Blackwood Design Awards 2015: And then there were six...

They came from all over the world. From Austria, to Australia, from Pakistan to Canada, from Scotland to California, and now following round 1 of shortlisting, we have just six remaining entries for the Blackwood Design Awards 2015!

If there’s one thing that we love on bespoken it’s exciting and innovative technology that can improve people’s independence. The Blackwood Design Awards 2015 has brought together the best collection of entries to date but there can be only one winner. Last week, a small panel of judges got together to do the difficult job of filing down the competition to just 6 entries.

I can now reveal to you that these entries are, in no particular order:

JamLIFT

If someone with poor mobility has a fall, they probably will need help getting back up either into a seat or into their wheelchair. In many cases, a minimum of 2 people will be required to lift the person. And if one person tries it they can easily injure their back.

JamLIFT was designed by Jason Mills, a wheelchair user living in Ontario. It consists of a pneumatic lifting device to assist users to quickly and safely return to their pre-fallen state. It has a series of inflatable air bladders with a sturdy, and removable, transfer board. The fallen person will still require assistance but it will be much easier and safer to help them back up. Click here for more details.

Kinesic Mouse

The Kinesic Mouse is a brand new form of technology that enables people to use computers where standard options like a mouse, keyboard or joystick are not possible. Kinesic Mouse uses a compatible 3D camera to detect over 50 different head movements and facial expressions to enable the user to control their computer or video game console. Click here from more details.

POSTA - Comfortable in flight seat transfer

We've often heard of the difficulties and the stress involved in air travel for people who have mobility problems. One issue is transferring in and out of airplane seats.

Peter Short, a graduate of the University of Melbourne, came up with a design that would enable users to simply slide in and out of seats onto a airplane friendly chair. Not lifting is necessary.

The person is simply wheeled to their seat and then using a rail system the whole cussion slides across into place. Click here for more informantion.

SAT (Accessible Bus design)

This entry sparked a very lively discussion when Matilda Swanson asked bespoken's community about her idea for research purposes. She has redesigned public transport for optimum accessibility.

Matilda's version of the accessible bus involves seats that fold up and slide along so that space can be created for wheelchair users at a moments notice. It also means that there need not be a battle between wheelchair users and parents with prams. Click here form more details

S'up Spoon

The S'up Spoon was designed with heavy input from someone who has Cerebral Palsy. This illness, like many others, causes the person to shake uncontrollably and can make certain common things, including eating, very difficult without someone's help.

The purpose of the S'up Spoon is to enable the user to eat certain foods like soup or cereals independently without requiring any assistance. It has an easy grip and deep hollow bit so that food doesn't fall out as the person is eating. Click here for more details.

Sentino

Lastly, this entry is for the benefit of people who are blind or visually impaired. An induction cooking surface, the designer -Ramon Silva - has made it as user friendly as possible. It emits sound to alert the person that it is on and heats by induction so there's less risk of getting burned while cooking. The controls are horizontal instead of the usual knobs so the person can tell how high it is turned on. On top of this it is a pretty smooth and smart design that many people would welcome in their home. Click here for more details.

What do you think of all the entries? Is there one that sticks out for you? What questions would you like to ask the entrants about their designs?

Blackwood Design Awards 2015: And then there were six...

Replies to This Discussion