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Toshiba a Winner at Germany’s iF Product Design Awards 2016
Toshiba Group took five awards at iF Design Award 2016, the prestigious international design competition organized by iF International Forum Design GmbH. H2OneTM, ahydrogen-based autonomous energy supply system, and three other products received Product Design Awards, and the TruRecorder voice recording application won the Communication Design Award.
Initiated in 1953 to recognize outstanding achievement in diverse areas of design, iF Design Award is now one of the most important international forums for industrial design. Products from around the world are comprehensively evaluated for design originality, innovativeness, functional ease of use, quality and environmental considerations, and awards are given to exceptional designs. Toshiba Group has now won awards for 18 years in a row.
Main features of Toshiba’s award-winning products
1. H2OneTM Hydrogen-based autonomous energy supply system
H2One™ is a new autonomous energy supply system that produce hydrogen from water, stores it, and then uses it when needed, as a fuel to generate electricity and hot water. H2OneTM can help to manage intermittent output from weather-dependent renewable energy sources and so maintain stable electricity supply. As a portable system, H2OneTM can be transported to regions with limited infrastructure to help them achieve self-sufficiency in energy. H2OneTM will bring in a bright future and contributes to the realization of a soceity where clean hydrogen energy is in widespread use.
2. TruRecorder voice recording application for meeting
TruRecorder is a voice recording application that provides utmost flexibility in checking recorded audio. TruRecorder can identify up to 10 specific speakers, and uses different colors to visually represent comments by different people. This gives users a sense that they are “touching the sound.” TruRecorder allows users to play back only selected speakers’ sections and skip silent sections. It is designed to allow users to check recorded data quickly and easily, so they can fully concentrate in meetings without the distraction of note-taking.
3. RC-4ZWJ small-capacity induction rice cooker
Accompanying an increase in the number of small households and a shift to a lifestyle that prefers fluffy freshly cooked rice, Toshiba has developed a rice cooker that, despite its small capacity (approx. 2.5cups), is capable of emulating the cooking of the kamado,an ancient wood- or charcoal-fueled stove, with a broad-brimmed cooking pot or hagama. The rice cooker’s design aesthetic of care for people and simple beauty ensures its looks good in any kitchen settings. The contro panel appears when touched; it offers intuitive ease of use and easy cleaning.
4. TW-117X3 drum-type washer-dryer
Despite a slim body, with a width of only 60 cm, this drum-type washer-dryer has a maximum wash load capacity of 11 kg and the industry’s largest*1 drying load capacity of 7 kg. An electrostatic touch panel shows only the options necessary for a given operation. Designed to look innovative yet unobtrusive, this washer-dryer combines ease of use and functionality.
*1 As of October 19, 2015 for drum-type washer-dryers available in Japan
5. dynaPad Mobile Note PC, also usable as a tablet
Designed as a substitute for paper notebooks, dynaPad is the world’s lightest 12-inch Windows tablet*2, weighing only 579g and with a thickness of 6.9 mm. dynaPad has a high-resolution 12-inch screen, close in size to a B5-sized notebook, and is equipped with an active stylus pen that offers a writing experience that feels like writing with a pencil on paper. A keyboard that docks to the tablet by way of magnets allows for typing, just like a PC.
*2 As of January 19, 2016 for 12-inch Windows tablets (as surveyed by Toshiba). dynaPad weighs approximately 579g with the keyboard removed.
The iF Design Award
iF International Forum Design GmbH has sponsored the iF Design Award for 63 years since 1953, as a forum for exceptional designs selected from industrial products worldwide. Awards are given in seven categories: products, packaging communication, interial architecture, professional concept, service design, and architecture. Nominated products are subjected to comprehensive evaluations of originality and innovation, functional ease of use, quality and environmental considerations. In 2016, the contest attracted 5295 product entries from 2458 participiants in 53 countries, and 1821 entries received the iF label.