- Visitors to Dongdaemun Design Plaza from September 21 through 27 will get to take a look at toilets of the future. (Image: UNIST)
ULSAN, Sept. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – Visitors to Dongdaemun Design Plaza from September 21 through 27 will get to take a look at toilets of the future.
Named Walden 1.0 and 2.0, the two successive iterations of next generation toilets possess the capacity to convert human waste into methane. The toilets are the manifestations of three years of research (and counting) by researchers at UNIST (the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology).
Also referred to as the “Beevi Toilet”, Walden 1.0 was developed in 2015. The inside of the toilet bowl had a grinder and a de-moisturizer contraption installed that would turn waste into powder. This powder would then be transported to a separate facility where microorganisms would convert it into methane gas.
Because Walden 1.0 does not require a water storage compartment and a drain pipe, it is smaller in size than a traditional flush toilet. Shaped with smooth curves, the Walden’s features resemble those of a dressing table stool.
A member of the design team for Walden 1.0 said that the look of the toilet seat was inspired from the French word “toilette” which means “wash”. “We designed the toilet to give the impression that a bathroom is not an unsanitary and dirty place but a beautiful place where health can be restored,” she said.
In addition, it will be equipped with UV lights that will sterilize both the surface of the toilet seat and the inside of the toilet bowl. (Image: UNIST)
Walden 1.0 also boasts specially designed toilet seats that would sag so to create a 35-degree angle between the legs and thighs, the optimal body position when “doing the deed”. The toilet even helps users to stand up through springs that provide a slight push when getting up.
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Though it might sound impossible, Walden 2.0 has taken its designers’ lofty ambitions to a new level.
The research team got rid of the grinder and de-moisturizer and instead installed a suction system that pulls waste all the way to the methane gas conversion facility. This procedure requires 0.5 liters of water, far less than the 12 liters used by flush toilets, making Walden 2.0 a very eco-friendly part of the home.
For smartphone users, an app can be downloaded that links with Walden 2.0′s biosensors, which will provide health data after analyzing the components of deposited wastes. (Image: UNIST)
In addition, it will be equipped with UV lights that will sterilize both the surface of the toilet seat and the inside of the toilet bowl.
For smartphone users, an app can be downloaded that links with Walden 2.0′s biosensors, which will provide health data after analyzing the components of deposited wastes.
The Walden toilets will be on display alongside other newly developed toilet seat and bathroom technologies.
S.B.W. (sbw266@koreabizwire.com)
