NEWS John Ju Seok Lee, a current student at the master's programme in Advanced Product Design and Anna-Karin Bergkvist, who graduated this summer, have won one of the world's most prestigious design awards – the red dot award.
Their projects were selected from more than 3,000 entries from 55 countries, submitted for 20 different categories. Out of these 180 received the red dot award for high design quality.
John Ju Seok Lee received his red dot in the category Mobility for his concept Halcyon, a utility trailer unit designed to minimise the risk of cancer occurrence for firefighters. It prevents the intake, contamination, and spread of carcinogenic toxin particles after an accident or fire scene is attended. The trailer unit can be used by firefighters outside the fire scene for resting, getting changed, cleaning, and storing their equipment if it has been exposed to carcinogenic particles. It instantly stops spreading the particles into the trucks, stations, and lockers by isolating and cleaning the contaminated equipment without the need for water or washing detergent. This is done by integrating three practical technologies: a negative ion generator, a high-efficiency particulate-absorbing (HEPA) filter, and an air-wash system. The integration of technologies removes at least 99.97% of airborne particles, killing 99.9% of bacteria while removing odours simultaneously.
John Ju Seok Lee, who recently completed an internship at Nokia in Finland, is presently on a new internship at Lunar Design in San Francisco, USA - after which, rumour has it, he will be heading for a third international internship at a major design consultancy in Munich, Germany.
http://www.red-dot.sg/concept/porfolio/o_e/MB/R021.htm
Anna-Karin Bergkvist received her red dot in the category Green for a concept for an eco-friendly tree-planting robot for the Swedish forest industry. The concept was the result of her MA degree project, which was carried out in collaboration with Husqvarna. The goal of the project was to design a concept for an environmentally friendly tree-planting machine for Sweden's forests in 2030. The result is a fully automated, steam-powered planting robot, equipped with ground-friendly feet and a flexible planting arm. The robot's four legs reduce the pressure on the forest floor and allow the machine to be smaller while still being able to move though tough terrain. The machine prepares the planting spot in an environmentally friendly way by using hot steam to kill competing vegetation. Steam power is also used to run the machine; an efficient closed loop-steam engine is powered by heat. The machine is fuelled by waste products from the forestry industry, such as pellets or woodchips. It also features a hydraulic system, using water instead of oil.
http://www.red-dot.sg/concept/porfolio/o_e/GR/R027.htm
http://www.teknat.umu.se/om-fakulteten/aktuellt/pressbilder/
Thomas Degn, programme director for Advanced Product Design Phone: +46 (0)70-684 64 09
E-post: thomas.degn@dh.umu.se
www.dh.umu.se/advancedproductdesignwww.dh.umu.se
Editor: Karin Wikman