A device tackling ocean plastic waste, a heavy-lifting exoskeleton and an automated pollination system are just some of the thought-provoking entries that have entered the 2018 James Dyson Award so far.  If you haven’t entered your project yet, there’s still time.

Sustainability

Our oceans are swamped with eight millions tonnes of waste every year. To abate a potential crisis in our ecosystem, technology must react quickly and students in Spain think they may have the answer. L.I.F.E. (Living Incorporated Filter Ecosystem) is engineered to dissolve plastic waste, filter toxic water and foster life underwater. Click here for more information.

The future of work

Reports suggest that 800million jobs could be lost by 2030 due to automation, and already robots are competent in conducting physical activity. Compiled with the prevalence of injury in the sector, manual labour jobs appear most at risk. EXOSUIT aims to empower human labour by correcting overexertion and incorrect lifting and maximising strength. Click here for more information.

Sustainable agriculture

As bee numbers decline across the globe, the United Nations claim that the world's food supply could be jeopardised. If this trend isn’t curbed, industry must develop alternative mechanisms for pollination. Stem is an automated system which artificially pollinates plants and optimises their growth. Click here for more information.

Space exploration

From space colonisation, to space tourism, Space and Exploration Technologies are increasingly de rigueur, yet space exploration currently incurs a high-level of risk. Extravehicular activity (EVA) is a primary example of this, as it involves missions outside of a spacecraft, leaving astronauts vulnerable to unanticipated difficulties. Despite this, audio is the currently the principle method for communication. Astronaut Augmented Reality Display, aims to make astronauts more autonomous during mission by providing them with new communications tools including a visual display, voice control and audio. Click here to find out more.

Air pollution

According to the World Health Organisation, every year over 7 million die prematurely from chronic illnesses after being exposed to air pollution; of these deaths, 1.7 million are children. Robi, is a wearable device designed to educate children about air quality using colour, sound and vibration, whilst also cleaning the air using a carbon filter. Click here to find out more.

The James Dyson Award

The competition is open to student inventors with the ability and ambition to solve the problems of tomorrow. Winning solutions are selected by Sir James Dyson and show ingenuity, iterative development and commercial viability. This year Mexico, the UAE, Sweden and the Philippines, have joined the global contest. With students from 27 nations now competing, the award is set to welcome new approaches to a broader range of global issues than ever before.