Plastics key in award-winning designs

A residential router for connecting wireless devices, a line of outdoor tools, a floating record player, an ultra-thin lightweight computer and a smart-technology road bicycle are among the 2016 International Design Excellence Awards' top winners with significant plastics content.

The Industrial Designers Society of America of Herndon, Va., received more than 1,700 IDEA entries from 32 countries.

Judges selected 73 top winners — those eligible for gold and silver recognitions — and 63 bronze winners.

IDSA will disclose the gold and silver IDEA winners Aug. 17 at a ceremony at the Henry Ford Museum complex in Dearborn, Mich.

IDSA will also disclose the Best in Show, Curator's Choice, People's Choice, Jury Chair's Choice, Beautility Award, Considered Design Award and Design for Equity and sustainability award winners. The society started the IDEA program in 1980.

Cameron Campbell of Seattle, an independent designer, was chair of the 26-member judging panel that conducted the final 2016 IDEA evaluations June 3-6 in Dearborn.

Here are top winners in the running for gold or silver IDEA recognitions:

Google OnHub: Computer equipment

Designers for Whipsaw Inc. of San Jose, Calif., and Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., for the residential router Google OnHub.

The new type of residential router can connect all of a home's wireless devices to the internet and to one another.

The main housing uses Sabic Cycoloy-brand C6600 polycarbonate/ABS blend. The base is die cast aluminum, and the outer shell is offered in either a natural bamboo or ABS. The shroud serving as the outside cover uses high impact HI-121H ABS from LG Chem Ltd.

Whipsaw began collaborating with Google on the project in July 2014 and Google began commercial sale of the product in December 2015. The OnHub costs $178 for the blue shroud and $185 for the black shroud.

Manufacturing occurs at TP-Link Technologies Co. Ltd. in Shenzhen, China.

Working on the project were Whipsaw's Dan Harden, Hiro Teranishi and Elliot Ortiz and Google's Pat Peri and Ben Brown.

Ryobi One: Outdoor equipment

A team of designers at the Anderson, S.C.-based power equipment business of Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd. were noted for the Ryobi One+ Lithium Plus outdoor series of products. The parent firm is based in Hong Kong.

The line includes a string trimmer, hedge trimmer, handheld blower, chainsaw and walk behind lawnmower.

Ryobi One+ batteries power each product. More than 50 tools work with the same upgraded Ryobi 18-volt One+ System lithium battery platform.

Materials in the chainsaw include 30 percent glass-filled nylon 6 for the body enclosure, motor housing, blade cover and internal gearbox; ABS for the trigger and lockout; thermoplastic elastomer for overmolding of the rear handle; polypropylene for the front hand guard, support arm and assist handle; and high density polyethylene for the oil tank. Other materials include steel and aluminum.

Techtronic design and engineering teams in South Carolina and Asia utilize Autodesk Inc. 3-D CAD software and analytical and rapid prototyping methods to investigate and validate the most relevant thermoplastic materials for the application of the specific part.

The thermoplastic components are manufactured at the Techtronic Industries' Asia industrial park in Dongguan, China.

Development work began in October 2014, and the chainsaw, string trimmer, hedge trimmer and jet fan blower, each retailing for $129, were launched in January 2016 at Home Depot stores.

Credits go to Techtronic Industries Power Equipment designers Sean Campbell, Matt Corbin, Keith Long and Nick Norton.

Gramovox Floating Record Player: Entertainment

Designers created a high-performance vertical turntable that can flawlessly play vinyl records and deliver full-range sound. The limited-time price for the plastics-rich product is $399.99.

Brand owner Gramovox LLC of Chicago says it “reimagines vintage audio design with modern technology.”

Gramovox retained Product Development Technologies LLC of Lake Zurich, Ill., for design, research and development services.

The belt-driven record platter is made of polished acrylic. A carbon-fiber-reinforced resin is used in making the tone-arm shaft. Designers utilized Poron-brand PU open-cell foam from Rogers Corp. for the isolation sleeve for the tone-arm counterweight. Custom PU is used for the vibration-dampening feet. The engineered wood base consists of super-refined folded medium-density fiberboard.

A 15-watt-per-channel digital amplifier drives two Tymphany-brand two-inch neodymium speakers.

Among creative nuances, the designers achieved balance in the vertical format by sliding the round counterweight along its shaft axis to change the distance from the tone arms' main pivot.

