Tag Archives: IDSA Award

This cost + energy efficient mobile refrigerator reduces food contamination and waste in developing countries!

Posted on by

In many developing countries, especially ones with a large population like India, people don’t have access or money to own basic home appliances. While you can still make do without a fan or a gas stove, a refrigerator is becoming increasingly essential as climate change causes temperatures which affect the harvest as well as the daily food that is perishable – think of how quickly your carton of milk or bag of lettuce goes bad! Sprout Studios and Draper have designed a mobile thermoelectric refrigerator (sponsored by the Gates foundation) for this demographic that doesn’t have an option of renting apartments that come with 5-star rated appliances.

This is a cost-efficient and low-energy consuming mobile refrigerator that aims to combat global refrigeration challenges, especially in tropical developing countries. India is the world’s largest milk producer so it is crucial to not let it perish during storage and transportation. A refrigerator is needed to keep milk from being contaminated with airborne diseases such as Listeria. This product by Sprout and Draper uses thermoelectric technology which is an innovative cooling system that allows villages in India to be able to store their milk overnight and transport it up to 15 miles to pasteurization facilities. The unit requires minimal power and has the added ability to operate from off-grid power sources making it vital for developing countries that have large fields in remote areas. The lack of infrastructure in countries like India (roads, electricity) makes it impossible to fund refrigeration at the point of production or refrigerated transport which is where cost and energy-efficient solutions like this can play a pivotal role.

The Mobile thermoelectric refrigerator has been engineered to be durable, rugged, and look innovative. The chassis of the refrigerator is constructed in a way that it allows the top-chilling unit to be removed while the bottom refrigeration unit is being transported. The chiller uses the water and heat transfer to cool the milk while excess warm water can be used for cleaning and bathing – and that is how it reduces the waste of resources too! The chassis is crafted from anodized aluminum to keep it lightweight and strong. It features an airless wheel system to avoid flats on rough terrain which also utilizes a regenerative hub that powers a battery to keep things cool while on the road. The multifunctional handle design makes it comfortable for the user to pull the refrigerator by hand while walking or even attach it to a bicycle or motorcycle for rapid transport.

“The pressing problems facing humankind and the planet are not well addressed by mass-market off-the-shelf products. Draper’s Global Challenges initiative applies our substantial engineering capabilities to solve these problems by looking beyond the technology to understand the problem space. The correct technology solution is rarely obvious. For example, designing the world’s most efficient refrigerator does nothing for those without reliable electricity,” says the team. Technology is great but can be greater when used to answer the questions of the unheard demographic.

Designers: Jordan Nollman, Jason Wilbur, Rich Orsini, Matt Bettencourt of Sprout Studios, and Robert de Saint Phalle for Draper.

This office chair’s hanging seat uses micro-body movements to maintain your posture during WFH!

Posted on by

The current pandemic situation is such that working from home is the new normal. Even more so for people who have to sit all day long in front of their PC’s, especially for computer-related tasks. After all, sitting on your normal chair can take a toll on the overall health and elevate niggling problems like back and neck pain. Even if you have an ergonomic chair that supports your body, the freedom of upper body movement is still missing. With this in mind, Tai Matlin and Taiwon Choi of Fellowes have designed an office chair with a hanging seating position that follows the body movements. The hanging seat ensures maximum comfort for the spine, hips, and lower limbs at all times – no matter how long you’ve been sitting!

The unique chair design with patented Omni-Kinetic Suspension Technology for micro-body movement in multiple directions prevents fatigue during long hours of sitting. Keeping in mind the extended working hours Elea chair has a contoured design to support natural spine alignment and the lumbar positioning which all goes well for long-term health benefits. The chair also boasts adjustable tension and balanced support which most of the office chairs simply don’t have. Other than that a lot of thought has been put into the designing of every single little detail of this chair which will leave nothing to complaining. Winner of the IDSA Award, the team says “The seat pan is suspended with steel rods that allow the seat—and you—to freely move while ensuring proper balance and stability. By introducing micromovement into the workday, the Elea Office Chair encourages improved circulation, heart health, muscle, and joint flexibility, and mental alertness. From an executive office to open workspaces, Elea keeps you in flow while you work.”

