Examples of Frugal Innovation
Examples of Frugal Innovation
Lotta links
This is an accompanying post to my previous essay on frugal innovation.
Frugal innovation:
‘A resource-scarce solution (i.e., product, service, process, or business model) that is designed and implemented despite financial, technological, material or other resource constraints, whereby the final outcome is significantly cheaper than competitive offerings (if available) and is good enough to meet the basic needs of customers who would otherwise remain un(der) served.’ [source]
I have compiled some examples and resources I came across during my research.
If you not familiar with frugal science and tech, watch this TED talk first to give you a concrete idea of how it applies to a specific case, in this case frugal science application to biomedical investigations.
Lifesaving scientific tools made of paper | Manu Prakash Link to video
Lectures/Talks
2022 Frugal Science - Labs and Lectures from Stanford: https://www.frugalscience.org/2022-lectures
Nice paper from Bhamla Lab
Frugal Science powered by curiosity: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.iecr.1c02868
Foldscope
A microscope made (mostly) of paper.
Blog: https://www.wired.com/2014/03/paper-microscope/#intcid=inline_amp
Technical paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/1403.1211
Paperfuge
A buzz toy repurposed as a centrifuge.
Blog: https://www.wired.com/2017/01/paperfuge-20-cent-device-transform-health-care/amp
Technical paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-016-0009
Video: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-016-0026
Universal mobile electrochemical detector
A cheap detector that monitors diabetes and detects malaria and environmental pollutant.
Blog: https://phys.org/news/2014-08-cheap-compact-medical-simple-detector.html
Paper: https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.1405679111
Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS)
Millions of people still die worldwide from preventable water-borne diseases. SODIS can be effective in killing pathogens in water.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_disinfection
Paper: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acscatal.0c03325
Jaipur foot
A rubber-based prosthetic leg for people with below-knee amputations.
This is a product of a nice collaboration between an artisan and an orthopedic surgeon.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaipur_foot
Website:
https://www.jaipurfoot.org/
Onion harvester and Salt turner
The story of an ‘uneducated’ mechanic in India who improvised machines such as an onion digger and a weeder.
Blog: https://nif.org.in/innovation/onion-harvester-and-motorcycle-operated-salt-turning-device-/939
Patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/CN204265456U/en
Mitticool
An electric-free refrigerator made of clay.
A product: https://mitticool.com/product/mitticool-clay-refrigerator50-liter/
Portable foldable mobile lab
A Lab that can work not only in cities but in villages and remote locations.
Company's web: https://accuster.com/mobile-lab/
Solar Grandmothers
The Solar Grandmothers program is an initiative to provide solar power to rural African households using grandmothers as solar engineers. The program trains grandmothers in solar engineering and provides them with the necessary equipment to install solar systems in their homes. The program is designed to empower grandmothers and improve their quality of life, while also providing clean energy to rural communities.
Blog: https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/madagascar-s-solar-grandmothers-lead-a-renewable-revolution
Frugal innovation in Medicine.
Resources on the ‘four types of frugal innovation’ in medicine. Lean tools and techniques, opportunistic solutions, contextualized adaptations, and bottom-up innovations:
http://frugal-innovation-medicine.com/
Paper | Frugal innovation in medicine for low resource settings: https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-016-0651-1
Paper | Fast and frugal innovations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic