Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) innovation saves 200 liters of water for each pond
The water crisis in Chile, which has led some 380,000 families to seek alternative means of supplying themselves with water, motivated a group of UC Engineering students to create a platform that saves about 200 liters of water for each pond that fills a tanker truck.
The project called Unu, which in Quechua means water, was awarded among 12 finalist ideas of the UC Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship contest that promotes the ANID Engineering 2030 program .
The platform tested in the community of Santa Sofía de Lo Cañas de La Florida, works through a sensor that measures the water level in the pond . If the level is low, the system automatically requests supply and schedules the order to a tank truck, depending on availability and distance.
The use of the technological solution has made it possible to save about 200 liters of water for each pond that a tank truck fills. For each family, this means a reduction of 10 to 30 percent in the cost of drinking water consumption by optimizing this supply alternative.
The other two awarded projects were Uvot, a grape bunch sorting robot, and Bottleficator, a machine that separates returnable bottles according to their brand.
The proposals submitted during the contest were evaluated by a jury made up of university professors and representatives of different technological innovation companies.
Other finalist ideas
VAFS: virtual assistant that allows increasing the learning of older adults in the use of mobile applications.
Conn-Experience: web platform that generates suitable jobs for
older people.
Consultisenior: online consultancy platform for recently retired professional seniors for SMEs.
SocialRouting: multiplatform application that connects carriers, suppliers and receiving warehouses in real time, improving costs and efficiency.
Beesion: application that allows to count and classify, in an automated way, the bees that are visible in the honeycombs. Also, take photos of the bee population in each hive.
Levitate: cheap anti-decubitus mattress that allows the patient to be lifted without generating physical effort.
Shafr: sensor system that maps agricultural land conditions to optimize the route of anti-frost helicopters.
Ostheoglove: exoskeletal glove for the remote treatment of osteoarthritis of the hand.
Hairsify: technology that helps the hair recycling process for its subsequent commercialization.