Yakov Migas, a student at the Siberian Federal University has designed a house covered in grass. Picture: Yakov Migas
By Olga Gertcyk: From levitating grass houses to kindergartens made of cheese and containers that heat themselves via text message. When it comes to innovation, Russia has a long and proud history at developing some of the most important inventions in history. From the helicopter to the radio, and from yoghurt to the solar panel, our people have contributed greatly to the development of global science. Creating new ideas, and experimenting with clever designs, is something entrained deep in our psyche and amateur engineers in Siberia continue to come up with new ideas today. Some are truly innovative. Others may well require more work. Here, the Siberian Times looks at some of the inventions developed across the region recently that could soon be heading our way. THE 'LEVITATING' GRASS HOUSE: Resembling the home of the children's television characters, the Teletubbies, one Siberian student has designed a house covered in grass. Combining two traditional Siberian buildings – a log house and a dug out – it sits above the ground and comes in an easy-to-fit kit that can be put up anywhere. The brainchild of Yakov Migas, a student at the Siberian Federal University, its basement flooring is made of larch logs while the roof is made completely of grass. The living area is suspended from the roofing, allowing it to levitate above the lawn. A prototype is now being devised. CARS RUNNING ON PINE CONES: Enterprising Siberians Kirill Busenius and Dmitry Vlasov have adapted a car to run on logs, cones, animal waste and even old socks instead of petrol. Inspired by car owners in the Second World War – who used such means to power their trucks – they fixed a special generator to the back of an old Moskvich to turn solid and liquid fuel materials into gas for running the engine.
Enterprising Siberians Kirill Busenius and Dmitry Vlasov have adapted a car to run on logs, cones, animal waste and even old socks instead of petrol. Pictures: Ivan Reizvich/NGS.ru
And driving at a maximum speed of 90km per hour, a 15kg bag of logs is enough to go for about 120km making it more efficient than normal petrol. Some dubbed it Siberia's 'Back to the Future' car because it bears a crude resemblance to the time-travelling vehicle powered by recycled garbage materials in the Hollywood movie. MOSS DIAPERS: How about some baby nappies made of moss? Scientists in Tomsk have created quite a stir with their plans for special diapers using materials straight out of Siberian swamps. Yakov Chirikov, who is in charge of the Innovata research and development company, noted that moss had particularly good qualities for healing wounds and was a great absorber. So what better way to use it than for babies, especially since it works out as a cheaper alternative to the absorbent material currently used for nappies? It took three years for scientists to create a prototype, and now they are working on improving the absorbing capacity of the moss.
Scientists in Tomsk have created quite a stir with their plans for special diapers using materials straight out of Siberian swamps. Pictures: Rosred.ru
KINDERGARTEN MADE OF CHEESE: Delicious, and educational. That’s the hope for a new children’s day care centre being planned in the Altai region. For designers at Barnaulgrazhdan proekt have come up with a scheme to decorate the outside of kindergartens with local food brands, and cheese in particular. Plans have been drawn for several types of nurseries, such as the Mouse House made of cheese, which will be able to host 225 children in Novoaltaysk. And while it may sound crazy, it even has the backing of health experts. 'The health of the growing generation is directly related to eating habits. Our goal is to show kids that they live in a unique region that produces the most delicious and healthy food,' said Tatyana Zelenina, the head of the department for food, proceeding and pharmaceutical industries and biotechnologies of the Altai region. According to her, it is also possible to develop the idea further and build nurseries shaped like a beehive, sunflower or buckthorn. That would help to teach youngsters about the local food and fauna. 'I believe that a child attending such a 'delicious' day-care will later become a cheesemaker, beekeeper or a baker,' added Zelenina.
Plans have been drawn for several types of nurseries, such as the Mouse House made of cheese, which will be able to host 225 children in Novoaltaysk. Pictures: Barnaulgrazhdan proekt
THE CAR MOTORTRIKE: Vitaly Gayvorosnky, a biker from Byisk, has created an unusual trike married together from a series of motorbikes and a Toyota car. He used the front part of Toyota Gaia, and added it to the back of his bike to give added seats. The front wheel was taken off a Kawasaki Vulkan, the front breaks and shock-absorber came from a Kawasaki ZRX, and the headlight once belonged to a Yamaha YZF-R6. The two-litre gasoline engine from Toyota Gaia became the 'heart' of the bike. Mr Gayvoronsky did not disclose how much it cost him to create his new vehicle but would only say it was 'quite reasonable'. However, registering the trike with the State Inspection for Traffic Safety was a hassle - it took almost a year.
Vitaly Gayvorosnky, a biker from Byisk, has created an unusual trike married together from a series of motorbikes and a Toyota car. Picture: Vitaly Gayvorosnky
MOBILE PHONE TEXT WARMING CONTAINER: Students at Tomsk Polytechnic University designed a smart container for heating their food - using their own mobile phones. The special feature of the tub is a pre-installed GSM module that is able to receive commands via a text message, turning mobile phones into remote controls for turning the heat on and off, and varying the temperature. Incorporating a microwave oven container, the little box runs on a battery and will begin heating food on receipt of a SMS text. It automatically switches off at 93 Celsius. Its designers say the container could have a number of potential uses.Co-inventor Elena Sakharova said: 'Our product can be attractive not only for students that haven’t got enough time to have a proper lunch, but also for the military and care centres or nursing homes for the elderly.
Incorporating a microwave oven container, the little box runs on a battery and will begin heating food on receipt of a SMS text. It automatically switches off at 93 Celsius. Pictures: Elena Sakharova, Zhivoe TV
'We want to produce a batch of containers as we actually have orders - there are people who want to buy them.' The students are planning to use the technology in different areas in the future, and are already working on the design of a smart greenhouse. It would allow you to control the temperature, humidity and other characteristics remotely. Source: hsiberiantimes.com/
