Two UTC graduates “first” again in the French edition of the James Dyson Award
Colin Gallois and Xavier Garcia, who both graduated this year with the major Mechanical Engineering and the speciality Industrial Design, came “first” in the French edition of the James Dyson Award, a competition that UTC had already won in recent years.
Freewheelchair, that makes life easier for disabled persons
Freewheelchair consists of a set of two wheels that can be mounted on any model of wheelchair, replacing the standard issue wheels. The first design aim is to avoid chair-bound users who use the push-ring from jamming their fingers or suffering from wear and tear.
The second aim is to provide for easier motion. With Freewheelchair, the ergonomically designed push-ring does not rotate in synch. with the rear wheel, so the user can leave his/her hands on the push ring while moving, i.e., with the rear wheel turning.
Moreover, system also provides for braking with friction the hands, by “back-pedalling”.
The next stage of the Dyson Competition – the international edition
The overarching aim of the competitions to encourage young design-oriented engineers to be more creative and to reinvent day-to-day objects, will now move into its second phase.
A Jury composed of Dyson engineers and designers will pre-select 20 projects from the laureates of the 22 countries competing. The final laurate and Winner of the Award will be designated in October, and will receive a Prize of 45 000 $US, with a 7 500 $US award going to his/her University.
UTC: a regular contender for the James Dyson Award
UTC already won the French edition of the James Dyson Award in 2013, thanks to their INHALE Project presented by Vincent Bihler and Victor Cheung. We also note that it is a second run for Xavier Garcia who was already among the finalists of the 2015 French edition for his Weeprint ecological printer.
More about the Freewheelchair at –
- http://www.xaviergarcia.fr/freewheelchair
- http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/fr/
More about Weeprint on the UTC Web TV at:
- Sur la webTV de l’UTC : http://buff.ly/2cIkMEs
- Dans notre magazine Interactions : http://buff.ly/2cIjAkg
More about Inhale at:
