An interactive playground with a toy could generate clean energy for the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. This is the Pygene project, created by a group of six graduates from different faculties around the world, including Brazilian Pedro Baron Drudi, a student at USP's School of Economics, Administration and Accounting of Ribeirão Preto (FEARP).
With the objective of supplying electricity to places without adequate infrastructure, the project participated in the international program Global Challenge Lab 23. Students from 18 universities around the world participated in the competition, submitting 68 projects. Pygene was one of the six finalists.
How Pygene works
According to research conducted by project members in Morro do Sereno, Rio de Janeiro, the community faces three challenges related to electricity: high prices, lack of maintenance and electrical infrastructure, and lack of street lighting and constant blackouts.
According to data collected, in the region, 64% of the population does not pay for energy and 76% complain about the lack of street lighting. "At Pygene, we see electricity accessibility as a collective program. And we believe that public activities are the answer," Drudi explains in the project's video presentation.
To create a clean source of electricity, the Pygene project proposes using magnetic generators in a spinning toy to transform rotational energy into electricity. "There are approximately 4 million children in Brazil's favelas. In about 30 minutes of play, we could generate enough energy to light 23,000 streetlights for 4 hours at night," added the student.
Although Pygene was not one of the three Global Challenge Lab champions, the project gained recognition and prominence with its passage through the competition. And the benefits of putting it into practice would end up being many: power generation, creation of leisure spaces, increased safety, among others.
The complete Pygene team is formed by:
- Pedro Baron Drudi, a student at USP's School of Economics, Administration and Accounting of Ribeirão Preto (FEARP).
- Ingrid Wong, from the University of Toronto
- Michael Luciuk, University of Toronto
- Zoe Hua of Durgam University
- Calista Lee, Imperial College London
- Makafui Frederick Hayibour, University of Ghana
To learn more about the project, check out the video presentation below, made for the Global Challenge Lab.
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