wick cords will be used to absorb the seawater.
- The seawater will be transferred to a layer of black fabric inside a transparent plastic dome.
- The sun will evaporate and condense the water before running back into a collection tray.
- Fresh water is pumped out and ready to drink.
Bennie Beh Hue May, Loo Xin Yang and Yap Chun Yoon, second-year students from the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) are the masterminds behind this unique creation. They are inspired to help the sea nomads, such as the Bajau people from Sabah, by providing them access to cleaner water. Ironically, sea nomads’ main source of water is often contaminated and polluted, despite living near a water source.
They are often required to travel under a long distance just for the sake of getting sufficient clean water, reported The James Dyson Award.
According to Boss Magazine, The Waterpod does not only help in providing cleaner water for consumption but will also contribute to the growth of fruits and vegetables on the island. Desalination, also known as the process of removing salt from seawater is an expensive and environmentally costly process. But the trio believes that their invention is set to aid the sea nomads greatly.
“The WaterPod emphasises sustainability in terms of material usage via a low-cost, yet environmentally-friendly desalination method to generate drinkable water for them.”
Additionally, they hope that The WaterPod brings awareness of plastic pollution and strongly encourages the community to collect the ocean plastic waste to turn it into something useful.
For their revolutionary creation, the trio has also been named 2021 National Winners for the International 2021 James Dyson Award. In brief, the James Dyson Award is an annual competition open for anyone who is able to uniquely design something to solve a problem. “The competition is open annually to designers who think differently, to create products that work better.”
It is certainly one of our proudest moments to see our local Malaysian students being recognised globally for their talents and skills!
What do you think of this? Let us know in the comments below.
Also read: This Cambridge-Based M’sian Scientist Won An Award From UK’s Royal Society For Cancer Research
