Product news: British industrial design brand Dyson has launched a combined tap and hand dryer so hands can be both washed and dried without leaving the sink. 

Infrared sensors in the Dyson Airblade Tap pinpoint the positions of the user's hands and release water from the tap, before two high-velocity sheets of unheated clean air are released to scrape water off hands and leave them dry in 12 seconds.

As with the earlier Airblade hand dryers, the system forces air through tiny apertures at 692 kilometres per hour, passing it through a HEPA filter to remove 99% of bacteria from the air first.

Made from an anti-corrosion stainless steel that's normally used for the construction of boats, the new product is powered by a new 16000 W motor that accelerates from 0 to 90,000 RPM in less than 0.7 seconds. The motor took seven years to develop at a cost of £26.9 million.

Founder of the company James Dyson said: “Using complex computer modelling Dyson engineers have developed a high performance digital motor. The Dyson digital motor self-adjusts 6,000 times a second to maintain optimum efficiency to create high velocity sheet of air that dries hands quickly and hygienically.”

The new motor has also been applied to updated versions of the Dyson Airblade V hand dryer, which is now 60% smaller, and the Dyson Airblade MK2 hand dryer, which has had 1.1 kg of material removed.

Industrial designer James Dyson founded the Dyson brand in 1970, when he invented the first bag-less vacuum cleaner. In recent years the company has launched the Air Multiplier, a fan with no blades, which he discusses with Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs in a podcast we recorded in 2010.

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Dyson says that only tangible engineering can address issues such as global warming and population growth, stating: "The allure of digital should not distract us from the bigger challenges." He adds that the government must "focus on investment in ideas," urging them to support design education and creative businesses.

We published the winner of the 2011 James Dyson Award for innovative student engineering projects on Monday and you can see more stories about James Dyson here.

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Edward Linacre from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne chose to tackle the problem of providing water to crops in arid regions following droughts that affected Australia earlier this year.

Airdrop pumps air through underground pipes, lowering the temperature to the condensation point and the resulting water is moved around to nourish the roots of the plants.

The James Dyson Award is an international student competition organised by the James Dyson Foundation with a simple brief: "Design something that solves a problem." Linacre receives a £10,000 prize that he says he will use to develop the concept and his university department also receives £10,000.

See our previous story on the UK winner Kwick Screen by Michael Korn, which was also announced as a runner up for the overall award.

Here are some more details from the award organisers:

James Dyson Award winner 2011: Airdrop overcomes drought, with inspiration from a beetle.

Engineering, not magic: the 2011 winner of the James Dyson Award extracts water from thin air. Airdrop is a low cost, self powered, and easy to install solution to the problems of growing crops in arid regions.

Inspired by Australia’s worst drought in a century, Edward Linacre from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, turned to nature to find ways of capturing moisture from air. Edward studied the Namib beetle, an ingenious species which lives in one of the driest places on earth. With half an inch of rain per year, the beetle can only survive by consuming the dew it collects on the hydrophilic skin of its back in the early mornings.

Airdrop borrows this concept, working on the principle that even the driest air contains water molecules which can be extracted by lowering the air’s temperature to the point of condensation. It pumps air through a network of underground pipes, to cool it to the point at which the water condenses. Delivering water directly to the roots of plants.

James Dyson said, “Biomimicry is a powerful weapon in an engineer’s armoury.  Airdrop shows how simple, natural principles like the condensation of water, can be applied to good effect through skilled design and robust engineering. Young designers and engineers like Edward will develop the simple, effective technology of the future – they will tackle the world’s biggest problems and improve lives in the process.”

Edward’s research suggests that 11.5 millilitres of water can be harvested from every cubic meter of air in the driest of deserts. Further iterations of his design will increase the yield of Airdrop.  He said, “winning the award’s £10,000 prize will mean I can develop and test the Airdrop system.  It has the potential to help farmers around the world and I’m up for the challenge of rolling it out”. A further £10,000 has also be awarded to Edward’s university department to support other young engineers keen to follow in his footsteps.

Runners Up:

Kwick Screen (UK)

A portable, retractable room divider developed by Michael Korn, a student at the Royal College of Art in London. The KwickScreen allows healthcare professionals to make the best use of available space; giving maximum privacy, dignity and protection to patients.   Michael explored the use bistable materials such as slap on bracelets and tape measures, and like Edward drew inspiration from concepts found in nature, including the Venus fly trap and a frog’s tongue.

