Each year, the James Dyson Award celebrates the most creative inventions from around the world.
This year’s UK winner is a bizarre pinecone-shaped device which has been hailed as ‘wonderful’.
The oddly-shaped block has no moving parts, almost no metal, and is mainly made of charcoal and wax.
And, most strangely of all, the invention has been designed to be thrown out of helicopters over remote areas of forest.
So, can you tell what this strange unusual device, called ‘Pyri’, is supposed to do?
Each year, the James Dyson Award celebrates the most innovative inventions the world has to offer, can you tell what this years UK winner is supposed to do?
While it might be hard to tell based on appearances, the Pyri device is designed to help prevent forest fires by providing an early warning system to local communities.
Pyri’s design was inspired by ‘pyriscencent’ pine trees which only drop their seeds when wildfires melt their resinous outer casings.
Just like those pinecones, the device’s outer casing is made of a wax which melts as the heat of a fire approaches 80°C (176°F).
As the outer shell melts away it releases a saltwater solution whose electrolytes produce a small electrical current which powers a radio transmitter.
That radio signal is strong enough to be detected by towers which can triangulate Pyri’s signal over 50km (31 miles).
The strange device, called the Pyri, is contains no moving parts, is mainly made of wax and charcoal, and is designed to be thrown out of a helicopter. Pictured, co-inventor Richard Alexandre
That data can then be sent to local communities and firefighting services to provide an early warning against wildfires.
The young inventors of Pyri are Richard Alexandre, Karina Gunadi, Blake Goodwyn and Tanghao Yu, who met while studying at Imperial College and the Royal College of Art in London.
Richard Alexandre says: ‘As a Brazilian, I have a personal connection with the solution that we have created after seeing firsthand the devastation that wildfires caused in Pantanal.
‘As this devastation seems to continue around the world, we hope that with Pyri we can detect fires early enough to protect the earth from this kind of catastrophe in the future, bringing this solution to the communities that need it.’
The device has also been designed to blend into nature both in terms of its shape and its materials.
The Pyrie is designed to be an early warning system for forest fires. When the device melts at 80°C (176°F) it produces a signal which can be detected by nearby radio towers
Pyri uses only non-toxic material so that, whether it is burned or simply sits in the forest, it will not produce a negative impact on the ecosystem.
Even the wiring for the radio transmitter forgoes metal in favour of a carbon-rich charcoal composite which is capable of conducting electricity.
The unique saltwater power system also means that Pyri doesn’t need to contain a lithium or cobalt battery, which would produce dangerous fumes when burned.
Where metal absolutely has to be used, the device only uses a very small amount of non-toxic metals such as aluminium.
Thanks to its rugged, power-source-free design Pyri is also cheap to produce, easy to use and requires zero upkeep.
The device contains saltwater which is released as the outer shell melts. The electrolytes in the water produce a signal which creates a radio frequency from an antena made out of a carbon-rich charcoal composite
Mr Alexande even says that the devices could be tossed from firefighting helicopters over remote sections of forest to build a detection network.
This network could make use of existing communication antennae or dedicated receivers that could pick up signals from Pyri.
Only three towers would be needed to cover an area of 2,000 square kilometres (770 square miles).
Rumyana Dancheva, James Dyson Award UK judge, says: ‘I am delighted that Pyri is this year’s James Dyson Award UK national winner, as it is a wonderful example of an innovative idea that solves an increasing global problem.’
As award winners, Mr Alexandre and his team will be given £5,000 to further develop Pyri.
Inventor Richard Alexandre says he hopes the device could be dropped over forests to provide an early warning to locals when fires start and to help mitigate damage
This money will be used to help develop a working prototype and continue working with the communities that would benefit most from this invention.
This year’s James Dyson Award UK runners-up include a device to help people with Parkinson’s walk without difficulty and metal-free RFID tags for the fashion industry.
Pyri is the winner of just the UK leg of the international competition, so the creation will now progress to the international stage.
The award’s international winner will be chosen from a shortlist of national winners by Sir James Dyson, with the results to be announced on November 13.
The team behind the internationally winning design will also be awarded a prize of £30,000 to develop their project.