Elea office chair is constructed from industrial-grade alloy steel rods and the cast aluminum frame which both works in tandem to distribute the overall body weight for enhanced durability. Also, the sturdy build courtesy of the curved chassis ensures the same level of comfort for years to come. This has an overall impact on your physical health as well as mental wellbeing, as you’ll be less stressed out thanks to the comfortable seating position every day of work.

Designers: Tai Matlin and Taiwon Choi of Fellowes

Leica’s handheld scanner captures a 360° walkthrough of your environment, until you get tired of holding it

Posted on by

There are times when 2D visuals are not enough to encapsulate the look and feel of an environment. For instance, a realtor might want to create a virtual walkthrough of a house. That’s where 3D imaging scanners come in: to capture a 360-degree view of an environment for architecture, engineering, and construction professionals; media and entertainment pros responsible for scouting locations and creating immersive virtual reality experiences; and professionals who work in the preservation of historic architecture and archaeology. Most reality capture scanners need to be stationary in order to work, which is why the BLK2GO—a purely handheld scanner—has piqued the interest of avid users.

Mobility is a huge pro for the BLK2GO because it allows the user to capture every hidden corner in the room. Every turn you take, every flight of steps you climb, will be captured (although the quality will be much lower compared to a stationary scanner). A terrestrial scanner, in contrast, will capture higher-quality images but will be bound in one place. From a technological perspective, the BLK2GO is very user-friendly; it tracks your path as you walk through an environment, shows a real-time rendering of the data being captured, and even knows when you are retracing your steps through an area that has already been scanned. Basically, all you have to do is keep walking—the device will take care of the rest.

However, from a design perspective, the BLK2GO poses a few problems. First on the list: its weight. The BLK2GO weighs 1.7 pounds, which is about as heavy as a milk carton. Now, Leica estimates that a rough scan of an environment should take about 10-20 seconds, so you won’t be carrying the device for long. The weight presents a larger issue when you remember that you will likely be operating the BLK2GO with one hand because the perks of the scanner’s navigation and real-time image processing are only accessible from the BLK2GO Live app. In fact, the bulkiness of the handle makes it difficult for the user to use the app’s pinch-to-zoom function on its 3D map.

The shape of the scanner is new. Most handheld scanners use a typical, straight-up-and-down design, while the BLK2GO reminds me of the alien pod from the movie Arrival. If Leica chose the design because of the visual impact, it worked. The device looks like it was beamed from 50 years into the future. Given the increased usage of gimbals and other handheld stabilizers, the design does seem usable. The BLK2GO is an incredible piece of tech, there’s no denying it but its main draw–its mobility as a handheld device–we hope it is more comfortable than it looks.

Designer: Dr. Burkhard Boeckem of Hexagon and Matthias Weiser of Leica Geosystems

This rattan luggage design puts a modern spin on ancient Chinese basket-weaving techniques!

Posted on by

When I saw this backpack and suitcase set, my first thought was, Wow, this is beautiful, but is it sturdy enough for practical use? I was pleased to learn that the eye-catching basket-woven exterior was made a durable material called rattan, which had been used to make luggage 100 years ago in China.

Aside from being an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic, rattan offers several advantages as a material. It is breathable, shock-absorbent, and molds comfortably to the shape of your back. The white cloth material, Lycra, is very flexible, changing shape to fit all of your items. Instead of playing Tetris with your clothes, trying to squeeze everything into limited space, the Lycra covering stretches to accommodate your needs. Imagine being able to close a full suitcase without pressing your full body weight on top of it.

Last year, the Regression travel bags took home the bronze award from the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). However, I still have concerns about its practical use. I used to travel frequently via plane, and my suitcase accumulated many scuffs and dents over the years. Even if the Regression backpack and suitcase could withstand the light jostling of an airplane cargo hold without breaking, I believe that even a small amount of dirt would tarnish from its pristine beauty. In short, these bags are too gorgeous for my personal needs, but I would be very jealous of anyone who owned them.

Designer: Zidi Chen of Shantou University