The redesign of the concept of a record player results in both an artful appearance and a medium to produce analog sound.

Development of the floating record player started in early March 2015. Gramovox began shipping units in December.

Gramovox handles assembly in a Chicago area facility.

Credits go to PDT's Frank Pistorio and Gramovox's Dan Schaumann.

Dell Slim Folio Keyboard: Computer equipment

The experience design group of Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Inc. won for an ultra-thin lightweight computer that can convert to tablet or laptop modes. Pricing starts at $1,049.

Materials for the Dell Latitude 12 7000 Series 2-in-1 with slim folio keyboard include an injection molded 30 percent-filled plastic for the separate keyboard's palm rest and bottom door and molded silicone for the hinge pocket of stamped and anodized aluminum. Die-cast magnesium is used for the internal structure.

The top is made from hardened Gorilla Glass NBT for touch-enabled laptops, and the main body shell is made using a special process to achieve a magnesium unibody. The body starts as a die-cast magnesium part that is insert molded with plastic for the functional antenna windows. Then for a seamless appearance, the entire composite body is coated with a soft-touch paint.

Dell began development of the series in May 2014 and began commercial sales in February 2016. Final assembly is in Compal, China.

SpeedX Leopard Pro: Sports, leisure & recreation

Designers for SpeedX Inc. won for the SpeedX Leopard Pro smart-technology road bicycle.

Founded in December 2014, Beijing Beast Technology Co. Ltd. of Beijing is trademarking the SpeedX brand and uses SpeedX Inc. as its operating identity.

The Shanghai studio of frog design inc. was involved in the brand identity and industrial design concept work for the SpeedX bike.

SpeedX and Fibertek Composite (Xiamen) Co. Ltd. in Xiamen, China, developed proprietary methods and technologies to stack made-in-Japan Toray Industries Inc. T1000 military-grade 60 percent carbon-fiber-reinforced epoxy for the frame, fork and seat post. Every bike frame stacks 207 folded layers. The stiffened frame weighs 2.6 pounds. The design also includes aluminum components.

SpeedX uses Novatec Wheels bearing 40-millimeter wheelset and a Shimano Inc. Ultegra Di2 electronic group set for the Leopard Pro.

Elements such as brake wiring are hidden internally within the frame to reduce friction and drag. Achieving that design took eight months.

During 2015, the company introduced software with a global positioning system and real-time riding data in March and a stem-mounted SmartForce device in October.

The SpeedX Leopard at $1,499 and upscale Leopard Pro at $2,499 were introduced in March.

Credits go to SpeedX's Li Gang, Gao Jiayang, Wu Yamou, Sun Zhen and Li Jianliang.

SHR Flex: Sports, leisure & recreation

Designers for product development firm Creature LLC of Atlanta and Schroth Safety Products GmbH of Arnsberg, Germany, won for the SHR Flex frontal head restraint safety system for professional and recreational race car drivers.

Enginuity Works Corp. of Atlanta assisted on mechanical engineering aspects.

The collar is formed of fiber-reinforced nylon.

The legs are a combination of two hard-and-soft-component high-elasticity Elastollan-brand thermoplastic PU from BASF SE. A stiff formulation forms the legs' structural foundation and a high-compliance overmolded formulation provides cushioned body-conforming surfaces in contact with the user's torso.

Posts mount directly to a driver's helmet.

Schroth began the original proof of concept in June 2013. The design teams at Creature and Enginuity started work in July 2014.

Schroth selected Hunold + Knoop Kunststofftechnik GmbH of Geseke, Germany, for the technical and production/manufacturing aspects of this project. H + K has experience with 2K solutions.

Schroth obtained certification under specification 38.1 of the SFI Foundation Inc., launched the product in December at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis and started commercial sales at $575 in March.

Credits go to the Creature product development team and Schroth's Stefan Meier-Arndt, Tom Myers and Mark Stiles.

Carvey: Office & productivity

Designers for Minimal Inc. and Inventables Inc., both of Chicago, won for the Inventables' Carvey-brand tabletop 3-dimensional carving machine for professionals.

Materials include PC for the windows on the front door and the top of the machine. Aluminum is used for the structure.

The fully enclosed machine limits ambient noise and allows the technology to function in an office or design studio rather than a shop, garage or model making area.

Development of Carvey began in July 2013. The price is $1,999 plus shipping.

