Hot property: Glasgow School of Art Product Design Show
Glasgow School of Art’s Product Design and Engineering course has been held by the industry as a centre of excellence in the product design field.
In fact, such is the nature of the course, captain of industry Sir James Dyson said that “there is an ocean of difference between the work of the students at the Brunels and Glasgows and the rest...”
This year’s PDE course was no different. It culminated in the annual Degree Show, showcasing the wide-ranging work of the students – from anti-terrorist devices to portable hydro-power supplies. However, it was an “intelligent home heating management project” that won the show’s coveted Kennett Prize.
Andrew Simpson was presented with the £2,500 prize at the annual degree show by Jonathan Kennett, founder of Teknek, an international engineering manufacturer firm, for his project, which impressed the judges with its aim to maximise home energy efficiency whilst minimising cost and environmental impact.
Craig Whittet, head of department, PDE, said of the designs: “The project was a departure from the typical PDE focus and embraced interaction design to a level that resulted in a very feasible and applicable concept.
“The nature of the project is also very topical with increased media attention on utility use and recent UK Government announcement demanding targets to reduce CO2 emissions by 26% by 2020 and 60% by the year 2050. The quality and integrity of Andrew’s project has resulted in him being contacted by three companies who are interested in either the project or employing him.
“This is one of the key reasons why PDE has a Degree Show. Engineering Degrees are poorly served by the tools required to present and engage with potential employers, investors and policy makers. The PDE Degree Show is a fantastic opportunity for the students and the department to show the diversity and quality of work that is produced.
“Further to this, the Kennett Prize is an ideal platform for students work to be rewarded and this year there were also two commendations; Jude Pullen for his Pressure Alert for Medical Airway Devices and Dan Watson for his SafetyNet, Sustainability through selectivity Trawler nets. Pullen was also awarded the Newbery Medal, the highest award bestowed on a GSA student.”
The judging criteria for the Kennett Prize for Design Innovation incorporated innovation, user and market appeal, engineering complexity, completeness and application, manufacturing appropriateness, as well as the quality of presentation.
Recent graduates from the course have gone on to fill high profile roles at market leading companies, such as product design manager at Apple; design and development manager at Dyson; design manager at L’Oreal Paris; and product design manager at TomTom.
Other, more entrepreneurial students have founded their own firms, both at home (4c Design in Glasgow and Fearsome Engine in Sunderland) and abroad (Speck Design in California and Shanghai), while others still now represent the industry at a parliamentary level through British Design and Innovation.
The Product Design Engineering (PDE) course is run jointly by The Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow. It applies a people-centric design engineering process with industrial focused teaching methods to equip students for the demands of industry.
To see all the work from this year’s Product Design Engineering students at the Glasgow School of Art, see www.pdedegreeshow.com
Kennett Prize
Andrew Simpson
Home Heating - intelligent heat management
By evaluating the thermal efficiency of your home and developing a keen insight into you and your heating needs, this smart real-time energy management system continuously interprets changing thermal conditions and reprograms your home’s heating schedule to maximise efficiency whilst minimising cost and environmental impact.
The Home Heating kit is a wireless energy management tool that actively reduces the amount of energy used to heat the home. It does this by analysis of the building, its heating system and the lives of its occupants.
By careful study of the changing temperature of each room, the Home Heating kit’s unique building and heating analysis program produces a thermal efficiency report of the home.
The kit is then able to accurately predict how long it will take for the home to heat and learns to continuously and automatically optimise the heating schedule in response to changing temperatures and its understanding of the user and their heating needs.
The kit turns the heating on and off at precisely the most energy efficient and user appropriate time, thus saving energy everyday. The efficiency report highlights where home improvements need to be made and it can produce a personal domestic heating efficiency report which can, in turn, be interpreted by government bodies. These organisations will then be able to offer free home improvements to those most in need, as identified by the Fuel Poverty Strategy.
The Home Heating product range has an intuitive touch screen interface which has proven to be highly user friendly for people of all ages and backgrounds.
It has been designed to be sustainable and affordable and actively lowers the cost of heating your home.
To see all the work from this year’s Product Design Engineering students at the Glasgow School of Art, see www.pdedegreeshow.com. In the meantime, here are three others that caught The Drum's eye.
Aidan Watson – Portable Hydro Power
The PHP is a portable source of green, renewable electricity that can charge and power equipment such as a lap top, camera or mobile phones from flowing water in rivers and streams.
Dan Watson – SafetyNet
Unsustainable fishing practices are leading to dwindling fish stocks. SafetyNet is a modular system of components that each tackle the different issues. Fish behaviour and physiology are exploited to separate the catch by species, age and size, making the demersal trawling process more selective. This reduces the bycatch and subsequent discarding of juvenile and non-target species, allowing stocks to recover quicker and create a more sustainable industry. Furthermore, by reappropriating existing technology it’s possible to raise the trawl off the seabed. Reduced contact lowers fuel consumption and causes less damage to the seabed.
Jake Roberts – ElectriCity
The ElecriCity is power assisted, utilising regenerative braking, it delivers a boost if struggling up a hill. It also has an innovative folding mechanism that gives a compact profile for storage and can also be wheeled behind the user inside a shop or building. Although electric bikes are not new, this product aims to make what is often a high maintenance for of transport easier for the user.
To see all the work from this year’s Product Design Engineering students at the Glasgow School of Art, see www.pdedegreeshow.com