Entrepreneurship
Check out some of the ingenious student ideas for disrupting the status quo that were selected as finalists in the Red Bull Basement innovation program.
As tech natives, today’s students are able to envision huge possibilities for technology. And they most definitely aren't satisfied with doing things the same old way simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.”
So it’s exciting that finalist student teams from universities worldwide will be sharing their brilliant tech ideas to change the future at the Red Bull Basement Global Final on March 24-27 in Istanbul, Turkey. Motivated by keynote speakers, mentors and workshops, the teams will collaborate and pitch their tech ideas to a panel of judges, with each centred on one of eight sustainability categories inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
All the finalist ideas are available to explore at the Red Bull Basement website. Get a taste of just a few of them below.
Pedestrian walkway tiles that activate built-in LEDs
From Loughborough University comes an enlightening concept in the Energy category. “Travelling home alone at night can be intimidating, especially if your path isn’t lit. The immediate solution is to install more streetlights; however, running these lights is expensive and adds to light pollution,” say students Teiba Ahmed and Amy Dring.
Their tech solution? Pedestrian walkway tiles activate built-in LEDs, lighting the walker’s pathwhen stepped on. Using a combination of kinetic and piezoelectric energy-harvesting technology, these 'Starry Light Tiles' are also self-sufficient, generating and storing electricity with every step.
Autonomous vehicles that collect undersea waste
Ibrahim ELGhotmy and Abdul-Rahman Muhamad from Alexandria University Faculty of Engineering envision 'Ocean Guardians,' an interconnected network of solar-powered AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) that find and collect plastic waste, cleaning the undersea environment while collecting data about endangered marine species.
Putting their focus on Climate Action, the team says: “We want Ocean Guardians to come to life so that we can save marine life and leave a cleaner ocean for future generations.”
App that connects people in need of help with immediate care
A team from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology wants to address the category of Empowerment by enabling people to get first responder help as quickly as possible. As team member Josephat Maina explains, “Thinking of how to save lives during emergencies led to our solution, Siren, which connects patients in dire need of healthcare workers, ambulances and healthcare facilities.”
These students believe that their Siren app could address both mental and physical needs. A patient’s nearest medic could be summoned to provide attention through an associated network of professionals even before an ambulance arrives.
Smart trash bin that automatically sorts waste
Red Bull Basement’s Official Technology Services Partner, NTT, brings together thought leaders and students using their innovative hybrid experience services. Once again, they are supporting a wildcard team in the Global Final line-up. This year’s NTT wildcards are two Digital Management students at H-FARM, Filippo Casellato and Umberto Bolzoni. They have a tech idea in the category of Smart Cities for making waste sorting easier and more effective.
“Every year, only 55 percent of garbage is recycled, and not everyone knows how to divide it properly, notes Casellato. Their E-Trash smart bin recognises the composition of garbage and automatically puts it in appropriate compartments. The team is also looking at using solar energy to make their bin self-powered.
Smart mouse pad that averts repetitive motion injuries
In the Body & Mind category, Vasil Kostin and Tomáš Trejdl from the Third Faculty of Medicine at Charles University are developing a smart mouse pad, called Wrest, that can avert Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). Wrest senses wrist pressure and position, alerting users when they are pressing too hard and reminding them to exercise their wrists or take a break.
“Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the second most common occupational medical condition,” the team-mates explain. “No matter how hard you work, the desire to stay healthy [should] always come first.”
Automated study tool
From Arizona State University comes an idea in the area of Education for empowering students to overcome academic challenges. “Often, the hardest part of studying for exams is knowing where to start. Students can waste hours poring over lecture notes and scouring the Internet, only to realise they haven’t effectively studied,” Sylvia Lopez points out.
She and her team-mate Brinlee Kidd envision a tech solution called Jotted. This automated note-taking tool would generate flashcard sets by identifying key terms and information within lecture notes in real-time, also compiling related information, creating practice quizzes and more.
Portable drinking bottle that sterilises water anywhere
When Bárbara Paiva, a student at Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, learned that 1.5 million people die annually from diseases that could largely be prevented through safe drinking water and sanitation, she decided to do something about it.
Addressing the Clean Water category, her AQUALUX bottle would filter and sterilise water using sunlight. Needing no conventional power source, AQUALUX could provide clean drinking water anywhere, both for people who live in areas without access to basic sanitation and for visitors to remote locations, like hikers and campers. Paiva explains, “The project aims to ensure quality water for everyone, at all times.”
App to help career path decisions through professional input
In the Career category, two women from Ichec Brussels Management School want to make it easier for young people to explore their potential paths through FindYourPro. This app would connect students directly with professionals in their fields of interest to become aware of the possibilities and get a clearer view of what they want to do in the future.
“It’s normal for young students to feel confused when having to choose a career,” explains Hajar Saidi, while her team-mate Kawthar Saidi adds, “We think this idea will help a lot of students enormously, including us!”