More than 300 parts are sourced from material and processing vendors. Final assembly occurs in the Chicago area.

Credits go to Minimal's Dave Seal, Scott Wilson and Keith Alsberg and Inventables' Zach Kaplan and Bart Dring.

PlayForm 7: Environments

Designers on an in-house team at Playworld Inc. of Lewisburg, Pa., won for the elaborate $75,000 PlayForm 7 play sculpture.

Playworld offers aesthetic options so a customer can choose to have the PlayForm 7 panels made of impact-resistant exterior-grade laminated bamboo, translucent PC or HDPE.

Other materials include ergonomic rubber hand holds and end caps, powder-coated steel frames, high-grade aluminum castings and tempered cable adventure ropes with galvanized steel wire core.

The design incorporated ultra-durable flex treads after upgrading industrial conveyor belts to be play quality components. Fabricated belting and hose product specialist Apache Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, provided design help on the belt.

Development of the product began in February 2014. The first PlayForm 7 was installed in Singapore, and Playworld has sold other units.

PlayForm 7 is part of the wide-ranging Extraordinary Playscapes exhibition that the Design Museum Boston curated. PlayForm 7 is on display at Boston's City Hall Plaza through Sept. 5. Subsequently, the PlayForm 7 sculpture will appear with the Extraordinary Playscapes exhibit as it moves to Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Chicago for appearances over a two-year period.

Playworld, which has extensive rotational molding resources, is solely responsible for design and manufacturing of PlayForm 7.

Credits go to Playworld's Craig Mellott, Gabriela Diego, Aida Abolahrar, Greg Scott and Michael Laris.

Zero1 helmet: Sports, leisure & recreation

Product design firm Artefact of Seattle developed the high-end Zero1 football helmet for startup Vicis Inc. of Seattle.

The Zero1 helmet has four layers including an external impact-absorbing Lode shell, a Core layer with bendable vertical struts, a plastic Arch shell and a Form liner of advanced memory foam and waterproof textiles.

Vicis says the Lode shell is a polymer similar to materials the automotive industry uses in car bumpers, often of PP. Usually, a football helmet has a hard exterior shell of PC.

Each of four different head-shape-determined Form liners works in unison with the Arch shell.

The Vicis Axis fit system incorporates head length and breadth measurements. Zero1 offers 12 sizing combinations.

The science-driven Vicis team includes an independent neurologic consultant to the National Football League, a mechanical engineering professor, a pediatrics professor, a chiropractic physician who is Team USA's chief medical officer for the 2016 Olympics and a sports medicine expert who is team physician for the Seattle Seahawks football team and Seattle Mariners baseball team.

Primary venture-capital funded, Vicis received a $750,000 grant from the Health Head Initiative of the NFL, Under Armour Inc. and General Electric Co.

The Riddell brand of Rosemont, Ill.-based BRG Sports Inc. and Schutt Sports of Litchfield, Ill., are significant suppliers of professional-grade football helmets but at price points significantly lower than the projected $1,500 for a Zero1. 

Fade Task Light: Home & bath

Design studio Box Clever of San Francisco won for creation of a task light with a 16-bulb light-emitting-diode array for Fade Studio Inc. of San Francisco and Tainan, Taiwan.

Materials include PC, stamped stainless and stamped tempered steel, cast zinc and magnets.

The highly functional design limits the amount of parts, aims to reduce the cost of production and the manufacturing timetable and provides high-performance illumination with a free range of motion for positioning.

Sonos smart speaker: Home & bath

Designers at Sonos Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif., and GRO Design NV of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, won for the $499 Play:5 smart speaker.

A PC/ABS blend is used for the main enclosure, brand tag and grill with 10 to 30 percent glass-fiber-reinforced PC/ABS for the internal structures. The feet and power cord are made from TPEs.

Suitable for today's streaming environment, the product can be used solo or as a stereo pair in vertical or horizontal orientation. TruePlay software calibrates the speaker to its environment. Development began in 2012.

Robin smartphone: Communication tools

Designers for Branch Creative and Nextbit Systems Inc., both of San Francisco, won for the Robin smartphone, which is designed to never run out of storage space.

With a housing of glass-reinforced PC, the device is equipped with 32 gigabytes of storage and accesses another 100 GB in the cloud.

The phone measures 5.9 inches by 2.8 inches by 0.28 inches, weighs 5.3 ounces and utilizes a Snapdragon 808 system-on-chip from Qualcomm Inc.

