Pretoria – Third-year Tshwane University of Technology student Denzill Bothma has come up with two innovative ideas to keep people safe – food trucks on the move and a smart mask to avoid cellphones from touching faces.
His first concept, a mobile shop that brings food and other essential items to your doorstep, resulted in Bothma, of Montana Park being shortlisted for the prestigious international Global Grad Show.
The initiative by the Art Dubai Group called on university professors and students across the world to look for solutions to Covid-19 collateral issues.
The competition received entries from 125 universities in 40 countries.
The entries were evaluated by a jury of representatives of four private and public organisations in Dubai.
Bothma said he was delighted to have been shortlisted.
The industrial design student said: “My idea was to design products or create ideas which will focus on either prevention or to support people in lockdown, with the ultimate aim to develop products that can sustain into the future.”
His shortlisted entry – a hub wheeler – is designed for street food movement while ensuring the seller and the buyers practised physical distancing.
Bothma explained that a fleet of trucks would be equipped with essentials ranging from food, beverages, sanitisers and cleaning products and pet food.
The trucks will give communities who are in self-isolation the opportunity to shop from right outside their homes.
The second design he submitted, but which did not make the shortlist, is a micro mask aimed at safeguarding cellphone users. “Cellphones are a risk for contamination because of frequent exposure to surfaces.The idea is to use re-purpose old materials, such as pillows, adding Bluetooth headphones to create a smart mask. The headphones keep the mask in place, allowing users to take or make calls without bringing the phone to their face.”
Bothma said entering the competition helped him to come to terms with the lockdown and got his mind off things.
He is no stranger to achievement. In his second year he won a competition for industrial design students. He designed a “beach muncher” – a device which is attached to the back of a tractor or bakkie and pulled along a beach to pick up rubbish.
“My dream is to become a freelance industrial designer – to design and create products that improve the world around us,” he said.
The organisers of the Global Glad Show will engage with the shortlisted students and professors to identify those proposals which can successfully be implemented.
The winner of the selected proposal will be awarded his or her tuition fees as well as support for concept development and business building.