Rapid prototyping pioneers collect prizes

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Nov 28, 2003

The winners of the 2002-2003 "eMotion in motion" international design competition were announced at the TEAM 2003 fair in Birmingham.

The winners of the 2002-2003 "eMotion in motion" international design competition were announced at the TEAM 2003 fair in Birmingham.

Sponsored by DSM Somos and the magazines New Design and TCT, the international contest was open to professional designers and students competing in separate categories under the theme "safety in travel".

The grand prizes, including Eur 5000 in gift certificates for rapid prototyping services, were accepted by designer Stuart Cole of The National Centre for Product Design and Development Research (PDR), and by student Dong Young Kim, University of Applied Sciences, Fachhochschule Potsdam (FHP) Germany.

Kim also accepted on behalf of his school a Eur 2000 certificate in rapid prototyping services, awarded to the winning student's University.

The global competition accepted entries from November 2002 to May 2003, and addressed helping designers better understand and utilise available rapid prototyping (RP) material technologies, as well as exploring the design freedom permitted by these.

Entries were judged according to: relevance to theme; visual interest and impact; originality, functionality and complexity; and interesting use of RP technologies versus traditional manufacturing processes.

The six member jury panel of the 2002-2003 eMotion in Motion contest consisted of: Ty Bacon, DSM Somos; Rinus van den Berg, DSM/DADC - Design and Application Development Centre; Manuela Cifarelli, Material ConneXion Milan; Josyane Franc, Saint Etienne International Biennial Design Festival; Susanne Lengyel, Association of German Industrial Designers; and Terry Wohlers, Wohlers Associates.

The grand prize in the professional category was won by Stuart Cole and Paul Walker of PDR Design Team (Cardiff, UK) for UFO 3 (Under Foot Object 2003).

Designed to alleviate the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) to long-distance travellers, UFO 3 fully demonstrates the functional and creative freedom made possible by advanced material technologies.

The design team at PDR focused on the 2003 "Advice on travel-related deep vein thrombosis" report published by the UK Department of Health, which stated: "All air passengers, even those at greatest risk, can reduce the chances of getting DVT by doing simple exercises".

With this in mind, the design team set about developing a simple product, which would aid an individual in completing these exercises.

The result is a single component incorporating sockets with rotating spheres and articulation between the base and top, which allows flexibility when pressure is applied.

The material Somos WaterShed, a strong, optically clear and humidity-resistant resin, was used to achieve the functionality required by UFO 3.

The grand prize in the student category went to Dong Young Kim of the University of Applied Sciences, Fachhochschule Potsdam (Germany), for "2+1".

In order to augment one's ability to sense impending danger, Kim created "2+1", incorporating a "bonus eye" for easy visual detection of rear-view traffic.

Especially useful to the hearing impaired, a small camera positioned on the back of the head device accurately transmits to the frontal viewing screen the field of activity happening from behind.

Through the use of 3D scanning technology, the design may also be dimensionally personalised to the wearer's individual needs.