In its new Problem Solvers series this month, Great Big Story meets the creators based in Singapore pushing the boundaries of technology and making innovative products with a social impact for communities at large.
Check out these five stories from the ‘Problem Solvers’ series, which launched throughout the week of August 10:
Robot Hand Glove: For the first story of ‘Problem Solvers’ series, Great Big Story explores a new rehabilitative tool that can help restore function to people with injuries and neurological conditions affecting their hands. The device, EsoGLOVE, is a robotic hand engineered to help people get a grip. Jane Wang, co-founder and CEO of Singapore’s Roceso Technologies, demonstrates how the soft, lightweight, computer-assisted glove guides fingers and thumbs to perform everyday tasks. Technologies like the EsoGLOVE can be lifechanging especially for aging populations.
Mosquito Nursery: Mosquitoes are not merely a nuisance. The insects spread a potentially deadly tropical disease called dengue, which is a threat to about half the world’s population according to the World Health Organization. Great Big Story meets with Dr. David Du, co-founder of Singapore start-up Orinno Technology, who is working with Singapore’s National Environment Agency to combat the health crisis by lowering the mosquito population. Using new technology, including a larvae dispensing system that divides pupae based on gender, Dr. Du is breeding male mosquitoes and altering their ability to mate successfully.
Third Wave Power: There are more than two billion people on this planet with limited access to electricity. Many are using devices like kerosene lanterns that aren’t safe, or good for the environment. Which is why Vishnampet Sethuraman Hariharan, the founder and CEO of Singapore’s Third Wave Power, has created illumination options that rely on renewable energy sources like the sun. Among them — a solar lighting system that can be easily carried and used anywhere. Hariharan hopes to contribute to a growing culture of clean technologies in Southeast Asia.
Astropreneur: The fourth story follows the journey of Mohammad Danesh, co-founder of Singapore startup Transcelestial Technologies, who has built a compact laser communication device that’s at the heart of allowing everyone to have access to high-speed internet. By extending the reach of the internet, he may also be helping to bridge the digital divide for those in need around the world. Danesh tells Great Big Story how his strategy works and shares otherworldly ambitions involving space lasers and satellites that could further revolutionize internet delivery.
Tiny Sponge: Singapore’s Carbon Fiber Aerogel is a super sponge capable of soaking up organic material like oil and fat from water and absorbs 190 times its weight in waste, contaminants and microplastics. It might even be used to clean up offshore oil spills in the future. With urbanization and global warming, much of the world today lives in areas of high-water stress. Creating technologies that can clean waste water on a mass scale are more important than ever. Andre Stolz, CEO and co-founder of Singapore’s EcoWorth Tech, shows Great Big Story how this reusable sponge is made and explains why it’s so amazingly absorbent.
