Product Design: Student Emily Bilbie invents amazing water purifying device

Every year the James Dyson Award throws up some potentially worldcvhanging inventions which kind of make me feel bad for doing so little with my life (comparatively). This year’s competition closes tonight but already a UK student has caught the eye with a great solution to the longstanding problem of access to clean water in developing countries.

Emily Bilbie of Loughborough University has invented Aquamenti, a transportation container for dirty water which is strapped round the wearer’s waist and uses the kinetic energy generated as it rolls to filter the water within. The device can purify 40 litres of water in a 1.75 mile journey and has been designed to be less strenuous than the traditional method of people (often women) carrying large pots or jugs on their heads.

Really impressive stuff – we’re sure Emily will be there or thereabout when the awards are handed out later this year.