After being selected as runners-up at the Canadian stage of the James Dyson Award competition, two University of Waterloo engineering teams, Suncayr and EyeCheck, have made it to the top 20 international shortlist announced earlier this month. The teams will compete with several others from locations including Singapore, Japan, and the UK for the top spot that comes with a $46,000 award and a further $18,000 for their university.
EyeCheck has developed a smartphone app, which when used along with a stand-alone camera and server-side image processing can be used to provide people their prescription. This is a cheap and quick method to help people determine how to correct their vision, and holds great potential in developing regions of the world. As mentioned in the official press release by Dyson, Nick Schneider, a Dyson design engineer and one of the judges said, “the EyeCheck team have managed to engineer an affordable way of diagnosing eye problems quickly, potentially improving quality of life for many.”
Suncayr, which was profiled in the first issue of this term, has developed a colour-changing marker that when applied on the skin indicates when sunscreen being used no longer works and needs to be reapplied. Likening Suncayr to Dyson, Nick noted, “much like the way Dyson engineers approach everyday problems, Suncayr is a simple solution for remaining protected in the sun. It is visual and intuitive, whilst also educating the user about the problem.” The team has also gotten exposure by being featured along with other finalists in an online video by SourceFed.
It is hoped that these teams continue to succeed and are able to take their ideas to the next level. For more information on the James Dyson Foundation and on this year’s finalists, visit jamesdysonaward.org. The finalists for this year will be announced on November 6, 2014.
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