Design Indaba 08: IDEO cofounder Bill Moggridge presented this concept tricycle that purifies water as the rider pedals, at the Design Indaba conference in Cape Town last month.
Called Aquaduct, it was developed to help people in the developing world who have to make long journeys to collect water, which is often unsafe to drink.
The tricycle has a large water tank mounted over the rear axles. Pedalling draws water through a filter to a second, removable, tank mounted in front of the handlebars.
Aquaduct was developed for the Innovate or Die competition organised by bicycle manufacturers Specialized, and won first prize. Watch a video about the trike here.
The designers who worked on the project were Adam Mack, John Lai, Eleanor Morgan, Paul Silberschatz and Brian Mason. Photographs here are by Nicolas Zurcher.
The following information is from Ideo:
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The Aquaduct is a pedal powered concept vehicle that transports, filters, and stores water for the developing world. The functional model was designed and constructed over a three week period for the Innovate or Die contest hosted by Google and Specialized.
The vehicle seeks to address the two main challenges with water in the
As the rider pedals, a pump attached to the pedal crank draws water from a large tank, through a carbon filter, to a smaller clean tank. A clutch engages and disengages the drive belt from the pedal crank, enabling the rider to filter the water while traveling or while stationary. The clean tank is removable and closed for contamination-free home storage and use.
The entry placed first in the contest and the $5000 prize money will be donated to Kickstart, a company focused on water solutions for the developing world. Two of the sponsors of the contest, Specialized and Goodby Silverstein & Partners, matched the donation to total a $15,000 impact.
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Posted by Rose Etherington
It’s great to see a bicycle that transports water, but at the end of the journey you have a large amount of dirty water and a small amount of clean water? How about a transport bicycle and a separate water purifier that uses gravity to run the water through a filter? I’m not so sure about the combination…
March 11th, 2008 at 6:02 pmsodis or solar system by meda and co are better solutions.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:26 amsee on you tube
March 12th, 2008 at 5:29 amhttp://www.youtube.com/group/innovateordie
Looks interesting. How much does it cost? I can imagine people paying money to have clean water to drink, but I have a hard time imagining they’ll pay to make their daughters’ morning water-collecting easier. How well does it work as a general bicycle? It’ll inevitably be used for that too.
My favorite water purifying method is the Potters for Peace filters. They’re made locally in >20 countries, and retail for $10-15 (when not subsidized):
March 12th, 2008 at 7:09 am-their site: http://www.pottersforpeace.org
-2nd video on the page: http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/Events/design-for-the-other-90-symposium
isn’t this a bit ridiculous? a bike with 2 wheels will be far easier to ride, faster, more efficient and cheaper to make. balancing the water will be no more difficult than balancing yourself. and how is someone in a “developing nation” supposed to maintain a big plastic bulb of nonsense. why not tow the donut someone released a while ago? or fill the frame hollows with water? i used to like you IDEO….
March 12th, 2008 at 9:01 pmHow about a bike that makes beer…now that would be progress…!!!
March 12th, 2008 at 10:09 pmdo you knox solex ? it’s difficult to drive…
March 13th, 2008 at 5:07 am