Tuesday, October 30, 2012

NU # 6 by NBerroya -bathroom water recycling

Nyel berroya
NU # 6 (revised)
Hi Prof Jorge! I am sending new NU12 #6 because my original entry entitled "How to discipline buses and riders?" is not posted in the blog. I hope this will get accepted. Thank you!

Recirculating water in a household bathroom

Other than laundry area, an average Filipino draws more water by taking a shower, flushing the toilet and using the sink inside the bathroom. Aside from water, it draws energy as well using the bathroom than any daily household activity. A typical household would use 20,000 – 100,000 gallons of water in a year depending on the family size and number of bathrooms inside a household.

Why bathroom? Because water treatment is very expensive and it's better to start in an area of a household which consumption of water is high. There is already a study where bathroom particularly shower water to meet potable-water standards. On the average, we take a shower 2-3 times a day, uses the toilet 5-8 times  a day depending on how hydrated we are, and uses the sink 5-8 in a day depending on our bathroom behavior. 

 The goal is start and promotes sustainable water process by recycling water starting inside our household which is affordable, easy and effective. What is the market? To every Filipino household which generally have a bathroom? Sustainability is responsibility of everybody especially concerning to Mother Nature such as water. Introducing this kind of technology to Filipinos will be effective especially on water conservation. Water bill is significantly decreased which is a good investment for long term.

The invention is a sure hit so it's better to have it patented for intellectual rights internationally. How it works? The bathroom water treatment system and recirculation process will have separate water tube/tank miniature facility/plant located underneath the bathroom that continuously captures, cleans, and recirculates 70-90% of water used for shower, toilet and sink inside the bathroom. There is filtration process to filter used water then heated to kill bacteria. It'll use 40-60% less power because the system doesn't have to heat so much with special mini water treatment. It circulates through the heat exchanger and mixes with new cool water before entering water tube as good water. 

This eco-technology promises to its clients to save household water by 60-80%. Pricing range is affordable to average Filipinos to promote Eco-technology starts in the house. 
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NU # 12 Invisible Heels for Men’s Shoes by Jane Labarrete


Invisible Heels for Men's Shoes

At the age of puberty a lot of men panic resolving their genetic inheritance or curse of resolving their height issues. A lot of men wanted to be tall as a sign of superiority. Society defines men to have more appeal and opportunities when they are taller and boosts their self esteem to go greater heights. So what's left for naturally small men? Who says heels can only be for women? This may sound so gay but the idea is to have invisible heels for men that will add up 2-3 inches to their height without even noticing it.  This will be a built-in heel inside the shoes of every men who have height problems. You elevate the shoes from the inside which is invisible from the outside. This will definitely resolve height inferiority issues of men. It will not only add up to their visual appeal but also to their self esteem without looking so gay.3
By: Jane Labarrete

NU12 Idea #9 by Mariko Franca “Auto-Dry Umbrella & Raincoat”


One thing that's a hassle when it rains is when you use your umbrella and go inside a building (i.e. mall, school, or office).  You bring in your dripping umbrella.  It's good if you go inside a mall because they usually have plastics available where you can put your umbrella but offices or schools do not usually have those.  Some establishments provide a box where you can place your wet umbrella but I hesitate in leaving mine there because someone might steal it or take it by mistake.  So I thought what if the umbrella has its own heating or drying capability.  We will call it the Auto-Dry Umbrella.  There will be a central mechanism located in the handle and minute "arteries" that branch out to the shade part.  You will push a button to release heat that will dry your umbrella in less than 30 seconds.

I would also like to have an Auto-Dry Raincoat especially when there is strong rain and the wind is blowing diagonally.  The raincoat provides better protection and can keep your clothes dry.  The only problem is when you ride a jeep or bus, the raincoat drips and wets the floor and your seatmate.  It is also a hassle to remove it then hold it while inside the vehicle then put it on again.  With the Auto-Dry Raincoat, you can dry your coat as you enter the vehicle and you don't need to remove it anymore.

The central mechanism will be battery-operated.  We can also make the central mechanism solar-powered so that whenever you use it on a sunny day (for the umbrella) or hang it out to dry (raincoat), the mechanism will recharge.4

NU12 Idea #7 Revised by Mariko Franca “Multi-Purpose Bed”

One of the things I did when I rearranged the bedroom I was sharing with my sister was to remove our study table.  I thought I can do my homework downstairs in the living room or on my bed since I have a portable laptop table.  You see, our bedroom is now too small for the both of us so we had to remove things to free up some space.  However, sometimes I think of bringing back the table because it can get quite tiring to be sitting in my bed and crouching over my laptop table while doing school and work tasks.  But we also love the freed up space.  What if I can make my bed serve also as a study table?

For example, my bed looks like this (pretend it has legs):



From the Front view shown below, we can see
that the bed has three sections (A, B, C).  The blue arrow indicates that section B will move vertically while sections A and C remains horizontal.


To turn the bed into a table, push the button to make it look like this:


In this Side view we can see how it will look afterwards.  The red arrow indicates that a portion of section B can be moved downwards so the person can put his or her feet through the bed and sit with the feet on the floor.  We can add a fourth section, D, by the pillow side.  It can also go vertical to provide the user something to lean on just like a chair.

I recommend this bed to those living in small quarters like in the dormitory, condominiums, or those with small bedrooms.  Hospitals can also use this instead of having a separate table for when patients eat.

NU12 Idea #10 by Mariko Franca "O2Bike"

I heard somewhere that some see the bike as the most environment friendly vehicle because it does not emit gasoline.  Not to mention that it also provides the rider a means to be healthier.  What if your bike can do more than that?

I introduce the O2Bike (pronounced 'oh-two-bike').  It converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen (O2) while it moves.  The frame of the wheels of the O2Bike acts similar to a real plant because it goes thru the process of photosynthesis.  The frame contains "absorbers" that collects the CO2 from the environment (i.e. from the air, the car beside you).  All you need to do is to make sure that you pour in water inside the frame (there is a small hole for it) because CO2, water, and sunlight are needed in the process.  No need to worry about sunlight because you can get it from the environment as long as it is not raining.

With the O2Bike, you achieve three things:  a) Help decrease pollution because you convert the CO2 gas emitted by cars into O2; b) Provide other people and yourself cleaner air to breathe; and c) Keep yourself healthy. 4

NU#10 Social Network Traffic Alert Geographical Positioning System




Social Network Traffic Alert Geographical Positioning System
            GPS is such a great help because we all get directions from it especially for those who often get lost. However, given that even MMDA alert is a great partner with the installed GPS in cars because it gives us a hint of what the traffic feels from somewhere, it fails to give real time updates. The idea behind this dilemma is to develop a social network GPS traffic alert. It functions like facebook in term of social network function but focused on real time traffic updates. Once this is installed in your phone, it will give you directions which ideal path to take to veer from traffic. How? The application would detect if your car slows down and the application would directly ask you how heavy or light the traffic and directly alerts all members of this application real time. This will not just connect people but it creates a community helping one another and suggesting ideal routes to take.  So say bye-bye to false traffic update alerts and say hi to winning new network to enjoy real time traffic updates. 3 < I understand such apps exist, or some some cars have such a feature>
By: Jane Labarrete