The INDEX 2005 jury has announced the 100 finalists for the INDEX Awards.

Among the nominees:
Project Unplugged, by Tine Hertz and Maria Langberg, is a portable and flexible textile that converts sunlight into electricity and allows you to carry the energy with you in the shape of a jacket or as a tent.

The solar cell was incorporated in a transparent organdi textile and can be manufactured using industrial techniques such as silkscreen printing. The textile is now printed in pieces of 30x45cm, but by putting the textile-modules together you can create the exact form you need. The designers have also invented a technique which allows the electrical connection simply by sewing the cloth together with a thin copper thread.

LifeStraw, by Torben Vestergaard Frandsen, is a 25 cm long plastic straw/pipe filter which turns dirty water into clean, drinkable water. Sucked up water meets two textile filters that filter out big materials, even clusters of bacteria. Then the water is led into a chamber of iodine impregnated beads, where bacteria, viruses and parasites are killed. The second chamber is a void space, where the iodine can maintain their killing effect. The last chamber consists of granulated active carbon, which role is to take the main part of the bad smell of iodine, and to take the parasites that have not been taken by the pre-filter or killed by the iodine.

LifeStrawTM lasts for one persons annual needs of clean water, nobody needs to die from these diseases.

The original idea was created by Torben Vestergaard Frandsen, but over the years 2 additional persons have been involved in this, Rob

Congrats to Belmer, Javier and Cameron!

Via archinect.