The Drumi, designed by industrial design student Yi Jiang from the Ontario College of Art and Design University, won the Canadian leg of the James Dyson Award.
The foot powered washing machine requires small amounts of water and no electricity. Jiang will receive $3,600 to further commercialize his project and will progress to the international stage of the award.
Development of the Drumi began in 2012 as Jiang’s final thesis project. Original designs were for a compact laundry machine that used electricity and a top-loading drum, however he quickly turned to electricity-free models, keeping sustainability in mind. Today, the Drumi is in the final stages of product development.
The judges selected four additional Canadian finalists, who will also go through to the next stage of the competition. Among the Canadian runners up included the entry: Voltera V-One
Team: Alroy Almeida, Jesus Zozaya, James Pickard, Katarina Ilic
University of Waterloo, Mechatronics Engineering
Problem: Access to custom circuit boards, especially for hobbyists and budding engineers and designers, can be difficult. Getting custom circuit boards from big factories can be a costly and lengthy process.
Solution: Voltera V-One is a custom circuit board printer. The printer has swappable print heads for the conductive ink, which creates the electrical traces, and an insulating ink that allows the machine to create masks for two layer boards. The printer automatically dispenses solder paste and bakes the board. Voltera V-one offers pre-cut, pre-drilled template boards for additional circuitry to be built upon, allowing users to go from concept to creation in minutes.
All Canadian entries move onto the next stage of the competition, where a panel of Dyson engineers will judge a total of 100 entries from 20 participating countries to a top 20 international shortlist.
The James Dyson Award is run by the James Dyson Foundation, a registered charity supporting
Drumi foot powered washing machine
Voltera V-One custom circuit board printer.
design, technology and engineering education, medical research charities and local community projects. The James Dyson Foundation works with schools and universities in the UK and internationally.