Blindspot (Singapore)

An aide for the visually handicapped, helping them travel around unfamiliar surroundings, developed by Se Lui Chew from the National University of Singapore. Blindspot informs the user of nearby friends using information from geographical-based social apps such as Foursquare, and communicates with them via a Bluetooth earpiece connected to the cane. The cane guides the user to their friend using a horizontally rolling ball on the cane handle which points in the direction they should walk.

Highly Commended:

Amo Arm (Canada)

Michal Prywata from Ryerson University, Canada, developed Amo Arm to overcome the invasive muscle re-innervation surgery required for amputees. It can be strapped on and is controlled using brain signals, avoiding major surgery and the long rehabilitation period after.

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Image showing the Dyson DC02 and Vax Air vacuum cleaner: courtesy of Dyson

Dyson recently won a similar case in France against the same company but British courts failed to find fault with the similarities between Dyson's DC02 and Vax's machine.

Dyson founder James Dyson added: "We’ve invested decades, not to mention millions, in creating better technology. And sadly we waste millions more in cases like this. We need to better protect British design."

James Dyson launched his first vacuum cleaner without a bag in the 1980s. See all our stories about Dyson here and listen to our interview with him here.

Below is a press release issued by Dyson earlier today:

Dyson design wins in France but loses in Britain

Dyson has lost its design rights case against Chinese-owned Vax (part of TTI). British courts failed to find fault with the Chinese conglomerate aping the appearance of Dyson’s iconic DC02 cleaner, bypassing inventiveness in favour of imitation, yet in France Dyson won its hard fought design case against the same firm (TTI).

French courts ruled that TTI’s Dirt Devil had unfairly copied Dyson’s overall look; Dirt Devil is Vax’s sister brand.  French law rules that copying a distinctive design is illegal because it creates confusion for consumers and is unfair competition. The UK does not have the same supportive legal framework.

James Dyson: “By copying our design, Vax has attempted to ride our coattails, crudely cashing-in on the success we’ve built on better engineering. We’ve invested decades, not to mention millions, in creating better technology.  And sadly we waste millions more in cases like this.  We need to better protect British design”.

Iconic British Design: Dyson’s DC02 was engineered in the UK in 1994. Dyson’s first cylinder machine, its distinctive appearance caused it to be noticed across the world: examples can even be found in New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The Vax Mach Zen Air was launched in 2009. Whilst Vax claims to be an “iconic British company”, its latest financial results suggest otherwise, showing all shares to be owned by the Chinese company TTI, the owner of other vacuum cleaner brands Hoover and Dirt Devil. The company’s 2010 results also appear to reveal that no corporation tax was paid in the UK and only £149,000 was paid on overseas earnings.  88% of Dyson’s taxes are paid to the British Exchequer – £50 million in 2010.

Imitation – far from flattering: Dyson has recently won an unfair competition case against Dirt Devil in France and is waiting for the handing down of  a decision of the Dutch court of Appeals  in the Netherlands. However, Dyson continues to battle with Chinese manufacturers manufacturing copies of the Dyson Air Multiplier fan.

Further background:

In 2006 Dyson succeeded in its claim against Qualtex for selling vacuum cleaner parts that infringed Dyson’s design rights. Qualtex was found to have copied the visual design of some of Dyson’s spare parts.  Damages were donated to London’s Royal College of Art to help young designers protect their designs.

As the second highest UK-filer of UK patents after Rolls Royce (2009), Dyson continues to invest millions in developing new technology every year.  Bucking the trend, Dyson is recruiting during recession, growing its UK engineering team to 700.

84% of Dyson machines are sold outside of the UK – and Dyson is market leader in the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe and Canada.

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KwickScreen is a portable, retractable screen that enables hospital staff to quickly isolate infected patients, provide privacy or reconfigure the ward.

The James Dyson Award is an international student design competition running in 18 countries. As a national winner Korn receives £1000 and will go forward with the other seven shortlisted projects from the UK to compete for the International James Dyson Award, worth £10,000 for the winning student or team and £10,000 for their university department.

You can see the winners from the other regions and all the shortlisted designs on the James Dyson Award website.

See all our stories about health here and all our hospital stories here.

Here is some more information from the award organisers:

KwickScreen: UK winner of the James Dyson Award could be ‘rolled-out’ across the NHS.

A portable, retractable room divider has won the UK leg of the James Dyson Award. The KwickScreen means healthcare professionals can make the best use of available space; giving maximum privacy, dignity and protection to patients.

