James Dyson AwardTwo international winners of have been announced. Two inventions that solve globally important problems in the fields of medicine and sustainability were awarded £30,000. Approximately 2,000 applications were made to the competition this year.
- International Medical Winner Athena
Invented by 24-year-old designer Olivia Humphreys (Ireland) after witnessing her mother’s painful battle with cancer, Athena is an affordable and portable device that uses scalp cooling to prevent hair loss for chemotherapy patients. This device, which is one twentieth of the price of current technology, can also be used outside the hospital and reduces the time patients have to spend in clinics.
- International Sustainability Winner airXeed Radiosonde
Invented by postdoctoral researchers Shane Kyi Hla Win and Danial Sufiyan Bin Shaiful (Singapore), airXeed is a reusable, nature-inspired sensor for weather forecasting. Unlike existing weather balloons, it intelligently descends to the ground to avoid aircraft collisions and land in designated waste collection areas, without creating tons of plastic and electronic waste.
Speaking about the development of Athena, Olivia Humphreys said: “I decided to build a working prototype to test the capabilities of Peltier (Thermoelectric cooling) semiconductors. Using a Peltier computer cooling fan system, a diaphragm pump, my mother’s old suitcase, and my father’s airplane battery, I was able to create a strong proof of concept to gather valuable feedback to refine the concept. Following this, I focused on the form of the product, creating cardboard and foam mockups and determining functionality aspects and touchpoints to ensure the best user experience. Ultimately, I arrived at my final model, Athena, created using SolidWorks 3D CAD modeling.”
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Dyson said the following on the subject:
James Dyson, Founder of Dyson, says: “Weather balloons collecting atmospheric information are falling back to Earth and polluting the environment with electronic waste. Our Sustainability Winners, Shane and Danial, have found a very clever way to return these devices to Earth where operators want them to land. The AirXeed Radiosonde uses the maple seed principle, landing gently like a helicopter but also being able to land in areas where planes are likely to be. This is a reusable weather detector, saving environmental waste and money. “I think this is a very clever idea.”