Nextbit designs and manufactures Android smartphones and accessories and sells its products online.

In early 2016, Nextbit distributed initial units to backers. In late May, the phone went on sale initially in India via the e-commerce site Flipkart.

Design credits go to Nextbit's Scott Croyle, Peter Riering-Czekalla and Ashley Yousling and Branch Creative's Josh Morenstein, Willy Carteau and Nick Cronan.

Separately, designers for Branch Creative won a bronze for the wearable device for startup Thync Inc. of Los Gatos, Calif. A user wears the Thync Vibes device on a temple and can select a “vibe” from a smartphone app.

Small electric waveforms activate specific neural pathways that can calm or energize a person.

ABS is injection molded for the module.

Credits go again to Branch Creative's Josh Morenstein and Nick Cronan,

Si500 Video Speaker Microphone: Communication tools

The Plantation, Fla.-based innovation design and engineering development teams of Motorola Solutions Inc. won for the Si500 video speaker microphone for law enforcement customers. Other Motorola Solutions' global development centers contributed to the project.

Major external parts of the housing and battery are molded of 40-percent-glass-reinforced Grivory GV-4H nylon from EMS-Chemie AG.

Silicone is used for various internal seals.

Motorola Solutions began offering the device for sale in October at pricing contingent on quantity requirements and compatibility with other communications system components of the law enforcement agencies.

TC8000 Mobile Computer: Commercial & industrial products

Designers in the Holtsville, N.Y., enterprise division of Zebra Technologies Corp. won for the ruggedized TC8000 handheld mobile computer.

The design uses Sabic Lexan EXL 9330 PC copolymer in molding of the main housing and for the substrate of the front bezel. Covestro Texin 950 aromatic polyether-based thermoplastic PU is overmolded onto the front bezel.

The display bezel and metal handle frame are made with aluminum ADC12, and the large upright display panel is Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Development of the program began in January 2013 with the first customer shipment occurring in December 2015. The list price for a base configuration is about $2,000.

Final assembly occurs in Suzhou, China.

The TC8000 is designed to withstand multiple eight-foot-high drops to concrete on all sides without affecting its operation.

The design team met with customers globally and observed their workers and processes in working to create the TC8000. Zebra said it has independent verification that the TC8000 can improve worker productivity 14 percent and reduce user effort 23 percent.

Credits go Konstantinos Tsiopanos, industrial designer–advanced, and Jaeho Choi, senior manager of industrial design.

Zebra acquired most of Motorola Solutions Inc.'s enterprise business for $3.45 billion in October 2014.

mCookie: Children's products

Five designers for Microduino Inc. in China and the U.S. built a toy that is not a toy and that intends to inspire youthful exuberance for inventive technologies.

They created a top winner for their do-it-yourself stackable snap-together mCookie magnetic building modules that emulate the functionality, and appear to resemble an electronic version, of the concept for Lego-type molded-ABS building blocks.

Zhenshan Wang, Kejia Pan, Xi Li, Bin Feng and Jian Hu designed the modular product line in Beijing and Los Angeles. Component manufacturing occurs in Shenzhen.

The aim is to expedite a product developer's ability to create a working model significantly shortening the upfront process for companies or individuals employing integrated circuits for use in electronic products.

Microduino began product shipments in November and, via its own website and Amazon, sells basic, advanced and expert kits ranging in price from $99 to $299. In addition, more than 50 different modules are available.

Miracle 360 Cup: Children's products

Lead designers Matt Saxton and Kevin Johnson with Munchkin Inc. of Van Nuys, Calif., have a top winner in the 10-ounce spout-less Miracle-brand 360° sippy cup.

A child can drink from anywhere around the rim. The drinking edge automatically seals after the toddler stops drinking.

The $6 cup is molded of PP, and the top control valve is silicone. Manufacturing occurs in China.

PulsumType wireless keyboard: Computer equipment

Three members of the design team for Pegatron Corp. of Taipei, Taiwan, won for the PulsumType wireless haptic keyboard.

HDPE, leather craftwork and aluminum alloy are among the materials in the keyboard.

Touching the keyboard activates 0.2-millimeter actuators sending electrical signals and providing an immediate tactile feedback to the user.

Design research calibrated potential users' typing experience and finger strength and led to creation of a four-phase feedback pressure sensor for the keyboard.

