By 2050, it is expected for plastic to outnumber all the fish in the ocean. Plastic water bottles are harmful to the environment and this invention may change how we package water. Ooho Bubbles are spheres with water contained in them made from seaweed. Ooho Bubbles was created by Skipping Rocks Lab. They have raised about a million dollars from a crowdfunding campaign. The Ooho Bubble is biodegradable and edible. You can put the whole thing in your mouth or rip a hole and drink from it.
Although this is an environmental friendly invention, there still are some problems that the inventors are trying to solve. Some conflicts that they face are the amount of bubbles you need to satisfy your thirst, getting used to the texture, and it’s not the nicest way to drink water as it would splash everywhere. The engineers behind this are still trying to solve and improve the product.
This relates to engineering because the inventors had to identify the problem, research, brainstorm solutions, create a prototype, and test the prototype. They had to create the product and without engineering methods they could not.
https://www.cnet.com/news/edible-water-bubble-ooho-skipping-rocks-lab-crowdcube-plastic-bottles/
https://www.dogonews.com/2017/4/18/ooho-edible-water-bubble-aims-to-eliminate-plastic-bottles
Read more about Ooho bubbles in these articles.