The SDU Air Purifier is a humanitarian technology designed to improve indoor air quality and safeguard residents’ health in sub-divided units (SDU), an impoverished housing option common to lower income families in Hong Kong. The most distinctive features of the SDU Air Purifier are affordability, portability, high efficiency, compact and easy to assemble, and low power consumption. The Air Purifier costs less than US$15 and can operate for 40 hours on a small 10000mAh USB power bank. The Air Purifier is proven to be effective in reducing the indoor concentration of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) by 80% to less than 5 μg/m3, meeting the recommendation under the World Health Organization Global Air Quality Guidelines.
Building on the success of the initial prototype, the SDU Air Purifier was further developed by the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI) of Lingnan University to provide an affordable and effective solution to poor indoor air quality in sub-divided flats. Developed in 2018 by students from Lingnan University's Service-Learning course PSY3103 Psychology of Human Performance and Technology led by Prof. Vincent Leung, the SDU Air Purifier was designed to address the pressing challenge of poor air quality in sub-divided flats. By applying academic knowledge, mature technology, and design thinking, the students developed the low-cost air purifier, which was tested and further modified for enhancement.
The SDU Air Purifier has received high recognition for its humanitarian design, winning a Silver Medal at the 48th Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions and receiving support from Professor Sun Tong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry.
Overall, the SDU Air Purifier is an innovative solution to a pressing issue faced by lower-income families living in sub-divided flats in Hong Kong. By providing an affordable and effective technology, the SDU Air Purifier improves the health and quality of life of these families. The success of the SDU Air Purifier demonstrates the importance of applying academic knowledge and design thinking to address real-world problems and the potential for technology to make a positive impact on society.
