thegatesnotes/YouTubeAnother year, another new iPhone, but 2015 has seen technological advancement beyond what we use to get onto Facebook.
In fact there have been some pretty amazing innovations that should prove to make the world a far better place.
From helping the environment to ensuring newborns in developing nations are kept breathing, these are all game changers in their own right.
Machine That Turns Shit Into Clean Water
According to UNICEF roughly 2.4 billion people do not have access to effective sanitation facilities, and 663 million people still use unsafe water sources.
The incredible machine in the above video provides a solution to both issues in a self-sustaining, and potentially profit-turning format.
Having teamed up with expert engineers, the Gates Foundation’s machine can turn sewer sludge into safe drinking water, pathogen-free ash, and electricity in just minutes. Bill even has a glass to prove it works.
The machine produces enough electricity to fuel itself, and actually creates a surplus which can then be sold on.
Eco Bricks That Recycle Industrial Waste
As a nation India continues to grow rapidly. It is estimated that by 2050 it will surpass China as the largest population on Earth with a projected 1.5 billion citizens.
Two major problems will emerge from this growth. There will be high demand for housing and building materials, and more importantly, pollution from industrial waste will continue to increase.
The Eco-BLAC Brick has been developed by MIT students and will prevent the need to landfill waste materials by converting them into much needed building supplies.
Recycling at its finest.
Sheltersuit That Gives Refugees Jobs And The Homeless Warmth
Sheltersuit in Paris!We want to thank Offprint Projects for inviting us to their beautiful event at Beaux-arts de Paris, l’école nationale supérieure. With their help and the help of Leger des Heils we were able to give away 60 Sheltersuits to the Parisian homeless! Special thanks to Steve Iseger and his team from Infinity Studios for making this awesome video! Making it possible for us to share our joy of giving and helping others with you! Happy Sunday :)
Posted by Sheltersuit Foundation on Sunday, November 22, 2015
This incredible suit, produced in the Netherlands, uses recycled camping gear to provide warm clothing for those forced to live on the streets this winter.
What’s more, the charity making them is utilising the skills of refugees, many who have fled the crisis in Syria, in exchange for lessons and aid which will help their assimilation into Dutch culture.
People helping people to help other people. An amazing concept.
Affordable Prosthetic Limbs For Developing Nations
The ReMotion Knee has so far changed the lives of no less than 7,351 amputees with its revolutionary technology.
Not only can it withstand wet and humid conditions, but it is also affordable at just $80 (Around £53) per unit.
Mini Sponges That Can Plug Severe Wounds
This is the XSTAT 30 and it can seal severe wounds in less than a minute after delivering expanding biocompatible sponges.
Originally it was designed to help those injured in war and has been used on the battlefield by US forces since 2014, but it has now been FDA approved for civilian application.
This incredible device could mean the difference between life and death for countless people in the future as they are transported to receive care.
Device That Will Keep Babies Breathing
Child mortality rates are down and this incredible device could help that trend continue.
Respiratory issues remains one of the leading causes of death in infants, but with nothing more than a bucket of water this mechanism can ensure Nasal Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation.
Basically it will alternate the air pressure delivered to a babies lungs to stabilise severe respiratory distress without the need for expensive machinery.
Simple Kit That Helps Girls Wash And Dry Reusable Sanitary Pads
In the UK women are fighting against government plans to tax tampons, and maybe MP’s should look across the globe to realise just how important and essential the products are.
Many women are forced to miss school or work as a result of the stigma associated to their period. Many others get infections due to unclean or wet pads.
The Flo toolkit not only washes pads, but transforms to dry them effectively too. An absolute game changer for girls in developing nations.
App That Helps Blind People See
This wonderful app is so simple and can yet can make such a massive difference to people who are blind.
The premise is not a complex one. Blind users register and reach out to people with sight via a video messaging service. A volunteer responds and is in a position to explain what the blind person cannot see.
Give humanity its due, there are currently more sighted people registered to lend their vision on the Be My Eyes App than there are blind users, but over 114,000 people have been helped so far.
The Life Saving Dot
In India there are an estimated 350 million people do not consume enough iodine and subsequently suffer a debilitating deficiency.
This revolutionary bindi can ensure women meet the requirements of their faith while also delivering an all important dose of iodine, similar to how a nicotine patch works.
The Life Saving Dots are being distributed across rural parts of the nation, and at a cost of only ten rupees (ten pence) for thirty they are highly affordable.
Flat-Pack Shelter For Refugees
There is no shying away from the ongoing refugee crisis that has engulfed the world as innocent people flee their homelands in the search of safety, but the journey is often just as perilous.
But the Better Shelter is making sure there is at least some decent shelter, with ventilation and power from a solar panel. Being flat-pack it is also easily transported to where it is needed most.
It may not solve the crisis, but this effort from The UN’s refugee agency UNHCR, the IKEA Foundation, and Better Shelter is at least providing some modicum of comfort to people in desperate need.
With all these innovations maybe there is still hope for this world.
