Toulouse, France, Monday, 30th of March, 2020
The Airbus Humanity Lab is running a hackathon to develop solutions against Covid-19.
The focus is on PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and ventilators. We have many ideas and prototypes popping up all around the world.
As I am in confinement, I am working remotely and following the proposed solutions.
Indeed, as part of the Airbus Africa community, we are pushing to make sure that all solutions that will be developed in this hackathon can be suitable to be also deployed in Africa.
I am reading my emails, and there is the first chromosome of MABACO. I see it and say in my head: Yes, this is it! That is great for Africa.
I hit the “reply to all” button asking for the initial idea to be further elaborated.
What is this initial idea?
The idea is simple and quite brilliant.
“3D printing is nice but slow. However, metal sheets can be quickly produced on a large scale.”
Nobody picks up the idea. It’s going to die in its premature conception.
I am here, and I see the value of Africa. I will find a way to make it a reality, I said.
That is the first lesson about inclusion and diversity and why Africans must be where the creation starts. I cannot imagine how many ideas have yet to be implemented because no one from an African country was there to defend the positive impact of that idea for us.
We must be present as Africans when the decisions are taken to ensure that Africa is not sitting on the sidelines of History.
I love this concept. I need the skills and tools to develop workable industrial solutions. I need computer-assisted design skills and associated software.
Think, think, Mad, think! (Yes, I call myself Mad in my head!)
That is where enters the gentleman below with the nice hat:
Christophe MIALHE, aka Xtof for me, is a colleague and a friend from Airbus. I met him for the first time in mid-2014 when I joined the BelugaXL project team.
He was part of the design teams at the early stage of developing this new aircraft.
Not only is he skilled and with a high emotional quotient, but he is also straightforward to work with. In addition, he likes having fun and only sometimes takes himself too seriously, as shown in the picture above.
During the two years we worked together, Xtof has always been about helping and serving others.
There he is. His facing is popping up in my mad mind.
Xtof, I need your help to work on the sketch above and to make it a design we can share to help people in Africa fight Covid-19, I said.
Indeed, I continued, there will be a shortage of raw materials for 3D printers in Africa because we are importing them and not manufacturing them locally. Therefore, I added that we need to think about a solution for the shield that can be locally manufactured.
I have been thinking a lot lately about how I can support our brothers in Africa, he replied over the phone.
Thank you, Mad, for giving me this opportunity, he added.
That’s Xtof, in essence. I called him and asked for his help. He replied by thanking le for allowing him to contribute. How amazing is that?
The day after here below is his first design proposal:
We intend to provide a 2D design based on metal sheets (Aluminium or other materials) that can be found easily across the continent.
Yes, I said, let’s release the design very quickly. I was so eager to provide a solution to Africa.
Well, he said, we need to validate the prototype first. I will use my 3D printer to build the prototype, and we will see how it goes.
If you think about it, this is the way of working when building aircraft. We have sole design principles to validate before releasing any drawing.
Here below is the prototype as built:
It is good. Then we see some issues when looking at Xtof with his new “hat”:
- The part holding the plastic shield is falling and not tightened to the forehead part.
- The sharp edges in contact with the head make the whole shield uncomfortable to wear for an extended period.
I shared the design with my wife Laure, and she said that the shield is not ultimately protecting the face:
With Xtof, we agreed on the new improvements and little tweaks needed.
There he goes with a new design and a new prototype:
Of course, he used his 3D printer again for 6 hours to build the 2nd version of the prototype:
The second prototype is better. No more tilting down, curved edges for the parts in contact with the head, and the face is completely shielded, as shown in the picture above.
I said we must give people many options to attach the shield to the frame.
Yes, we can add some holes on the supporting part to give more options, Xtof responded.
After two iterations, we validated the prototype. Xtof adds some minor improvements.
To do all this, Xtof works around the clock from home while taking care of his regular work and family and using resources from his pocket.
The final design is on its way to be released to the world and especially to Africa in our Airbus Africa community platform for the fight against Covid-19: www.covidfreeafrica.com
And I almost forgot. Why MABACO? You asked.
I am glad that you asked. It was an idea from Xtof.
We are building a shield that can be manufactured at a meager cost per unit. In French, a low-cost shield is translated into “Masque à bas coût”:
So there is it, MABACO.
MABACO is also (almost) the anagram of BAMAKO, the capital city of MALI, in West Africa.
He thought it could be a great tribute to Africa.
That lesson is the second lesson. We cannot sit down and expect the rest of the world to bring us the magic fix. We must not accept a “one size fits all” mindset in Africa.
It’s easy and lazy. And we are paying the price 60 years after the end of the colonization.
Rise, sisters, and brothers of Africa, Rise!
Rise, mothers, and fathers of Africa, Rise!
Rise, young and old of Africa, Rise!
Rise, remove your disguise, and let the African sunshine!
Xtof, you are a brother in arms, and I am blessed that our paths have crossed. You will live a legend and leave a legacy in my heart as I tell your story until death does me its part!
What one action are you taking today for a #CovidFreeAfrica?
Are we thinking outside of the box as Africans?
When will Africa start writing its own story?
Leave a comment below.
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Photo by Anna Claire Schellenberg on Unsplash
