Global Grad Show 2021 is targeting a greener future: seed-planting robots and a way to keep plastic out of the ocean

(CNN) – Ideas are never lacking at the annual Global Grad Show in Dubai. Some might be puzzling, but others might change the world.

Billed as the world’s most diverse gathering of graduate design projects, the exhibition aims to provide solutions to social and environmental problems, with collaboration and agreements being part of its appeal.

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the international exhibition was partly virtual this year, but the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) section of the show was a face-to-face event as part of Dubai Design Week.

As in 2020, many concepts responded to the pandemic, with plenty of ideas adapted to “the new normal.” The director of the Global Grad Show, Tadeu Caravieri, told CNN that this year’s show had “two or three trends.”

“People are very concerned about health and mental health,” he explained. “The people are [también] concerned with how to make the home a civilized place for work, for education, for health care and food security. “

As always, the environment was high on the agenda, often coinciding with concerns related to the pandemic. Dalilah Mansoor and Kaya Tueni, students at the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, created “Wastology”, an indoor composting machine that also works for growing herbs and vegetables.

“We try to fix excess food waste in the UAE [Emiratos Árabes Unidos]”explains Tueni.” We hope that this small project, implemented domestically, can have a greater impact globally, “added Mansoor.

“Wastology” is a two-in-one plant grower and composter designed for indoor use. Credit: courtesy of Global Grad Show

Mazyar Etehadi, a student at the same institution, also looked home with “A’seedbot,” his solar-powered robot designed to sow seeds in the desert. “I wish there were more plants, more vegetation out there,” he said.

A’seedbot is about 20cm long and designed to recharge during the day and work at night. Working autonomously within a five kilometer radius, its 3D-printed paws crawl through the sand in search of the right humidity levels (detected by one of its “eyes”) to plant a seed. Thanks to built-in collision avoidance, humans only have to take care of refilling the robot.

“I think it was an easy solution to come up with, but no one had thought of it,” Etehadi said, adding that he is working on a version capable of navigating different types of sand and that a few investors were showing interest in creating it.

A’seedbot is a solar powered seed planter robot designed to charge its battery during the day and work at night. Credit: Global Grad Show

For her part, Darya Ercivan decided to put a new spin on laundry and came up with a way to trap microplastics at their source. The Middle East Technical University student explained that clothes often contain plastic microfibers, which come off during washing and can end up in rivers and oceans. “I try to solve this problem before it pollutes our waters,” he said.

EcoPhil is Ercivan’s solution: it is installed in the front of the washing machine and filters the water that comes out of it, preventing microplastics from entering the wastewater system. Ercivan claims that an app will even indicate when the filter should be replaced.

Ecophil is a solution to prevent microplastics from clothing from reaching wastewater. Courtesy Global Grad Show

Caravieri anticipates that environmentally conscious innovations will only increase in future exhibitions at the Global Grad Show. “I think the conversations that are taking place now will have an even bigger impact on applications in the years to come,” he said.

He also claims that the exhibition is the perfect catalyst for change. “The Global Grad Show has that power, it awakens something in you,” Caravieri said. “First it motivates you; [luego,] it gives you hope that things can change faster than we think. “

“No other group is as well equipped as academic innovators to create real and tangible change,” he added.