Credits go to Alain Lee, Jeffery Tsai and Bruce Lin.

Serif TV: Entertainment

Designers at Erb Sarl in Paris and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. of Suwon, South Korea, won a top award for the creative Serif TV.

Samsung approached the brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec at their studio in 2012 seeking to incorporate an upscale concept in its product line.

The result looks like a piece of furniture and contrasts from the popular ultra-flat television screens on the market today.

Spray-treated injection molded polymers form the frame.

Sales began in Europe, but Samsung said the 40-inch Serif TV would be available in the U.S. in August for a suggested retail price of $1,499 in white across design-centric retail partners and in blue through the Museum of Modern Art design store in New York and on the Samsung website. The Serif TV comes in two other sizes.

In addition to the Bouroullec brothers, credits go to Samsung's Yun-je Kang, Kang-il Chung and Dong-hee Won.

Other Samsung designers won another top award for a 360-degree camera with front and rear fisheye lenses each capturing 180 degrees horizontally and vertically.

Spray decorated PC is used for the Gear 360 body, and aluminum and glass form the lens.

Each lens spans a 195-degree angle of view, and the images are stitched together.

The dual-lens mode can capture 360-degree videos in high definition and images of up to 30 megapixels.

Credits go to Samsung's Woojung Moon, Minki Ham, Kyunghan Noh and Kenji Yamauchi.

In addition, designers for parent Samsung Group information-technology-service subsidiary Samsung SDS of Seoul, South Korea, won a bronze award for a home control display and digital door lock.

The housing utilizes PC, zinc and aluminum, and the window is acrylic.

Capable of remote control via a smartphone, the system is compliant under the European Union's restriction of hazardous substances directive.

Credits go to Samsung SDS's Seungryun Lee, Jeonghoon Ha and Sooyeon Chung.

3DRobotics drone: Sports, leisure & recreation

Designers for Astro Studios Inc. of San Francisco won for a $600 solo drone from 3D Robotics Inc. of Berkeley, Calif.

Materials include PC for the chassis, most body components and the arm lens, nylon for the legs and 13 percent glass-filled nylon for the propellers.

Manufacturing occurs in Shenzhen. During 2015, a pre-sale started in April and shipments began in July.

Credits go to Astro Studios' Norio Fujikawa and Ed Mangum.

Kyon pet tracker:

Communication tools

A team at Huge Design of New York won a top award for a one­of­a­kind GPS-equipped wearable pet collar for the technology business of Kyon Ltd. of Athens, Greece.

Materials in the Kyon Pet Tracker include a plastic inner main body and overmolded TPE exterior with a Shore A range of 70-80, a flexible printed circuit board and a light-emitting-diode display. The life of the rechargeable battery is up to 30 days.

The collar works with a mobile application that enables an owner to monitor, track and receive information or alerts about a pet.

The device costs $249, plus a $4.99 service fee and tax and shipping, and the monthly service fee of $4.99 covers the cost to use a cellular network for locating a pet when not in range of a base station or cell phone. The project began in May 2013 with initial sales in May 2016. Final assembly occurs in Taiwan.

 Nascent Objects: Home & bath

Designers for Ammunition Group of San Francisco won a top award for a modular consumer electronics creation platform for Nascent Objects of San Carlos, Calif.

The platform combines computer-aided-design tools, 3-D printed circuitry and a library of electronic component modules. A processor injection molds plastic for the housing of the modules.

Among pilot products, the CouCou has an outer shell of an ABS/PC blend.

Credits go to Steve Sangik Lee, Achille Biteau, Victoria Slaker and Robert Brunner.

Treo: Medical & health

Designers in Milwaukee for GE Healthcare, an operating segment of General Electric Co., won a top award for the Treo advanced concept for the future of mobile medical imaging.

Materials include white molded ABS for the covers, PU for the imaging detector, die cast aluminum for the flexible hinged links and glass for the imaging emitter cover.

Development in GE Healthcare's global design studio started in mid-2015. The device is not for sale.

Treo addresses the issue of on-demand patient care and reflects thoughts on the future of mobile radiology. In fact, the concept reimagines the current state of brick-and-mortar medical imaging equipment and envisions an evolving mobile product category that a new entity, GE Imaging, targets for its magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and x-ray businesses.

Wielgus Product Models Inc. of Chicago produced a hand-finished appearance model of the Treo concept using 3-D printing.

