what sort of technologies are being worked on by MIT-ATS?

where could I apply my skills and make a difference?

projects

[Only current projects shown below. Past projects, along with documentation, can be found on a separate page.]

[Energy] [Water] [Agriculture] [Food Preservation] [Tools] [Other]

Energy	Have an interest in using renewable fuel sources to create power and electricity? MIT and ATS have been working on the development of several off-grid, community-level power solutions. Light up the world today... Micro Hydro "Island" Generator [a one kilowatt generator based on a vertical-axis turbine] Parabolic Solar Energy Collector & Generator [sun's energy vaporizes working fluid, driving turbine] Biogas Digester Plant [animal waste products turned into fuel] Wind Power [harnessing the wind currents to generate electricity] [top]
Water	Over half the world's population lacks access to potable drinking water. Many in Lesotho are in that fraction, but ATS is developing various solutions to help remedy that problem. Make it drinkable today... Manual Irrigation Pump [allowing farmers to bring water to their crops using muscle power] Usage Reduction [developing ways to reduce city water consumption at ATS] [top]
Agriculture	Since almost ninety percent of Lesotho's residents engage in some sort of subsistence agriculture, improvements in the tools and methods they use to perform their daily tasks would surely go a long way. Reduce the amount of time spent laboring in fields today... Mushroom Production [growing an exportable crop to allow Basotho farmers to profit] Wheat Thresher [facilitating higher yield of wheat through automatic threshing] Cabbage Planter [allowing commercial cabbage planters to sow seedlings more rapidly] Chemicals Production [producing exportable aloe, eucalyptus, or cosmetics] Ripper Planter [uses conservation tilling to efficiently plant seeds] Ox-Drawn Spreader [effectively distributes manure or lime on crops using animal power] Ox-Drawn Planter Education Campaign [educating the people about how to correctly use a multicrop planter] [top]
Food Preservation	Once the food has been planted and harvested, there still remains a significant chance that it will be wasted due to poor storage conditions. To prevent this problem from happening, ATS has been brainstormed several different ways to preserve the quality of the food. Save the food today... Commercial Food Dryer [preserving food products using a hybrid solar-battery system] Household Food Dryer [preserving food products using the energy of the sun] Packaging [preserving milk, vegetables, fruits, and meats using a variety of packaging options] House Hold Yoghurt Processing [creating a method to preserve dairy products in rural communities] Bread Oven [a rural solution to the problem of stale bread; for the small entreprenuer] Dough Kneader [a rural solution to the problem of stale bread; for the small entreprenuer] Poultry Plucker [allowing commerical poultry producers to rapidly clean chicken carcas] [top]
Tools	To try and help the small entrpreneur, ATS has been developing several tools which would be used by whole communities. By allowing the community to create a profit for itself, ATS hopes that individual members could pull themselves out of poverty. Create something useful today... Commercial Paper Briquette Press [reusing refuse to make an acceptable alternative to charcoal briquettes] Stone Cutting Technology [saving labor by creating a low-cost tool to cut standstone blocks] Thaba Tseka Biomass Stove [reducing amount of wood fuel needed for cooking and heating] Glass Cutting Machine [allowing low-cost cutting of glass bottles ] Broiler House Heating System [warming chickens to keep them productive even in cold winter months] Braking System [creating a two-position brake to stop carts on steep hills] Screenless Hammer Mill [allowing rural farmers to grind grain cheaply and easily] [top]
Other	Some ideas have been pushed around by those at ATS and by a few North American visitors, but no projects have yet been fully initiated. To find out more about these ideas and how to get involved in the product or technology development process from the very beginning, click on the ideas below.... Move production to private sector [an economics and systems engineering challenge] City development plan [moving street vendors out of unafe stalls and into designated areas] Recycle and reuse materials [developing programs to reduce waste materials] Marketing plan [developing written, spoken, and pictoral content to sell ATS products] Developing an entrepreneurial training program [giving Basotho the business skills to suceed] Jigs to standardize production [increasing production efficiency by using templates] Fostering connections with the National University of Lesotho and Lerotholi Polytechnic [encouraging practical education through collaboration on small-scale research projects]

"What man's mind can create, man's character can control." -Thomas Edison

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