How can drinking water be rapidly supplied to victims of a humanitarian crisis?
Millions of people are affected by natural disasters each year, often leading to contamination of water sources and damage to local infrastructure.
Image: www.indiagrowing.com
I researched international development reports to define the problem and completed an existing product/technology review to assess the current product landscape.
WaterWing is a rapid response water purification device that provides safe drinking water in disaster relief situations.
WaterWing is designed for airdrop by military personnel to allow rapid distribution into remote locations.
I visited the British Army at RAF Lyneham to research airdrop techniques.
To avoid damage, WaterWing slows its own descent to ground using biomimetics to imitate the flight behaviour of a sycamore seed.
I researched the physics of sycamore seed flight and used paper prototyping to develop proof of principle for flight technologies.
The main component of the product is a heat sealed plastic pouch, which acts as a portable vessel to purify and store drinking water in.
I developed a custom heat sealing system using a modified clothes iron and sourced suitable plastic film material.
The system uses PŪR technology to remove both physical and biological contaminants from water and is able to create ten litres of potable water in just thirty minutes.
I sourced PŪR sachets and created working prototypes to develop proof of principle for the water purification process.
The system separates the physical contaminants from the clean water using the available water pressure to push the contaminants out of a hand-activated valve on the bottom of the device
I prototyped a number of different separation methods and selected the valve method due to its simplicity and resistance to clogging.
Pictorial instructions are printed on WaterWing’s sides to guide the user through operation.
1. Fill the device using the jug provided
2. Hang the device in a convenient location and add the contents of one PŪR sachet to the water
3. Shake the contents of the pouch until physical contaminants start to coagulate then wait for coagulated particles to settle in the bottom of the pouch
4. Remove settled matter through drain valve
5. Leave water for twenty minutes to allow chemical disinfection to occur before drinking
Graphic communication and ease of use was refined through user testing.
Conclusion
The project was showcased at the Made in Brunel and New Designers graduate exhibitions.