Other top winners

• An in-house design team for technology startup Hammerhead of New York won a top award for a rugged intelligent navigation device for cyclists.

Designers prototyped 47 iterations of the Hammerhead One in working with individuals and focus groups and refining the design, material, finish and internal electronic components. The product was introduced in May 2015.

Materials include PP, TPE and nylon 6/6.

The system includes the device and a handlebar mount that is Garmin quarter-turn compatible. The system is projected to retail for $120 when it is available in stores.

Credits go to Piet Morgan, Laurence Wattrus, Raveen Beemsingh and Julio Radesca.

• Designers in three Ohio locations won a top award for a digital health platform catering to all users regardless of abilities or handicaps.

The Access Strength-brand platform combines fitness/rehabilitation equipment and cloud software that is compliant under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Materials include powder-coated steel and injection molded plastic.

Credits go to Priority Designs Inc. of Columbus for engineering work, the Dublin laboratory of AWH for software development and Ryan Eder of IncludeFitness Inc. of Cincinnati for design aspects.

• The design team for HTC Corp. of New Taipei City, Taiwan, won a top award for the $799 Vive virtual reality system.

Development of the first of its kind product occurred in partnership with video game specialist Valve Corp. of Bellevue, Wash.

The molded plastic headset, two wireless controllers and two base stations enable 360-degree room-scale motion-tracking.

In addition to gaming, applications can include educational experiences, worker training simulations and therapeutic assistance to people with disabilities.

• Designers for LG Electronics Inc. of Seoul won three awards: a top award for the Bluetooth-enabled LG Rolly wireless keyboard 2 and bronzes for the G5 smartphone and, with frog design inc., an all-in-one home security system.

The LG Rolly keyboard can be used with a smartphone or a tablet computer to enhance productivity. The Rolly keyboard 2 can stand vertically and horizontally when used with another device.

Now being introduced to the market, this second-generation model KBB-710 has a five-row pentagonal keyboard in contrast to the four-row rectangular form of its processor model.

Materials include PC and fabric.

Credits go to Se-Ra Park and Hyun-Woo Yoo.

The G5 smartphone has a modular structure and hybrid design that incorporates PC, aluminum and glass.

A rear dual-camera utilizes a 135-degree wide-angle lens. The G5 can connect with a range of peripherals.

Credits go to LG's Young-Ho Kim and Young-Joo Cho.

For the other bronze winner, a user can control the plastics-housed LG Smart Security system from a mobile device. Functions include high-definition video, professional monitoring and seamless home automation.

Credits go to frog's Ara Acle, Francois Nguyen, Hailey O'Conner, Charles Ambler and Joshua Newby and LG's Jeff Bonin and Arthur Orduna.

• Designers for Montaag LLC of Berkeley, Calif., and Vard Group AS of Ålesund, Norway, won a top award for conceptualizing a 591-foot offshore subsea construction vessel.

Vard, a designer and builder of specialized vessels, commissioned Montaag to design a ship with a widened operational window and better onboard quality-of-life general arrangements for the officers and crew.

Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers would form the heart of the accommodations and superstructure, and steel would be used for the main hull.

Vard is a business of Fincantieri SpA.

Credits go to Montaag's Per Ivar Selvaag, Han Huynh, Kevin Capo, Andrew Smith and Adriana Monk and Vard's Torkild Skjong, Kjell Morten Urke and Ove Bjorneseth.

• Designers in the Shanghai frogLabs studio of frog design inc. won a top award for creating the conceptual Yibu learning platform to transform screen time into meaningful and physically active experiences for children. Development work started in February 2015.

Materials include resin and wood for five crafted toys along with sensing technology incorporating an Apple Inc. iPad tablet computer.

Yibu is described as an educational play ecosystem combining digital and physical components. It uses digital screen and sensor technology in creating a multi-dimensional adventure activity versus a passive viewing experience.

Sensing toys gather real-time environmental data and, with location-based data, influence the game leading to learning how temperature, sound, light, direction and wind influence the digital character.

Credits go to Rainer Weser, Simone Rebaudengo, Mingmin Wang, Paul Adams and Shirley Chen in the frogLab platform for experimental research and prototyping.

• Designers for Hong Kong-based Lenovo Group Ltd. won a top award for the conceptual Yoga wireless capsule earphone and bronze recognitions for three entries: the ideacentre 610s computer, ideacentre Y710 cube computer and conceptual Yoga mouse.

