Aquaduct

My invention is pretty simple. The Aquaduct by IDEO is a cycle like no other It is a bicycle that has a water tank in the front with two compartments and a filter inside one of them. A tank contains dirty water and the other is empty. When we cycle, the dirty water is filtered and will drain into the empty reservoir, which is placed on the handle bars. and then it gives us clean water ready for drinking.

This concept tricycle was being shown off at the Design Indaba conference which was held in Cape Town, South Africa.

The bike was designed so that is can help people who live in the developing world, who have to make long journeys when going for water. This water is often unsafe to drink as it has not been purified.

Aquaduct was developed for the Innovate or Die competition organised by bicycle manufacturers Specialized, and won first prize

The functional model was designed and constructed over a three week period

The vehicle seeks to address the two main challenges with water in the developing world: sanitation and transportation. Water-related diseases kill thousands of people each day. Moreover, water sources can be miles away from the home, and women must walk these distances carrying heavy water vessels. The Aquaduct is designed to allow a person to sanitize and transport water simultaneously

As the rider pedals, a pump attached to the pedal crank draws water from a large tank, through a carbon filter, to a smaller clean tank. A clutch engages and disengages the drive belt from the pedal crank, enabling the rider to filter the water while traveling or while stationary. The clean tank is removable and closed for contamination-free home storage and use the only drawback is that the dirty water reservior is small so it fills up quickly.