9 Disaster-Relief Inventions

The All Terrain Solar Trailer (ATST)
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The All Terrain Solar Trailer (ATST)
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OpenRelief UAV
Public Lab (PLOTS) DIY Spectrometry Kit
Jeff Warren/Flickr
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Public Lab (PLOTS) DIY Spectrometry Kit
Spectrometers measure light's various properties by splitting the light into individual colors in order to study them separately so you can analyze the chemical makeup of a material. The PLOTS spectrometer is a DIY kit that allows everyday people to identify and analyze possible contaminants—such as oil that's entered your drinking water—following a natural disaster. It's crafted from simple materials including a VHS cassette case, black card paper, a piece of a DVD-R, and a USB webcam. As light enters the handmade instrument, grooves on the DVD—which is taped on to the webcam—create a prism that bends the light's wavelengths to different degrees, resulting in a spectrum that can be analyzed. Open-source software allows you to compare your findings to already-known samples. The kit costs approximately $10 in materials and requires one hour of construction time.
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Concrete Canvas (Rapid Concrete Infrastructure)
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Aid Necessities Transporter
Australian designer Bryan Lee developed the Aid Necessities Transporter (ANT) as a way to carry disaster relief supplies—specifically temporary housing units—over rough terrain. Built to work in unison, the way ants do, these concept vehicles are each equipped with six electric in-wheel motors as well as an all-terrain suspension system. A driver would ride in the ANT, Lee says; however, "they are meant to travel in groups and therefore don't need a navigator." The ANTs have two modes: A regular Transport Mode and Rapid Mode, in which the vehicle uses hydraulics to rotate its cockpit downward, transforming the ANT into a more aerodynamic shape for a swift return to bas
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CAAT Vehicle
Still just a prototype, DARPA's Captive Air Amphibious Transporter (CAAT) could make delivering disaster aid from commercial container ships vastly more efficient. How? Amphibious tanks. The CAATs are humongous vehicles (each one is expected to weigh 450 tons and measure 50 yards long) equipped with air-filled treads that provide buoyancy, allowing the CAAT to roll atop water and onto land. And with so much space, they'll be able to carry massive amounts of cargo. They will also sport snorkels—especially handy during severe storms.
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Disaster Relief Toilet
Industrial designer Rahim Bhimani created the Disaster Relief Toilet after witnessing the horrors of people having nowhere to dispose of their personal waste during the 2010 Chilean earthquake. His easy-to-assemble "comfort station" consists of an 18-inch-high flat-pack toilet, an encompassing tent for privacy, and a waste-disposal system that includes an easy-to-remove cart and a biodegradable drawsting bag. A person can piece together the plastic toilet with a coin or a butter knife, and it's ready for use.
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