General News of Wednesday, 20 February 2019

Source: yen.com.gh

Frank Darko releases 2019 version of his popular water bicycle

Frank Darko on his new 2019  water bicycle Frank Darko on his new 2019 water bicycle

Frank Darko, the Ghanaian who went viral over his invention of a water bicycle – a bike that can be ridden on water surfaces, has released photos and a video of his 2019 version of the famous vehicle.

The student of the Takoradi Technical University who calls his invention the Trifad, has made waves in the news after showcasing the new model.

He was seen in photos flaunting the bike and was seen in a video trying it out on the Weija River in Accra.

Frank Darko received many accolades for his invention with the latest being the award he took during the 5th edition of the MOBEX Africa Innovation Awards which was held at the Labadi Beach Hotel on Saturday, September 29, 2018.

Frank Darko also won the 'Rising Star' category of the awards which was had other four innovative Ghanaians.

According to the event organizers, this was the first time they were awarding Ghanaians who sought to solve everyday challenges with their creativity.

The young inventor received a national award for his invention which has come to be known as the from the Ghana Institute of Engineers at the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards held in February 2018 at the Academy of Health and Sciences.

His award was for his substantial contribution to the promotion of engineering practice and innovation.

In YEN.com.gh’s first exclusive conversation with Frank Darko, he revealed that his inspiration for the water bike came from a documentary he watched on how school-going children had to swim across water bodies before getting to school.

He put his ideas into action and came up with Africa’s first bicycle that travels on water and he received a lot of attention for his ingenuity.

Aside from the national award, Frank has been offered to full scholarships by the Takoradi Technical University to come back and finish his course in Graphic Designing and take up another course in Engineering.

He also got featured on BBC Africa and made an appearance on The KSM Show in Ghana.

Some months ago, YEN.com.gh had an encounter with, Frank Darko after he reached out to us about his invention.

Frank Darko resides in Takoradi in the Western Region. The inventor revealed that the special bicycle was his first invention but he had drawn up plans for many more inventions.

He revealed that his creativity came about as a result of his matchless love for science, technology and the urge to solve day-to-day problems faced by people living in the community.