Recently the Australian Good Design Awards were held to honor great design combined with great functionality. This week I will look at some of the technology based products that were amongst the most outstanding entires.
Steve Jobs at Apple is famous for marrying technology and design. When introducing the iPad 2 in March 2011, Jobs summarized his strategy: “It is in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing.” That is why our phones and laptops look the way they do. It is the human element combined with great technology to give great design.
Let’s start with the overall winner.
Inventia Rastrum 3D Bioprinter.
The Rastrum 3D Bioprinter from Inventia Life Science is a revolutionary 3D bioprinting platform. Driven by the needs of biomedical researchers and tissue engineers, Design +Industry (Australian design firm) set out to develop a precise, safe and intuitive platform for the 3D printing of living cells. With applications in cell-based research and regenerative medicine, Rastrum has the potential to revolutionise biomedical research.
The product is small enough to sit on a bench. It’s high throughput combined with automated printing allows technical staff to complete hundreds of experiments per day rather than just a handful. Rastrum is capable of accurately printing 3D cell models that are not possible with manual methods. The reproducibility of output creates efficiencies in both imaging and analysis, that ultimately lowers the time taken to discover breakthroughs.
RangerBot
RangerBot is a vision-based underwater robotic system designed specifically for coral reefs. The bot provides end-users (coral reef mangers, researchers, and community groups) with a solution for monitoring and management of reef ecosystems worldwide. RangerBot was developed at Queensland University of Technology.
Home Hearing Health Checks
Cochlear Remote Check is an at-home testing tool that allows Cochlear implant recipients to complete hearing tests on their smartphone. Clinicians receive a overview of their patient’s hearing health in an online portal, providing data to support patient management and reducing unnecessary patient travel to the clinic.
Blubox
BluBox is a Danish designed portable medical device for diagnostics of infectious diseases, such as Dengue or Zika. BluBox provides results as accurate as large laboratory equipment but can be carried in a camera case. It requires only a single drop of blood and is extremely easy to use. Please do not confuse this product with Theranos which was a Silicon Valley based company that essentially, was a complete fraud. For those interested to find out more about Theranos (it is a lesson for us all in how to detect fraud in startups) this Vanity Fair article is illuminating.
AEV Robotics Modular Vehicle System
The foundation of every AEV Modular Vehicle System is a robotic base. Connected to the robotic base are functional pods which can be built custom or standard. The system is autonomous ready, lightweight, electric and connected. It moves people and delivers goods in urban environments.
This is but a small selection of a wide range of great design that featured at the 2019 awards.
Paying it Forward
If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product, ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and give the start-up a shout out to my readers if it is something that I think they could use. If you have any questions or comments please email me via my website craigcarlyon.com
Till next week.