- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Awards for smoke alarms at the UK's Ideal Home Show
- Date: 29th March 2010
- Summary: RIO DI JANIERO, BRAZIL (FILE - OCTOBER 2006) (REUTERS) CHRIST THE REDEEMER STATUE IN BRAZIL
- Embargoed: 13th April 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA2FTCWVG64C1NRPQIDWZ60JAEZ
- Story Text: Christian belief in Jesus as a saviour dates back millennia, but Jesus as a life saver in the form of a smoke alarm - well, that's new.
While smoke alarms are not typically renowned for their aesthetic value, a series of designs including one shaped like the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil have been awarded for innovation from the UK's Ideal Home Show.
When four Royal College of Art students were asked to collaborate on a joint project as part of their Innovation Design Engineering program, they began with the heady aim of "trying to save the world."
"We began to map all kinds of different hazards that can happen everywhere, from earthquakes, to volcanic eruptions to floods and fire," student Aymeric Alandry told Reuters Television.
Eventually, the team agreed upon fire as the hazard they'd try to combat, hoping to save lives by making smoke alarms more appealing.
On the design front, that meant expanding on the traditional - and rather dull - form factor.
The team used prototypes to demonstrate how a fire detected in by one smoke detector would set off multiple alarms. The signal is sent through the plug communication module through the electrical wiring system to other connected detection units.
And if there is a power cut, not to worry - the team say they've thought of that.
"It does not fair any worse than conventional smoke alarms because with every detector its physically connected to the receiving unit," said Terence Woon.
Before the students can achieve their aim of helping to save lives, they'll need to convince investors that this system called Echo has a future.
They're hoping to get an innovation grant to develop it further - and winning the Inventor of the Year Award at London's Ideal home show on Thursday (March 25) was one big vote of confidence.
"It brings us a lot of media exposure, a lot of public exposure. This gives us a very good foundation to bring the product and technology to the next step," said Woon.
And they understand the importance of letting a message ring out. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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