SUTD’s final-year students projects showcased

SINGAPORE — A food storage device that can keep fruits and vegetables fresh for the same duration as a refrigerator, but using just a tiny fraction of the electricity — this was one of the products that students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design have come up with.

The food storage device, which uses 1.5 per cent of the energy compared to a mini refridgerator, was one of the 53 projects showcased by the pioneer batch of 300 SUTD final-year students yesterday (July 31).

The device comprises compartments for fruits, where air is sucked out to keep fruits fresh for a longer time. There are also ultraviolet LEDs which flash at intervals to kill bacteria and any micro-organisms that may grow on the fruit from being exposed to the external environment. For green and leafy vegetables, they designed a water bath in the device to submerge the vegetables to keep them hydrated.

The group that came up with the idea said the device is targetted at people living alone as they would not need large refridgerators that take up more space and guzzle energy.

They are also exploring ways to improve their design further. Mr Clarence Teo, 25, a member of the group, said: “We found that there are a few food types which cannot be kept fresh without cool air, these are meat products and dairy products ... we want to figure out if there is a way to incorporate cool air in order to keep these items fresh as well.”

The projects on show yesterday were ideas thought up by groups comprising students who learnt different subjects in the university to solve real problems.

Their projects spanned issues in areas such as healthcare, sustainable architecture design and smart technologies.

Other projects that were on show include a wearable device for children that helps parents communicate with them and be updated with their child activities by a phone application. Features of the device include location-tracking and real-time communication by recorded voice messages which can then be sent over a 2G network.

Another project was conceived under the idea of providing electricity to those in rural parts of India who cannot be productive when night falls because of the scarcity of light sources.

The contraption has an “energy harvesting” device which uses kinetic energy to generate electricity, such as through daily activities like drawing water from a well and using a swing. It is paired with a light–emitting wristband.