Tokyo — TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today development of the “Winglet”, a personal transport assistance robot ridden in a standing position.
The Winglet—still being refined—is one of TMC’s people-assisting Toyota Partner Robots. Designed to contribute to society by helping people enjoy a safe and fully mobile life, the Winglet is a compact next-generation everyday transport tool that offers advanced ease of use and expands the user’s range of mobility.
Feel Planet Earth, Cifial Design Award, is organized with the aim of promoting design, both as a culture, and as a tool, capable of proposing innovative solutions to man’s approach to his social and natural environment.
The object of this contest is to promote the exchange of ideas and spread the values of design, offering new approaches to tasks products and services, visualizing, interpreting technologies, etc.
The theme for the 2008 Award will be the over-dependence on non- renewable sources of energy in the current pattern of development.
Any design work on this issue, whether a vehicle, a public transport service, a cooking device or a lighting system, a water pump or any other practical or theoretical contribution, as well as a synopsis from an MsC or PhD dissertation, can be proposed.
The International Furniture Design Competition Asahikawa (IFDA) has continued to grow for the past twenty years well into the 21st century, and has gained important standing as an international event as opposed to being a mere strategy to promote local industry.
While this competition with “wooden furniture” as its theme is aimed at cultivating the future of wooden furniture design, it is obvious we have an important role to play in stopping global warming. We make daily efforts in the conservation of wood and promote the protection of forests as an aspect of design management.
This competition, being the seventh of its kind, received entries from as many as 50 different countries and regions. The number of entries exceeded 1,000. Below are some of the winning entries:
SocietyGuardian Editor Patrick Butler dismisses old fashioned values of what good design should be about and argues design must do social and environmental good to be good at all.
A seminar at the Design Council last week discussed precisely this. The council had come up with a new definition of good design: the most controversial bit was that it ought to be “sustainable” – in other words, that it not only looks good, or shifts lots of units, but that it has to “do good to the world around it”. If designers, as the council believes passionately, have a wider role in tackling climate change, developing thriving communities and creating more efficient public services, then this seems eminently sensible.
Registration deadline: 19th September 2008
Submission: Friday 10th October 2008
As mentioned in about CAT-iq the following seven issues are noteworthy for this new technology;
Complete coverage in the home and in the garden (also familiar to DECT)
An open Standard
CD Quality audio
The system is always on (also familiar to DECT)
Not just telephony, but also IP connectivity
Real plug & play (also familiar to DECT)
Energy saving
The briefing for this competition is simple and straightforward.
Create, based upon a combination of these seven issues new product and/or service concepts for the home environment and for the consumer.
Realise that you can go far beyond the traditional telephony solutions.
For the winners of the competition the following prizes are offered:
- Seating: The main material used shall be Beech wood, Oak wood or Walnut. Chairs may be upholstered to a greater or lesser extent, if considered appropriate and veneered board or plywood.
- Tables: The main material used shall be Beech wood, Oak wood or Walnut. Tables may be veneered board or plywood.
- The use of other materials such as metals, plastics, glass, etc. is allowed when complementary, structural or incidental to the above.
- All designs presented shall be new, not having been marketed or disclosed prior to the date of the Competition.
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