Website of the YearA former Tauranga resident is one of two New Zealanders to appear on the international shortlist for the 2010 James Dyson Award.
Steven Wyeth's ergonomic fire hose device, Minotaur, is a fire hose system worn by a fire fighter.
A hose is attached to a harness, at the wearer's centre of gravity, giving freedom of movement and comfort, and reducing the physical demands on the user, irrespective of the duration of operation.
"The padded harness is contoured to the body so that it moves with the fire fighter.
"My design also considers advancements in the control of the nozzle, as well as the position of the user over the top of the nozzle, with the wrist situated in a neutral position," says 23-year-old Steven.
"I've shown Minotaur to some guys at the New Zealand Fire Service and they said the current nozzle system has remained unchanged for years now, and so they were pretty excited that a hose system had been designed with the user's experience at the forefront of the design decisions and innovations."
The second New Zealander on the shortlist is 21-year-old Nichola Trudgen from Massey University in Albany, whose invention, Wanderest, is a seat for the elderly, which can be attached to public facilities such as lamp posts, providing a convenient resting place.
The annual James Dyson Award challenges aspiring design students to develop inventive yet practical inventions.
With a prize of £20,000, entries must convince a panel of international experts, Dyson engineers and James Dyson himself of their potential to solve a problem.
Engineers at Dyson's British headquarters narrowed the international shortlist of the James Dyson Award from 100 to a final top 20 inventions.
The winner will be announced on 4 October.
The awards were open to any student of design (or graduate within four years of graduation) who is studying or has studied in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA.
The James Dyson Award is part of the James Dyson Foundation, a registered charity with the aim of supporting design, technology and engineering education, medical research charities and local community projects. The James Dyson Foundation works with schools and universities around the UK and internationally.
All of this year's entries can be seen on the website www.jamesdysonaward.org.
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