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(24) 8 Cool Inventions By Filipinos To Help Battle COVID-19, From Robot Alcohol Dispensers To Disinfectant Drones – Philippians (Las Isles Filipinas) – Forum (amazians.com)

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COVID-19 inventions by Filipinos

While most of us are stuck at home waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to blow over, our scientists and researchers are hard at work. For months now, they have been working on ways to get through this pandemic as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

And these ways include a couple of technological inventions that make certain processes, such as disinfecting and testing, easier and safer. From robots to drones to mobile apps, here are 8 Filipino COVID-19 inventions developed to combat COVID-19, and that are as useful as they are cool.

1. CabinIITz disinfection cabin by MSU-IIT

Image adapted from: CDODev

For those of us at home, disinfecting mostly means washing our hands and spraying every surface with Lysol. For healthcare workers, it means layers of protective gear, washing or even disposing of PPEs, and taking long showers before going anywhere else after work. 

To make the process quicker and more effective for frontliners, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology invented CabinIITZ, a disinfection cabin inspired by Vietnam’s scientists, which people can walk through to get themselves sanitized. 

The design, primarily made of plastic sheets, a tent structure, and machines such as sprayers and water pumps, is portable and cheaper than Vietnam’s design, costing less than P50,000 (~USD989.58) each. 

The MSU-IIT team is still working on the final product, but we hope to see them rolled out in Iligan soon.

2. Thermal scanner drones by DWARM Technologies

Image credit: DOST via Philippine News Agency

These might look like regular drones, but instead of taking really cool pictures, they scan body temperatures. The 6 artificial intelligence-powered thermal scanners attached to each drone can identify individuals with high body temperatures, while the drone itself alerts the operator with a buzzer sound, and takes pictures of the individuals if needed.

Developed by start-up company DWARM Technologies and backed up by Far Eastern University and UPSCALE Innovation Hub, these mobile thermal scanners are expected to be pilot-tested in Quezon City and Caloocan by May 2020.

3. 3D-printed face shields by different groups

Image credit: Estella Clarisse Glifonea

Because of the lack of protective gear for our frontliners, those who want to help have found different ways to improvise. These 3D-printed face shields are one of these creative solutions.

Image credit: Estella Clarisse Glifonea

Different groups from all over the country have been using 3D printers to create face shields made of 3D printer filament, acetate film, and rubber. Some volunteers have even found a more eco-friendly option, swapping out the filament, a type of plastic, for polylactic acid to make the shields biodegradable.

If you have a 3D printer at home, or have acetate films lying around, 3D Printing For A Cause PH on Facebook is a group that you can join, whether to volunteer to print face masks, or to donate materials and lend printers if you have them.

4. WeTrace by DXFORM INC

Image credit: Google PlayStore

Image credit: Google PlayStore

The people of Cebu City are already required to use the app. After entering your full name and contact details, the app will start tracing the places you go to. To ease your Black Mirror-induced worries, this information will be auto-deleted after 30 days.

Developed by a Cebuano scholar of the Department of Science and Technology, along with start-up DXFORM INC, the app is only available in Cebu and Central Visayas for now. Also, Apple has yet to approve the app on their App Store for iPhones, but Android users can download the app from the Google Play Store now for free.

5. Turbo Kool by Gary Vazquez

Image credit: Edgardo Gaddi Vazquez

Though Filipino inventor and entrepreneur Gary Vazquez’s Misty Kool and Turbo Kool – mist-dispensing machines – weren’t invented specifically because of the COVID-19 pandemic, these machines are a big help during this time. They spray disinfectants over a large area to sanitize any surface – the Misty Kool on a smaller scale for areas such as rooms and offices, and the Turbo Kool on a larger scale, for places such as roads and public areas.

Vazquez has been working with a disinfecting team, visiting places such as the Malacañang Palace, Greenhills Shopping Center, and Wack Wack Golf and Country Club to sanitize these areas with the aid of his inventions.

6. LISA the robot by UST Faculty of Engineering

Image credit: Team USTH

Healthcare workers need to go from room to room in hospitals, and doing so without proper protective gear means potentially exposing themselves to the COVID-19 virus. That is why the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Engineering invented the logistic indoor service assistant (LISA), a machine that allows doctors and nurses to check on their patients without entering their hospital rooms. 

The robot consists of three main parts – the iPad or tablet, the remote-controlled body, and a compartment for storage. Healthcare workers communicate with the patient via video call on the tablet, and can send medicine via the robot’s compartment box, all of which reduces the need for physical interaction, thus reducing the risk of transmission of the virus.

7. Robot alcohol dispensers by Dr. Yanga’s Colleges, Inc.

Image credit: @lenirobredo

We all love to assemble a good Lego set, but the robotics head from Dr. Yanga’s Colleges, Inc., Beryl Cruz, proved that there’s more to these toys than fun and games by creating automated robot alcohol dispensers from Lego bricks.

Aside from being made of Legos, these robots also have sensors, both for sensing when to pump out alcohol, and the exact amount to give. Not only is it a cool invention, it also reduces the need to touch surfaces such as pump heads or bottles. These nifty machines can now be found in churches, public markets, and hospitals in Bocaue and Malolos.

8. Disinfectant drones in Pasig City

Image credit: @jmnualla

Pasig City and how well Mayor Vico Sotto is handling this pandemic leaves everyone saying, “Sana all”, and these disinfectant drones just add to the sentiment. Sotto initially bought these models to help farmers with pest management, but repurposed it to disinfect the city.

