N E W S
BOU (Sian Hosking Berge, Massey
University, School of Design)
Problem: Children at pre-school
age learn best through stimulating
play, however modern life means
there is less opportunity to
learn and build than previous
generations.
Solution: BOU provides an
opportunity for children to create
their own useable product. It is a
kitset ride-on for two to five-year
old’s, providing a self-affirming
learning experience for young
children and the opportunity to
build their own toy.
All three entries will now progress
to the international stage of the
James Dyson Award with the
hope of winning up to $55,000
and $9,000 for their university.
Their entries will be judged by
a panel of Dyson engineers
who will select an international
shortlist of 20 entries. The Top
20 projects are then reviewed by
Sir James Dyson, who selects the
international winner.
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With their winning entry, the young
designers will receive NZ$3,500*:
“We’re excited that Electric Cargo Trike
has been recognised by the James
Dyson Award, we now hope to further its
development to offer more sustainable
deliveries in the future. We love how
James Dyson set out to solve problems,
which is exactly what we set out to do.
Our product went through an extensive
iterative process and sustainability is
very important to us, so this competition
was a great natural fit for us.”
The designers – Daniel Shorrock,
Chris Warren, Fergus Salmon, Zoe
Lovell-Smith, Liam Avery, and Oscar
Jackson, all studying a Bachelor of
Industrial Design at Massey University
(Wellington), said they were inspired by
sports bikes and the increasing trend
of Kiwis moving to more sustainable
vehicles. “We know New Zealanders
care about the environment and think
they would feel better if they had an
electric trike delivering their parcel than
having a van in their driveway,” he says.
However, the design wasn’t as simple
as the drive to solve this last mile
delivery problem: “We had four main
prototypes, over 10 CAD Computer-
Aided Design models, and countless
sketches and Lego models getting to
this final product. We spent hundreds
and hundreds of hours over 12 weeks
trying to make this the most effective,
safest, and easy vehicle to use and we
think we finally got there,” explained
Daniel. Future plans for the Electric
Cargo Trike see a range of possibilities
including use on New Zealand farms.
“We see this working well within
an agricultural context. Potentially
replacing quad bikes with a vehicle that
is much safer. The tilting mechanism
makes it much harder for the vehicle
to roll over and injure the driver,” say
the students behind the Electric Cargo
Trike.
The ability to lean into corners make
the vehicle much more stable at
higher speeds, meaning it can handle
obstacles such as speed bumps, rough
terrain and curbs exceptionally easily.
The wishbone suspension has a large
degree of travel while the two front
wheels give the vehicle a lot of traction
at the front. The three-wheeled setup
also allows for greater cargo capacity
than a traditional motorcycle.
“It can stop faster, corner harder, and
provide more stability than a normal
cargo bike,” adds Daniel. This design
also means packages are safer and
are more likely to make it to their
final destination undamaged. Plus,
easily interchangeable batteries
mean delivery downtime is kept to a
minimum by allowing it to run all day
with only short breaks needed to swap
the batteries out. “The idea is that you
charge one battery at the depot while
you’re out doing deliveries, and when
you get low, you simply swap it out so
you don’t have to wait for a battery to
charge,” says Daniel.
James Dyson Award judge Sir Ray
Avery says: “This is an urban ute.
Nobody has applied disruptive thinking
to this type of vehicle before. This
could become a transportation gamechanger
from a global perspective.
Having spent a significant amount of
my life in the developing world, I see
a real need and opportunity for this
design. The Electric Cargo Trike has
a place in every developing country
and is a great example of Kiwi applied
technology.”
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