The Yoga double-ear wireless stereo capsule earphone has a charging box for multiple user scenarios and is made with injection molded ABS. Design occurred in Beijing.

The two-dimensional touch control on a small leather part of the earphone provides access to volume control.

The ideacentre 610s is a compact home computer with a projector that can be detached for family sharing and entertainment. Materials include PC and ABS.

The ideacentre Y710 personal computer has a small form factor and targets hardcore gamers. A customer can upgrade internal components, as desired, and avoid needing to buy a totally new set of product. Materials include recycled plastics.

The Yoga mouse is a dual-mode wireless premium travel mouse with full functional features with flexibility to adapt to different user scenarios. The mouse cover of a transparent ultraviolet-coated PC ensures a bright display and a responsive touch experience. ABS is also used in the design.

• Designers for Veryday AB of Bromma, Sweden, won a top award for work on the Icare ic100 tonometer for Icare Finland Oy of Vantaa, Finland, a subsidiary of Revenio Group Corp.

The non-invasive device measures an eye patient's intra ocular pressure. Measurement of the fluid pressure in the eye is critical in the early detection of glaucoma.

Designers specified a PC/ABS blend for the covers.

Veryday began development work in late 2013. During 2016, Icare launched the product in Europe in January and in the U.S. in May at a list price of $4,495.

Veryday was responsible for the product's industrial design. Mechanical and electronic designs, manufacturing and final assembly occur in Finland.

Credits go to Veryday's Marcus Heneen, Madelene Lindström, Fernanda Barbato, Hans Himbert, Fredric Ghatan, Erik Wallin and Teresa Hallenberg.

• Cenk Aytekin of Laerdal Medical AS in Stavanger, Norway, won a top award for designing the Moyo fetal heart rate monitor for its non-profit sister company Laerdal Global Health AS.

The design uses an ABS/PC blend and stainless steel in the main unit, ABS in the ultrasound transducer, a non-latex high-elastic polyester in the abdominal belt and a non-latex polyester in the neck strap.

Laerdal Medical began development of the monitor in the spring of 2013. The CE-approved product was released in July 2015 for offering in some European countries. The product at $198 targets low resource markets.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the device yet.

Regardless of skill level, a trained care provider can use the monitor intermittently or continuously.

Laerdal Global Health supports the millennium development goals of a World Health Organization-related partnership to improve child survival and maternal health.

• The design lab of Coway Co. Ltd. of Gonju, South Korea, is a top winner for an air purifier with an improved circulating function.

Initially identified as AP-1516A, the product uses recyclable ABS, PP and PC flame-retardant materials.

The purifier can blow breezes up to 33 feet through a front circular hole. A user can set the breeze from the front and top separately or together as needed.

• An internal team at Oculus VR LLC of Irvine, Calif., a subsidiary of Facebook Inc., designed the $599 wearable Oculus Rift positionally tracked virtual-reality headset.

Materials in the headset include PC/ABS blends, TPE, nylon, polyester, PU, an active-matrix organic light-emitting-diode display and electronic components. Materials in the sensor are aluminum, PC/ABS blends, paint and electronic components. The remove contains PC/ABS blends and electronic components.

• Dyutiman Moulik of the studio Incue designed the Hobtop four-burner gas cooking appliance for TTK Prestige Ltd. Both businesses are in Bangalore, India.

Polymer materials include injection molded plastic for the knobs and molded rubber for the bumpers and stands. Other materials include toughened iron-oxide-free glass for the primary surface, powder-coated steel for the bottom enclosure, stainless street for the drip trays and die cast iron for the pan supports.

• Members of the internal experience design team at Fujifilm SonoSite Inc. of Bothell, Wash., received a top award for the SonoSite SII point-of-care ultrasound system.

The design uses injection molded Tritan copolyester from Eastman Chemical Co. on the top and bottom of protective caps, the sliding drawer, the basket and the gel holder.

Other materials include various grades of aluminum for vertical side panels and base, chemically strengthened touch screen glass and magnesium on the back panel and front handle.

Credits go to Ben Dekock, David Wykes, Craig Chamberlain and Evan McCormack.

In March 2012, SonoSite Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujifilm Holdings Corp. of Tokyo. SonoSite introduced the first mountable ultrasound system in 2007.

• Designers with the agency Geometry Global Korea of Seoul won for the concept of a solar-powered thermal bed for babies that can be used in regions without ready access to electricity.