Each drone can hold up to 10 liters of disinfectant, then spray up to an area of 1,000 sqm. The drones have been operating since March, and several netizens from Pasig have already caught sight of them flying overhead.

Filipino COVID-19 inventions to help the Philippines fight the pandemic

If you’re feeling inspired by these Filipino COVID-19 inventions, but lament that you’re not a scientist or inventor, you can still help out in these times by donating money or volunteering with organizations that are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in their own ways.

If all else fails, you can still take heart that even if you’re staying at home and doing nothing productive, you’re helping by slowing the spread of the virus, so that’s a big help in itself, too.

8 Cool Inventions By Filipinos To Help Battle COVID-19 (thesmartlocal.com)

Good work fam, we need more people like you to inspire the younger generation. 

Flips are into knife fighting.

Pana

The pana appears to have been invented in prisons or among street gangs in the Philippines.  It is essentially a type of slingshot weapon, but unlike the traditional slingshot which uses a Y-shape handle with two rubber strips and a pocket to hold a "round" projectile such as a pebble, the pana uses a simple straight stick as a handle with a single rubber strip connected to one end of the stick, the other end of the rubber strip being connected to a loop (usually a metal loop) which the dart is placed upon.  Moreover, it's the head or front of the dart that is connected to the metal loop which is unlike a slingshot or bow and arrow where it's the back of the pebble or arrow that's connected to the slingshot's pocket or the bowstring respectively.

The origins of the pana is that it likely was an improvised weapon among prisoners or street gangs.  Simple materials are used such as a stick (of any material), a rubber strip, a metal wire for the loop, nails that are fashioned at the tip that allow it to connect to the loop, and plastic strips or rice bag strips for the nail's fins or stabilizers.  

Pana actually means bow, as in bow and arrow, among some of the Filipino languages.  

Indian pana in movies compilation - YouTube

Shooting pana darts - YouTube

Pana darts 2 demo - YouTube

The pana is a fairly unique weapon in my opinion.  As mentioned in my previous post, it's at the head or front of the dart where the rubber strip (the sling) connects to the dart via the metal loop.  Essentially the sling pulls the dart forward, and the dart naturally releases itself from the rubber strip.  Most weapons push their respective projectile, but in the case of the pana, the projectile (the dart) is pulled.  The center of mass of the dart is behind the head or front of the dart where the rubber strip is connected to.  This is equivalent to saying that most of the mass of the dart is behind the head or front of the dart where the rubber strip is connected to.  Therefore, the dart is being pulled and not being pushed.

As mentioned in my previous post, a slingshot pushes its projectile (a pebble).  The pebble is placed inside a pocket, and when the sling is retracted and then released, the sling and the pocket push the pebble forward.  The force being applied to the pebble is at the back of the pebble. 

The sling and similar weapons such as the staff sling (fustibalus), piao shi, and kestros all have their projectiles being pushed from the back.    

In a bow and arrow assembly, the bowstring applies force to the back of the arrow.  The same thing with the crossbow.  

The atlatl and woomera and swiss arrow also apply force at the back of the spear or dart.

Throwing a spear or javelin with one's hand and arms applies force to the back of the spear or javelin.  

Catapults, traction trebuchets (mangonel), and counterweight trebuchets all apply force to their projectile from the back.

Torsion powered weapons such as the ballista and onager all apply force to their projectile from the back.

More modern weapons such as guns, cannons, and rockets all apply force to the back of the bullet, cannon ball, or body of the rocket respectively.  

Sports such as baseball and cricket (throwing with your arm and hand, or hitting the baseball with a bat), throwing an American football, kicking a soccer ball, hitting a golf ball with a golf club, hitting a puck with a hockey stick, hitting a ball with a field hockey stick, hitting a ball with a polo stick, hitting a tennis ball with a tennis racquet, hitting a ping pong ball with a paddle, hitting a racquet ball or squash ball with a racquet, a shuttlecock with a badminton racquet, throwing a pelota with a xistera (cesta) in jai alai, a lacrosse ball with a lacrosse stick, throwing the shot put ball, and many other examples all apply force to their respective projectiles from the back of the projectile.  

The only examples of a weapon that's "pulled" that I can think of is shooting rubber bands.  When you shoot a rubber band, you pull back on the rubber band (at the rear end of the rubber band) with one hand and the front end of the rubber band is held fixed with your other hand, and then it shoots forward in the opposite direction.  Essentially the hand or finger that holds the rubber hand fixed "pulls" it forward if you want to think of it that way.  But in this case, the rubber band is the projectile and the sling at the same time, whereas with the pana, the sling and projectile are two different components.

Some throwing weapons are also pulled forward when thrown such as the boomerang, frisbee and aerobie, chakram, throwing knives and throwing axes, shurikens, the Apache throwing star, and bolas.  When you throw a frisbee and aerobie (either with a backhand or forehand swing), you hold and release the frisbee and aerobie from its front part.  The same with the boomerang.  The chakram  is thrown using the tajani technique whereby you insert your finger through the chakram, spin it, and then release it in the direction that you want it to go (which is the forward direction).  But your finger is released from the chakram at the precise moment that it is at the front portion of the chakram, hence you are pulling the chakram in the forward direction.  The same can be said of throwing knives and throwing axes, shurikens, the Apache throwing star and bolas, as you hold and pull on one end of the weapon then swing your arm forward and release.  But with the pana, the projectile (the dart) is not thrown as it uses a sling.  The arm and hand is essentially like a sling for these throwing weapons.

As I've never thrown a discus or done the hammer throw or studied them very well, I can't say too much about these two projectiles, but they appear to be pulled forward also.