If the future is already not upon us, it will be in a decade’s time. An era dominated by AI-driven robots, intimidating Gundams and biological warfare. While the latter one we all don’t want at any cost, walking around in a drivable mech will still be cooler.
A Japanese robot manufacturer wants to make owning a ‘Transformable Mecha Suit’ highly feasible if you can spare $3 million. The wait time of 12 – 18 months from the time of order sounds agonizing, but having it eventually is any day better than not having one if you are filthy rich!
Designer: Tsubame Industries
Meet the 4.5-meter tall, four-wheeled gargantuan robot dubbed “ARCHAX” that looks like the Gundam from the popular Japanese animated series. This 3.5 tons robot set to make its official debut at the Japan Mobility Show later this month is making the news for all the right reasons.
As per Ryo Yoshida, Chief Executive of Tsubame Industries, “Japan is very good at animation, games, robots and automobiles so I thought it would be great if I could create a product that compressed all these elements into one.” Ryo who has been building robots and prosthetics since an early age, believes his creations will ultimately help in disaster relief or the space industry.
The agile mecha can move forward on two wheels and turn into a vehicle depending on the terrain it’s commanded to scout on. The robot is loaded with sensors and nine cameras so that the pilot can maneuver it from inside the cockpit loaded with four display screens and an air conditioner too.
In the vehicle mode, it can reach speeds of up to 6 miles per hour. The real-life mecha has movable arms and legs that can be controlled via a joystick and foot pedals – now how cool is that? For those who can afford the towering sum of money to walk around like no other soul in the city, the ARCHAX is going to be available in six color options – Sapphire Blue, Pearl White, Spark Red, Atlantis Green, and Midnight Purple. Only five of these are going to be made, according to Tsubame, and they could ultimately be real-life crime fighters if put to good use. Does that remind you of the Transformers already?
Nowadays almost everything is being 3D printed, so why should architecture be an exception? Many architectural firms are adopting 3D printing as their preferred technique for building structures. And 3D-printed architecture is slowly but surely gaining a lot of popularity and momentum. And I mean, no wonder, it has a ton of benefits! It’s a simple, efficient, and innovative technique that lowers the risks of errors, and also manages to save time. 3D printing eradicates a lot of tedious steps during the construction process and simplifies it.
Japanese construction startup Serendix created a popular tiny proof-of-concept last year, and it was up to code for Japanese earthquakes and European insulation standards. And recently they unveiled ‘Fujitsubo’ – a small home priced at 5.5 million yen or around $37,600!
Designer: Serendix
Dubbed Fujitsubo or “the barnacle”, the compact home occupies only 538 square feet, which is pretty small in comparison to the average new American home, which is five times larger. This 3D-printed home features one bedroom, one bathroom, and an open living room connected to a kitchen…and it only costs as much as a car! The home is ideal for a couple or one person. You can contribute the size of the home to the economical price tag, which isn’t found in the US since local rules require minimum sizes for houses and lots, and the cost of land makes it almost impossible for developers to create smaller homes.
The roof is made of panels that are cut by a computer numerical control (CNC) machine, in which pre-programmed software controls the movement of factory tools and machinery. Serendix said it took 44.5 hours to print and assemble the home. Since 3D-printed construction isn’t a feasible option for populated and dense urban areas, as there isn’t much extra land available there, and even if there is, it is not an economical option, Serendix has decided to focus on building in small towns with an ample amount of empty space available.
“In the automotive industry 40 years ago, the price reduction of products began due to innovation of the manufacturing process using robots. We believe that the 3D-printed house is the beginning of the complete robotization of the housing industry,” Serendix said in a statement. The company is currently using five printers to build their homes (50 per year) but by next year they plan to add twelve more printers and build almost 850 homes every year!
Ever wondered what happens to that packet of Doritos or Lays once you throw it in the trash? Chances are nothing. Thin plastic packaging (especially the metallic multi-layered kind used for chips/crisps) is notoriously difficult to recycle… which is why realistically, almost 0% of it actually does end up being recycled. “This is because flexible packaging results in a low-value, high volume, composite waste – up to 5-6 different types of materials – that is considered economically and technically impossible to recycle,” explains Anish Malpani, founder and CEO of Ashaya – a social enterprise that aims to increase the value of waste through technological and scientific innovations in recycling. The India-based company has, however, spent the last two years tackling this problem head-on, arriving at a unique solution – a way to turn these low-value plastic packets into granules that can then be injection-molded into sunglasses. Meet the ‘Without rSunglasses’, the world’s first (and only) sunglasses made from packets of chips!
Designer: Ashaya
What makes the plastic packaging used for your chips so great, is also what makes it so dangerous. It’s designed to be flexible, lightweight, low-cost, and single-use. Great for the consumer, but not so much for the environment. Trillions of these packets end up in landfills each year, and there’s really nothing much we can do about it. These packets are a majority of the waste collected by waste-pickers too, adding strain to their jobs with no reward because there’s no value in a trashed plastic bag. The folks at Ashaya hope to change that.
The Without rSunglasses look like your typical stylish wayfarers, but as the name suggests, they’re made without virgin plastic, without guilt, without harming the environment, and without exploiting workers. Each pair of matte-black frames contains up to 5 recycled plastic packets that are thrown in the trash. Ashaya’s team of waste-pickers collect the trash from in and around the city of Pune, bring it to the lab, and process the plastic packets into ready-to-mold granules. The result is a pair of frames that look so perfect, you’d think they’re made from virgin plastic… and thanks to Ashaya’s unique business model, the waste-pickers also benefit directly from all of the rSunglasses’ sales.
The frames are made using a patent-pending process that doesn’t just recycle plastic, it invigorates it too. Ashaya’s team chemo-mechanically extracts materials from plastic waste, converting the waste into high-end products that feel just like regular plastic and have the same long-lasting properties too. Each pair of spectacles recycles up to 5 packets of plastic, and although that might not sound like much, the Ashaya team is hoping to scale the technology up. The Without rSunglasses are just their first product, with plans for other plastic items in the pipeline.
UNDP estimates that India alone generates 65 million tonnes of waste each year
The patent-pending chemo-mechanical process to extract plastic from single-use packets
The sunglasses aren’t the only bit of innovation here. Ashaya actually hires its own waste-pickers, pretty much covering the entire supply chain. These otherwise marginalized professionals are made a part of Ashaya’s operations in a more substantive way, with the company following a profit-sharing model with the waste-pickers, ensuring that they’re compensated fittingly for their work. Profits from the sales of Without rSunglasses go towards helping the children of waste-pickers get a quality education, ensuring they have a bright future.
“Waste pickers in India are the backbone of the recycling industry in the country yet there is no formal economy for them. They are informally employed – no contract, no protective gear, no health insurance, while earning only daily wages based on the type of waste they encounter,” says Malpani. “It’s also a generational occupation – once you’re a waste picker, there’s a high probability your child will also become a waste-picker.”
“Our mission at Ashaya is to increase the value of waste, and fairly redistribute that value to stakeholders in the supply chain, especially those who are the most exploited: waste-pickers; to bring them permanently out of the cycle of poverty, while also making our planet better,” Malpani adds.
