Silly Sustainability
We all know that sustainability these days is needed. If we want to create a livable planet for our next generations, we need to keep an eye on mother nature for instance. Over the last few years, sustainable concepts and project have been arisen in a big way. Everything is taken so seriously. But can’t we look at the fun side for once?
Play with the bin
The creators of TetraBIN thought so. They had the intention to take the term ‘garbage’ to a fun level. I think they did a good job. This Augmented Reality trash bin has been combined with an old game, named Tetris. When someone throws something in the bin, a LED light display will get activated, turning into a Tetris piece. In addition, it also makes retro videogame sounds. This piece of virtuality meets reality makes throwing garbage in the bins rewarding for kids and even for adults. Keep the streets healthy and clean!
Farm on the counter
And then we go from the streets to the kitchen. Although we people are at the drop of the hat, we are still eating way to many meat. Insects are a replacement of meat and have been a trend for a few years. But now you can breed your own insects on the kitchen counter. Katarine unger Developed the Unger farm 432 at the university of Vienna. It is a little fly incubator that provides you from a protein source. Fly larvae’s are put into the farm, they grow, they mate, they reproduce, they grow more and eventually they will become part of a big plate of risotto. The video above will introduce the system! Fun right, this different kind of pet?
Tram look-a-likes
Finally, we go from the kitchen back to the outdoor streets. Siemens and the South Coast Air Quality Management District will open an E-highway, especially made for trucks. This because trucks produce a big amount of CO2. Instead of normal sustainable electric concepts, which gain their electricty via solar panels, this one works different. Trucks will have the same construction on their roofs as trains and trams do. This system reaches to an electric cable system, spanned above the E-lane. When touching the cable, the trucks will get speed, up till 90 km/h. It is a fun variation on normal e-ways, like the bike highway in Korea I mentionned in one of my latest blogpost.
A fun twist
These new variations on sustainable concepts, give the term ‘sustainable cities’ a fun twist. For a long time now we are known with the term and we know we have to be caring about het planet. Although, big steps haven’t been made yet. I think these kind of sustainable projects indirectly make people more aware of the situation, but in a fun way.
Fun with a serious goal
To get the result we want, the fun factor could possibly be the right one to make us people doing the right move on the sustainable path. When something is fun, people are more willing to be a part of it. It could easily give us more awareness of the fact that a healthy environment lifts up our Quality of Life perception.
The tetris bin, the Fly incubator and the Truck E-highway. These are all examples of how a funny factor in a sustainable concept can give it a refreshing turn. Sometimes we have to think about a more amusement like edge on a basic project to make it a little more likable.
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