Swiss architect Fabien Roy has designed Robust Nest, an incubator for hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa that functions throughout power cuts and is currently being exhibited as part of Milan design week.
With the small-scale incubator, on display at the Alcova design show until 12 September, Roy hopes to save some of the 1.1 million premature babies lost each year to hypothermia in the region.
Robust Nest is much smaller and lighter than traditional incubators
According to the designer, the standard incubators aren't suitable for use in hospitals in countries such as Kenya, where power cuts can be common.
"The main causes are their inability to provide heat during frequent blackouts, the difficulty to transport heavy and bulky devices on dirt roads and their vulnerability to high humidity rates, dust and temperatures," Roy told Dezeen. "Blackouts kill a lot of babies. It's a super sad situation. This incubator is supposed to heat the baby for the entire blackout. The goal is to keep the babies warm."
A thermal battery inside the incubator keeps the baby warm for four hours
Robust Nest was Roy's graduate project which he developed while he was studying at École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL).
It runs on a thermal battery developed by the Essential Tech Center of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne and can keep babies warm for up to four hours. This will protect babies throughout the majority of blackouts.
When the incubator is plugged in at...