Aquaeye wins the NCBI CFIT Technology Showcase 2012
Written by Antoinette Fennell Sunday, 29 April 2012
Kieran O’Callaghan, a PhD student from Cork IT's Department of Mechanical Engineering, has won the grand prize of €3,000 at NCBI Centre for Inclusive Technology’s Technology Showcase with his design Aquaeye (Trademark).
Presented with his cheque by Pat Rabbitte TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Kieran’s design was picked from nine finalists by a high profile panel of judges with expertise in the areas of IT and inclusive design.
Read more: Aquaeye wins the NCBI CFIT Technology Showcase 2012
Presenting the NCBI CFIT Technology Showcase Finalists
Written by Antoinette Fennell Saturday, 28 April 2012
In late 2011, a call for competition entries was sent out to professional designers and design students. The objective was to raise awareness of the potential of disability to inspire innovation and to provide designers of inclusive technologies with a platform to promote their inventions.
The criteria for entry were as follows:
- Entries had to have at the very least a working prototype
- Entries could be anything at all as long as they incorporated some type of technology
- The designers had to have considered vision loss during the design process
Almost 100 people braved the harsh Dublin weather to attend the Showcase. The event was a huge success, due largely to the energy and enthusiasm of the designers who tirelessly presented their demos to an eager public. These nine finalist designs are described in more detail below.
Read more: Presenting the NCBI CFIT Technology Showcase Finalists
NCBI CFIT Technology Showcase 2012
Written by Antoinette Fennell Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Vision Loss Inspiring Innovation...
The NCBI Centre for Inclusive Technology is hosting the Technology Showcase 2012 in City Wall Space, Wood Quay Venue, Dublin 2 on Thursday 26th April 2012 from 1pm to 4.30pm.
Ten designers of inclusive technologies will battle against each other in an exhibition-style showcase for a cash prize of €3,000, which will be presented by Pat Rabbitte TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
Collaborating with Industry
Written by Antoinette Fennell Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Antoinette Fennell attended the launch of the National Disability Authority’s "Building for Everyone" guidelines that took place on the 23rd February 2012. These are new Universal Design guidelines for designers, planners and managers of the built and external environment.
One interesting observation was the abundance of industry representatives at the event. An unusual sight at a Universal Design gathering. This is presumably due to the fact that the built environment is strictly controlled by building regulations, so the development of guidelines which assist in meeting the requirements of National building regulations is of interest to many practitioners. They have no choice. This is in contrast to other design fields. For example, you don’t need to apply for planning permission to create a product or a website and most Industry standards and guidelines in the technology fields are not legally binding.
The second interesting observation was a presentation by Onny Eikhaug who is a Programme Leader at the Norwegian Design Council. Onny leads the Council's government funded Innovation for All programme promoting Universal Design as a practice and as an effective business tool for innovation.