When you say the name ‘MIT’ then very little else needs to be added to it. Over the years, it has gained a reputation and an image of excellence that is almost unmatched across the planet. While the detractors might say that it is just hype, they must understand that it is no political organization working for selfish motive. MIT has been at the cutting edge of technology and it is not just this single quality that sets it apart. It is its amazing ability to produce innovators and creators and not just followers. Now they have shown once again that the same is true with the latest batch of brilliant brains that they are producing.
Seven teams of 18 students in this year’s 2.009 Product Engineering Processes class, taught by David Wallace, were asked to design projects, gadgets or even concepts that were based on the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle, and then develop it into a prototype product. The students responded with wonderful enthusiasm and more importantly commitment that gives the planet a hope that we have a better tomorrow. The seven teams came up with not just theoretical concepts which had no significance or value in the practical world, but they made prototypes that might all go on and become actual products and help make the planet a greener and better place.
Solar-powered bin that automatically sorts the recyclable bottles and cans dumped into it is a concept that is already there for commercial use. The bin, called Recycl-o-sort, is being tested in Boston’s Codman Square area as part of Family Inc.’s recycling awareness campaign and a citywide antilitter campaign. This product uses a turntable which has sensors that identify an object and the substance it is made out of. This helps it sort out bottles in to plastic, tin or glass segments. It sounds really nice and saves us plenty of time and space of placing extra bins.
The other prototypes include insulation technology for homes, easier way of sorting out coffee beans, extracting butter from Shea nut that can be used both for cooking oil and cosmetics, using a bicycle-powered grinding machine and a hand powered TV remote. While all these look cool, they also have incredible practical value. They have been designed keeping in mind the problems of various parts of the world and are soon going to be tested practically. One hopes they come off great and these young minds have a great future. It is efforts like these that are the starting steps of making the planet better and restoring some of its lost greenery and goodness back to it.
