James Dyson Awards

A simple home test for breast cancer and a UV energy-harvesting window made of recycled materials are the big winners of this year’s James Dyson Awards. The annual competition encourages university students to develop innovative solutions to problems.

Dubbed SunUp, the solar backpack device was designed in collaboration with The North Face and features a 15-W solar panel that's capable of fully charging a 4,000-mAh battery within 12 hours.

The O-Wind Turbine has taken out the UK£30,000 (US$39,000) first prize in this year's James Dyson Awards. This crooked, vented spherical device is designed to hang from skyscraper balconies and generate electricity in the chaotic wind conditions of a high-rise metropolis.

The finalists for this year’s James Dyson Award offer an exciting array of clever design solutions. Some of the highlights include biodegradable plastic made from potato starch and prefabricated ant nests designed to help rural communities easily harvest insects for food.​

The Macaron​ is a clever measuring tape dreamt up by students from the Queensland University of Technology. Described as a universal smart tape measure, it was inspired by one of the team members who is vision impaired and struck some difficulties renovating his house.

A new device called the sKan has won the 2017 international James Dyson Award. The sKan makes heat maps of the skin to identify anomalies associated with melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, to enable earlier detection.

Every parent knows what it's like to buy new clothes for their child, only to find they've already outgrown them by the second wash. A new kind of outerwear called Petit Pli could reduce waste, hassle, and perhaps money by expanding in size as the child grows.

​​Proof that innovation does not have to be expensive, this year’s Dyson Prize goes to American designer Isis Shiffer for her invention of the EcoHelmet, a foldable paper helmet that makes it easier for cyclists to protect their heads for just $5.​

Open Bionics, with support from Disney Accelerator, transforms prostheses that kids would rather hide into those that Iron Man or Frozen's Elsa would wear. The company says that for kids it transforms being different into being cool.

James Roberts, a 23 year-old design grad from Britain's Loughborough University, has won this year's international James Dyson Award for his portable inflatable incubator. Read on for more details on it, along with the three runners-up.

A couple of engineering students at the University of Toronto have created the PrintAlive, a 3D printer that produces skin grafts for burn victims on demand, potentially putting an end to harvesting a person's own body for healthy skin.

TipTapTop teaches kids how to wash their hands in a hygienic manner, without wasting water - and trying to make it as fun as possible. The 3D-printed TipTapTop might end up being an incredibly annoying thing to have in your bathroom, but the way it goes about its job is quite clever.