Tag Archives: ces2021

This compact water recycling system reduces carbon footprint, lowers bills & mitigates the global water crisis

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Hydraloop not only designed an award-winning water recycling product but also made an eye-opening documentary that shows you how easy it is for everyone to recycle water – stream the Brave Blue World on Netflix for an unfiltered story on water and climate change! This water recycling system looks like a slim closet and can be used in any building or home, anytime. Hydraloop was presented at both CES 2020 and CES 2021 where it received notable attention for being one of the most innovative designs in the sustainability, eco-design, and smart energy categories.

Only 0.014% of the total amount of water on earth is fresh and available. It is one of the most misused natural resources and with the increasing global population, we have to use it in the most efficient way possible and make sure we don’t dry out our planet. Four billion people are already facing severe water scarcity and by 2035 40% of the world’s population could experience serious water stress. By 2050 the water demand is projected to grow by 55%, including a 400% rise in manufacturing water demand – to be able to meet the needs of almost 10 billion people in the next two decades, we need to take important steps right now that can save up to 95% of your shower and bath water alone and enables you to reuse up to 85% of the total in-house water. So even on an individual level, you can add your drop to the ocean and make a positive impact.

Hydraloop’s goal is to create compact recycling systems that can be used at offices, hotels, apartment buildings, homes, and anywhere else with running water – they want to make it easy for everyone to recycle water without having to go through complicated machinery or expensive infrastructure upgrades. It collects water from washing machines, bathtubs, showers, and air conditioning systems. This water is then cleaned and disinfected using their technology to make it reusable keeping in mind that treated gray water should not be directly used to drink to cook. It can be re-used for toilet flushing, washing machines, garden irrigation, and topping up swimming pools which can save up to 45% on tap water and 45% on sewage emission with recycled water. The system is easy to install, completely automatic, self-cleaning, and doesn’t use any filters or chemicals.

Hydraloop’s systems are powered by electricity and uses an extensive six-step process – sedimentation, flotation, dissolved air flotation, enforced skimming aerobic bioreactor, and a UV light disinfection. The latest Hydraloop (H600) can recycle about 260 gallons of water per day for homes and small businesses. “The easiest way to recycle water is to clean it right where you use it – decentralized. By recycling at the source we can make an impact on the global water crisis,” says the team which is why they designed the appliance to be used in any space. If you have a larger company or setting, the Cascade offers commercial-grade, water-recycling capabilities for your needs. Hydraloop future proofs buildings by increasing their value, lowering the running expenses for water as well as energy, and reduces carbon footprint by 6%. It makes any home or business less dependant on the grid while making it easier to live sustainably. Hydraloop is also contributing towards four of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – clean water and sanitization, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, as well as climate action.

Designer: Hydraloop Systems BV

ICYMI: More gadget highlights from CES 2021

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While CES was a bit different this year, we still managed to check out a number of inspiring new devices, apps and services. While we acknowledged the most promising tech in Engadget’s Best of CES awards, there remain a bunch of gadgets that didn’t m...

Meet the Box, a sustainable and safe alternative to cardboard packaging that can be reused for a 1000 times!

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The year of the pandemic has changed the way people use e-commerce – online shopping figures have scaled new pinnacles, meaning there is an abundance of packaging waste ending up in landfills. Cardboard has its own merits as a packaging material but the amount of waste it generates is inseparable. Thankfully then, there is a Berlin-based brand dubbed LivingPackets, which has conceived an ingenious solution to minimize waste associated with shipping.

The company has designed an alternative to cardboard boxes and it’s simply called ‘The Box.’ Four years in development, it was again revealed at the CES 2021 with some improvements. The Box is a sustainable option for the e-commerce industry and can allegedly be used to ship up to 1000 times. In contrast, cardboard boxes have a single life from point of packaging to the point of delivery. If the municipality at the location of delivery recycles, the cardboard gets a new lease of life; else it goes waste and injures the environment. In addition to the sustainability aspect, the neatly designed ‘Box’ is equivalent to approximately two shoe boxes and it can be used to ship a large number of commodities. Interestingly, the Box can even fold flat to ship important documents or a laptop. Traditionally sending an important paper by mail/courier is not at all safe – you cannot be sure how it’s being handled on the way – and you have to rely simply on the logistics company’s tracking mechanism to know where your parcel has reached.

The Box is going to revolutionize this when it is mass-produced toward May this year. The inventive box comes embedded with GPS to allow the sender/receiver to track the package from point A to B and everywhere in between in real-time using a dedicated app on a smart device. Simply place the item inside the Box, close it, enter the destination, and the onboard e-ink display will double as a traditional print label to update its journey status.

LivingPackets’ Box is currently in beta testing with partner companies, which include e-commerce stores, logistics, and even insurance companies. To ensure the commodity in the package is safe – not just because it is trackable – also safe in transit, the Box features temperature and shock sensors. There is also a provision to include a camera inside in the future, which would allow people to keep an eye on the product they’re shipping within the Box packaging.

Since this packaging solution seems too good to be true, most of us would instantly count it out for being expensive and for the elite only. However, the environmentally friendly and innovative Box is pretty affordable, in fact, the company wants to keep the costs as low as traditional cardboard packaging. At the end of the life cycle, the Box will be repaired and refurbished to “be used additional 1000 times” LivingPackets claims. Proposing to eliminate up to 90-percent of carbon dioxide emissions, the Box has a holding mechanism within, which means not just the cardboard is replaced, the air-filled bubbled plastic, Styrofoam, etc. used to secure products inside the packaging box are also eliminated. Now that’s fab – I can’t wait to see this new package land at my doorsteps one fine morning!

Designer: LivingPackets

 

Lenovo Japan president weighs in on how weird concepts make it to market

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We've previously established that the NEC Lavie Mini -- that 8-inch laptop that doubles as a gaming machine -- is a charmingly weird concept that stands a solid shot making it production. To learn more about the Mini, and to get a broader sense of th...

Samsung just debuted the Galaxy SmartTag, a portable Bluetooth tracker for your keys or wallet

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Launched as a part of Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event running simultaneously with the CES 2021 showcase, the Galaxy SmartTags are Samsung’s take on object-trackers and are the company’s way of showing their intention of capturing the tracker market before Apple launches their own speculated ‘AirTags’. The Galaxy SmartTag is a tiny tracker that runs on BLE and works exclusively with Samsung Galaxy phones (a pretty strong ecosystem lock-in), allowing the phone and tracker to play their version of hot-and-cold to locate each other. In short, a proximity meter appears on the Samsung phone and the closer you approach the tracker, the higher the reading on the meter.

The Galaxy Tag runs on BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and fits on your keychain, in your wallet, or even in your laptop bag. It pairs with the smartphone via Samsung’s SmartThings app, which can show its last known location on a map as well as the proximity meter when you’re actively searching for the tag. Conversely, you can make the tag emit a beep or chime too, to help give you a sense of direction. The Galaxy SmartTags are no different from the Tile or Chipolo trackers in their functionality (although they do look slightly thicker in the image). Strangely enough, they’re only compatible with Samsung Galaxy devices, and whether that’s a decision to the benefit or detriment of Samsung will only be evident when the $29.99 tracker begins shipping on the 29th of January. Your move next, Apple!

Designer: Samsung