The outside is made of antibacterial padded soft foam, and the inside thermal material is a polymer gel that can absorb and store solar heat.

A sun icon that is screen printed in color changing Zion Ink will react to increased heat and inform a user that the Suncubator is warm enough and ready to keep using.

Credits go to Joon Kwon, Jihye Hong, Insup Yun, Minha Kwon and Usuk Lee.

• The Justime in-house design team of Sheng Tai Brassware Co. Ltd. of Changhua City, Taiwan, won for the Justine Yes basin faucet line.

Materials include polyphenylene ether, acetal, copper and stainless steel.

Student Winners

IDSA named these student entries with plastic content as honorees for top and bronze awards:

• Students in the school of design at Dalian Minzu University and associates at Dalian HMO Technology Co. Ltd., both in Dalian, China, won three awards: a top award for the concept of an emergency medical system, a bronze for an adjustable free climbing app and a bronze for a protective water-rescue cabin.

A new type of emergency vehicle can transport both cargo and medical treatment. Units can be connected together to extend available space for emergency medical services in a disaster area.

Proposed materials include carbon fiber, pultruded composite steel, antibacterial plastics and medical-grade composite fiberglass.

Credits for the top award go to the school of design's Hui An, Chunyan He, Chaojun Zhang, Xi Li and Haimo Bao and Dalian HMO's Song Qiao and Jing Sun.

The free climbing app allows a user to select a degree of difficulty and simultaneously record and store times for convenient comparison with previous climbs.

Among the 17 materials in the elaborate concept are fiberglass, thermosetting resin, PP, ABS and wear-resistant and thermoplastic rubber.

Credits for the bronze free climbing award go to the school of design's Zhen Ye, Jie Zhang, Chuanyin Wang, Mengsheng Cai and Haimo Bao and Dalian HMO's Song Qiao and Jing Sun.

The protective cabin, identified as a Safe House, can provide a way to escape a shipwreck upon the tilting of the hull. In theory, a user can turn on a device to activate the fixed floating cabin, which will slide out from a track under the influence of gravity. It converts into a rescue capsule floating on the sea.

Polymers in the concept include butyl rubber, Thioplast epoxydised polysulfide, PC, PE, PP, EVA and polymer nano film.

Credits for the bronze cabin award go to the school of design's Wang Cai, Jiahuan Liu, Jia Dong, Deyu Ma and Haimo Bao and, again, Dalian HMO's Song Qiao and Jing Sun.

• Students at Tunghai University in Taichung City, Taiwan, won a top student award for the concept of a PP BoneAid flat-packed board for limbs fracture fixation.

The design is applicable for fixing arms, legs and ankles fracture suitable for uses in a disaster or regions with insufficient medical resources. The BoneAid is projected to be less expensive than usual fracture fixation splints.

Credits go to Wang Yu-Chi, Huang Yu-Man and Chen Chia-Ling.

• Alexandra Sieben of San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif., won a student bronze award for the Höganäs cooling fan, which takes advantage of natural material qualities to optimize thermo-conduction and temperature regulation.

The Höganäs concept pulls from the material library of Inter IKEA Systems BV and uses ABS and ceramic stoneware for the main housing and PP for the reusable ice pack.

• Hyunsu Park in the department of industrial design at Kookmin University in Seoul won a student bronze for a universal hand dryer.

The dryer of an engineered thermoplastic helps a user access the drying vent from any direction. The design is intended to be accessible for children, those with disabilities and tall persons.

• Zachary Ruthven of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit won a student bronze for a commuter bike that can attach easily to a car hitch for transportation.

The frame is a carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, and the hitch is a lightweight aluminum.

The aim is to broaden the market for commuter riders, hopefully through an alliance with manufacturer Trek Bicycle Corp. of Waterloo, Wis.

• Wanki Kim of Hannam University in Daejeon, South Korea, won a student bronze for a screwdriver with three different sizes of tips.

Materials in the “3Driver” include a plastic handle and metal/chrome vanadium shaft.

• The JZCX Design Team and Chunming Zhang of the College of Arts at Changzhou University in Changzhou, China, won a student bronze for an all-in-one bike pedal and bike lock.

Named Bicycle Guardians, the device of plastic and silicone aims to make it easier for a rider to avoid theft of a bike and reduce the need to carry a separate bicycle lock.