Michael Korn, a student at James Dyson’s alma mater, the Royal College of Art, explored the use bistable materials such as slap on bracelets and tape measures. He developed early prototypes drawing on concepts found in nature, including the Venus fly trap and a frog’s tongue. The discovery of RolaTube Technology gave him the idea of a retractable room divider. He now has exclusive rights to the use the technology for the production of screens and has a patent on the KwickScreen.

The judges agreed that the project was inventive in its simplicity and had commercial potential. Sebastian Conran commented:

“This is such a simple idea, using a well-proven mechanical principle in a unique and innovative way, which seems to have endless applications in a variety of different fields - I just wish I’d thought of it.”

Kwickscreen will progress to compete against leading innovations from the 18 other participating countries. The international winner will be selected by James Dyson and announced on 8th November 2011.

Michael commented: “Winning the UK James Dyson award will propel us towards our goal of increasing exports.  The money will go directly towards the first pay packet for our new graduate engineer recruit who is working hard on R&D to develop the next iteration of KwickScreen."

About the KwickScreen

The KwickScreen is manufactured in Corby in the Midlands, using primarily British components. Since its launch 8 months ago the device has been sold to over 25 NHS Trusts as well as hospitals in Italy, Canada and UAE.   By next year it is hoped that 25% of sales will come from exports.

Having recently been named as a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellow, Michael will use the £1000 of prize money to help with the further development of his invention.

The Runners-up

The judges selected seven more entries to go through to the award’s international stage:

Flexi- a low cost water pump for the developing world

Problem:  Roughly 1 billion people lack access to safe water; they often have to rely on walking miles to collect water from contaminated above ground water sources. Standard pumps are prone to failure and are difficult to repair.
Solution: The Flexi-Pipe Pump is a simple, reliable and low cost water pump. The pump makes use of commonly found materials: a simple bicycle pump produces the compressed air required.

Curve – an ergonomic bike seat for women

Problem: Standard bike saddles create pain and pressure for women at the nose of the saddle as their pelvis tilts forward slightly more than the male.
Solution: Curve is shaped to compliment the shape of the female’s pelvis and supports their weight greatly improving comfort.

Dots – the natural running shoe

Problem: 80% of runners land on their heels relying on a cushion in their running shoes to absorb up to three times their body weight. This can lead to long-term damage such as the "runner's knee" or "shin splint."
Solution: Dots has a patented sole is made of thin layers of colour dots which through controlled erosion produce a unique pattern allowing the runner to watch his running technique and reduce the impact on pressure points such as at the heel of the foot.

OBUOY – an inflatable water rescue device

Problem: 1 million people are rescued by a lifeguard each year. However current products on the market have failings.
Solution: OBUOY is a new inflatable water rescue device that secures a drowning casualty and keeps them afloat, regardless of whether they are able to support themselves. The hinge allows the arms to curl inwards and grab the casualty, keeping their airway above water. It can also be used, once the casualty has been rescued, for oxygen revival which is contained within the aid.

AudioWeb – making websites accessible to the blind

Problem: The internet today is largely visual: rich texts, graphics, images, layouts and video which can pose difficult for the blind. Currently a program called screenreader helps by reading all the text on a page, however this is only frustrating, confusing and extremely slow for a user.
Solution: AudioWeb is a working, fully interactive prototype for the blind by using multiple voices to reflect text formatting, and music. It was developed and tested with real people who have a range of visual impairments and is hugely an improvement from its predecessor.

Air Massage – massaging for arthritics hands

Problem: For Arthritis sufferers, everyday tasks can be extremely frustrating. One in five of the adult population has Arthritis and 10,000,000 people in the U.K alone are sufferers.
Solution: The device uses a number of PVC air bags that fill simultaneously to create a wave of pressure across the hand. Creating compression & massage both beneficial for arthritis. The unit also utilizes an infrared heat pad to give deep penetrative heat into the joints to aid movement.

Suppostin – bowl stimulator for spinal cord injury suffers

Problem: About 95% of people who suffer from Spinal Cord Injury require at least one intervention to initiate defecation. The insertion of suppository and digital bowel stimulation are two common processes in SCI patients’ bowel management program.
Solution: By using Suppostin suppository inserter and Supostin bowel stimulator, users can be more independent and dignified in their bowel care using a simple silicon structure which is lighter and easier to use.

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