Award-Winning Invention of the Day: Australian designer Edward Linacre, of the Swinburne University of Technology, has received the James Dyson Award for his invention of the Airdrop, a self-powered irrigation device.
The Airdrop extracts water molecules from the air and delivers them to crops, and its design was inspired by the Namib beetle, which survives in the desert by collecting fog droplets on its wings.
Sir James Dyson said, “Biomimicry is a powerful weapon in an engineer’s armoury. Airdrop shows how simple, natural principles like the condensation of water, can be applied to good effect through skilled design and robust engineering.”
For his trouble, Linacre received a $16,000 award and a $16,000 donation to the university where he teaches.
Runner-up inventions included a portable room divider for hospitals, a cane that uses social media to help blind people meet up with friends, and an arm to help amputees avoid re-innervation surgery.
Check out a video of the Airdrop after the jump.
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