Can you feel the mounting tension? The judges for the James Dyson Award 2010 have now revealed the competition's semi-finalists. Entries from 18 countries have been whittled down to just 20 items, some of which we've seen before in Gizmag and others which may be new to you. Most of the remaining projects now benefit from a short video overview, so let's have a quick look at some we haven't yet featured.
The overall international winner of this year's James Dyson Award competition will walk away with GBP10,000 (US$15,530 at the time of writing), a trophy and a visit to a Dyson research and development center in either the UK or Malaysia. If the winner belongs to a university, then the department to which they belong will also receive GBP10,000 in prize money. A few short weeks ago, the competition's National winners were announced and now only 20 projects remain. From these, 15 will battle it out for the ultimate prize – there can be only one (a phrase that offers more drama when backed by a few riffs from Brian May, but I do what I can).
They are all winners
Well, maybe not. Sadly, some designs featured previously didn't make it through, including the 13th Man wireless speaker system, the bumpfree dynamic speedbump, the ceramic water cooler that fires up liquid into special glasses and the mobile toilet that responds to midnight emergencies.
Happily, reader favorites like the Sea Kettle, Copenhagen Wheel and the Move-It modular cardboard trolley managed to wow the judges. Other semi-finalists mentioned previously include the filtration and UV sterilization water bottle, the electrically-assisted cargo bike, the Wanderest post seat and the Minotaur fire nozzle.
Of the remaining semi-finalists, there are a few which have caught my eye. Let's have a quick look...
New oxygen delivery system from Ireland
Flo2w is a new oxygen delivery system where the device is secured to a patient via a re-usable headpiece instead of the mask that is currently used.
Canada's Saguaro Rain Collector
The REAX CPR delivery system
Fly like a Butterfly
I'm not sure if it's the theme track or the product, or maybe even the humorous video, that attracted me to the Butterfly from Switzerland, but I recommend you take a look. It's a collapsible, portable, lightweight, human-powered urban transport solution.
Man overboard!
Australia's LONGREACH Buoyancy Deployment System was designed "for the rapid conveyance of temporary, water-activated buoyancy devices to a drowning victim's location." A projectile is launched from the device towards the drowning victim. Upon contact with water, the missile expands to provide buoyancy assistance while emergency personnel prepare for the rescue proper. Exactly how the victim will react to being shot at by the authorities is another issue altogether. Anyway, here's the video.
More to see
As mentioned earlier, most of the semi-finalists have demonstration videos to watch. If you want to see more, choose "Dyson Engineers' semi-finalists" from the drop-down menu on the contest's project page and then either browse through all entries or select the projects you would like to view.
The 15 finalists will be announced on September 14, with the overall international winner being revealed on October 5.