Within the scope of the ILLIANCE Agenda, the University of Aveiro (UA) developed a wireless actuation system for sanitary equipment, which is already patent-protected in Italy and licensed to OLI. OLI challenged UA to create a system that would eliminate the need for frequent maintenance and be suitable for the demanding conditions of sanitary spaces, within the framework of the ILLIANCE Agenda.

This resulted in the development of a pioneering toilet flush actuation system that exclusively uses wireless power transmission to power the flushing mechanism, eliminating the need for manually recharging batteries. This enhances the reliability of these systems and the efficiency of power provision, making it a robust alternative to current solutions.

The invention, developed in the Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics (DETI), in collaboration with the Institute of Telecommunications (IT), allows for wireless energy transfer via radio frequency, ensuring a stable supply, even in humid environments and restricted spaces, such as bathrooms.

The UA Inventor team is led by Nuno Borges de Carvalho, and also includes contributions from Amit Kumar Baghel, Helena Luísa Silva Ribeiro, and Henrique de Figueiredo Chaves. This project also benefited from the contribution of the Institute for Research in Design, Media and Culture (ID+), from the Department of Communication and Art, integrating designers João Sampaio, Joel Antunes, Hugo Silva, Bárbara Silva, and Afonso Borges, who collaborated on the design and development of the system’s physical and digital interface, ensuring its usability, formal consistency, and functional integration in the context of real-world use.

With the aim of guaranteeing the protection of this technology, the patent application was formally submitted to the Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi, Italy, in September 2025, and a licensing agreement was also signed, which will allow this system to be brought to the market.