Robots and safety hoops: inventors devise quirky tools to help maintain distance
They say necessity is the mother of all invention, and amid the pandemic it has become necessary for us all to practice social distancing. This new way of living has paved the way for all manner of new inventions.
From India to Singapore, engineers and designers have been busy coming up with devices that will allow us to stay safe and virus-free in a post-pandemic world.
The robot dog
Spot, a robot dog created by Boston Dynamics, an American engineering and robotics design company, has been walking around parks in Singapore, ensuring people maintain a safe distance from each other.
The National Parks Board confirmed Spot will be patrolling a six-kilometre area of Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park during off-peak hours, playing pre-recorded messages that remind park users to observe social distancing measures.
Robot Spot, which will be controlled remotely, is also fitted with cameras to record how many people are visiting the park.
Fibreglass frames
This is another idea to help people maintain a safe distance in parks, and was created by design studio SBGA Blengini Ghirardelli. Named
C’entro, the modular frame is made from colourful fibreglass rods that snap together to form a circle on the ground for up to two people to sit inside, reports architecture and design magazine Dezeen.
A spacer attached to each hoop will show people how far they need to stay away in order to keep a recommended gap.
It is inspired by camping tents, and the frame, which would weigh a maximum of 500 grams, can be dismantled and carried around in a bag.
The Italian studio came up with the idea after the mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala called for people to come up with ideas on how the city could reopen after two months in lockdown.
A golf ball retriever
Cobblestone Golf Course in Georgia, US, has come up with a nifty idea for retrieving golf balls from putting holes.
It is called the E-Z Lyft and it plucks balls out of the hole without the need for a human to touch them, and without impeding on the normal course of play, reports Golf.com.
The device, which has a patent pending, features a handle that aligns with the flagstick and is connected to a plastic ring at the bottom of the hole. Golfers simply need to lift the handle with their clubhead and the ball rolls out.
An alarm system
Budavarapu Sneha, a student in the southern Indian state of Telangana, has come up with the idea for an instrument named Covid-19 Alert ID Card that will sound an alarm when anyone comes within one metre of the person wearing it, reports Telangana
Today newspaper.
Sneha has also designed a watch that will alert the wearer if they touch their face.