Isabel Payne, a product design engineering student at Glasgow School of Art, won first place for a remarkably useful device called SafiCase. The SafiCase is a device for cleaning and steam sterilising re-usable menstrual cups, using minimal water. The case is entirely self-powered, using a solar battery for the sterilising circuit, and is targeted at women who want something to use when they are nowhere near an electricity source, or any running water. It is collapsable so can be carried easily.
Payne used medical grade silicone for the collapsable casing; polypropylene for the circuit housing, water spout and lid, and HDPE for the solar battery base.
“This is a great solution to safely clean a menstrual cup without power, and to maintain hygiene,” said chairman of judges, Richard Brown. “This product uniquely addresses the off-grid challenge, and meets a very clear social need, not just for the traveller but also, for example, displaced people living in refugee camps. It was very well researched and is a very worthy winner with a product idea which could be commercialised,” he added.
Payne has received a prize of GBP 1,000, a placement with a DIP sponsor, a year’s membership to the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), and an invitation to the annual banquet of the Worshipful Company of Horners.
“It means such a lot to have a platform for dealing with the issue of period poverty, which is rarely spoken about, despite affecting so many people worldwide and around 40% of women in the UK,” Payne commented. “I hope this design helps bring awareness for reusable options, and helps other people decide to invest time in designing more solutions, as there is very little innovation in this area.”
The second- and third- place winners also came from Glasgow School of Art.
Jake Lee designed the SkinTemp, a cold-water temperature sensor that alerts users to dangerous drops in body temperature. He used Poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA, for the central module of his product; fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) for the flexible thermo-electric generator pads housing, and liquid silicone rubber (LSR), for the watertight seal.
Jem Mitchell came third for Sentree, a solar powered sonic deterrent that protects trees from being overgrazed by animals such as deer. He used polypropylene for the casing and many internal parts; TPU for the elastic belt, and foil for the sensing interfaces.
Highly commended awards went to:
- Gargi Agrawalla (Product Design and Technology), Loughborough University, with ‘Ear Boost+’, a compact healthcare case that dehumidifies cochlear implants and charges their batteries simultaneously, while being powered independently.
- Brandon Hopkins (Product Design), London South Bank University, with ‘Saltbuoy’, a free-drifting oceanographic data buoy powered by salt-water batteries. It collects real-time data for pollution, weather and climate research.
- Joe Shade (Product Design), De Montfort University, with ‘Bijou Smart Hive’ – a smart beehive using solar power and sensors to monitor the conditions of the hive and the bees to keep them healthy and productive.
