The Orbit PC mouse prevents health problems caused by working on the PC and thus convinces the James Dyson jury. […]

Simon Hochleitner from Gmunden won the James Dyson Award in Austria 2022 for the development of an innovative computer mouse and received a prize money of EUR 5,800. The innovative PC accessory prevents health problems mainly caused by unilateral movements when working on the computer.

The 25-year-old Upper Austrian Simon Hochleitner is about to complete his master industrial design at the FH Joanneum in Graz and has already received the German Design Award and the Red Dot Design Award. He has now also won the James Dyson Award in Austria for his innovative PC mouse concept.

The Orbit PC Mouse prevents typical RSI complaints and health problems caused by unilateral movements when working at a desk. An effective prevention and strengthening exercise is, of course, integrated into the work itself.

The resistance of the three resistance bands automatically shifts user input from the wrist and forearm muscles to the back, core and rotator cuff muscles, minimizing strain on sensitive areas and strengthening the muscle groups responsible for upright posture.

In addition, the system provides constant movement and effective training during prolonged sitting, thereby stimulating the cardiovascular system, which in turn leads to increased concentration and performance. The joystick version keeps the arm in its natural resting position, minimizing stress and allowing easy and comfortable operation regardless of hand size.

The touch-sensitive ring on the top eliminates the traditional scroll wheel and can be rotated with the thumb without stopping, further reducing wrist strain and increasing functionality and control.

“I am very happy that my project has been selected. The James Dyson Award is a great way for emerging designers and problem solvers around the world to be recognized and rewarded for innovative solutions. I hope that through my project the subject of health in the workplace will receive more attention and that other people will also be inspired to get started with this topical subject!” says proud winner Simon Hochleitner.

Jury member Eberhard Schrempf, Managing Director of Creative Industries Styria says: “The Orbit Mouse largely meets all the criteria of the award, because the design follows an innovative concept and offers a good and plausible solution in which innovative technology combined with good design leads to a high added value.”

Added Michael Steingruber, Judge, Head of Department Standard RONDO “Orbit Mouse” offers a low-key solution to an everyday problem that many people in the western civilized world face.”

ARCSTAR: The industrial designer Niklas Andreasen, born in 1996 in Munich and a student at FH Joanneum Graz, took second place. The non-profit initiative “Project ARCSTAR” conserves and regenerates the Arctic sea ice that is melting due to climate change.

Large parts of the dark, ice-free ocean can be covered with white, mobile and artificial ice floes. They can reflect as much sunlight as sea ice and can lower water and ambient temperatures.

Constant exposure to the much colder surface of the water bypasses the usual freezing process that would otherwise begin at the depths of the sea, allowing the water-storing floes to immediately freeze and form new sea ice of their own.

The melting ice masses of the Arctic Ocean are one of the most dramatic consequences of rising global temperatures. Stopping or even reversing this supposedly distant but serious development was the main motivation for Andreasen to devote himself extensively to this subject.

“ARCSTAR is a remarkable ecological project”emphasizes jury member Schrempf, “that touches the pulse of the times and offers a bold and intelligent solution to a current problem based on a very good theory. Exceptionally large and thought out out-of-the-box – exactly these kinds of revolutionary approaches are needed to improve the ecosystem of protect the planet.”

According to jury member Christian Bezdeka, industrial designer and entrepreneur “ARCSTAR a visionary project to slow down climate change.”

OSBI: Bernhard Hierner, an industrial designer from Mautern and a student at Linz Art University, also took second place with OSBI, a wearable device developed for a medical technology company that monitors activity in key areas of the human brain.

OSBI can be used in a variety of ways, from health monitoring to use by artists, marketing teams and experience designers. The OSBI features eight strategically placed sensors, whose placement is determined by neuroscientists to accurately record brain activity.

“Imagine the brain is a football stadium,” Hierner explains. “His neurons are the members of the crowd. An EEG would then be like a set of microphones set up outside the stadium. You could hear when the crowd is cheering and trying to predict what kind of things they are cheering.”

The motivation for this project was the question of what drives people in the waking and dreaming life, which in the end seems almost impossible to solve without access to expensive medical instruments.

“Bernhard Hierner did an excellent job of designing and developing such a complex brain monitoring device in such a precise way to be absolutely suitable for everyday use.”jury member, industrial designer and entrepreneur Stefanie Klausegger is fascinated.

About the James Dyson Awards

Of the James Dyson Awards has been awarded to innovative students and recent graduates in the field of invention engineering and design since 2005 and has supported more than 300 inventions with prize money to date.

Applicants must be enrolled for at least one semester in an undergraduate or postgraduate engineering or design-related course or enrolled within the past four years.

This year, there were more than 2,000 entries from 30 countries for the James Dyson Award. The winner of the international competition will receive a prize money of 33,000 euros. The two international runners-up will each receive EUR 5,500.

The winners of the national competitions each receive 5,800 euros. Since 2020, within the framework of the James Dyson Awards, a sustainability prize has been awarded, which is endowed with a prize money of 33,000 euros. All entries for the James Dyson Award 2022 are in the project gallery Listed on the James Dyson Awards website.

The James Dyson Award is part of James Dyson’s wider commitment to encourage budding engineers and designers to apply their knowledge and discover new ways to improve lives through technology and is managed by the James Dyson Foundation.

More information about the site of the James Dyson Awards.

“Competitions such as the JDA offer young talents the opportunity to compete at an international level with fresh ideas. The high quality of the competition projects holds enormous innovative potential for an intelligent and sustainable future.”says Eberhard Schrempf of Creative Industries Styria.

About the James Dyson Foundation

the James Dyson Foundation is a technical education charity founded by Sir James Dyson and funded with Dyson’s profits.

To date, Sir James Dyson and the James Dyson Foundation have given over £140 million to educational breakthroughs and other charities. This includes £12 million for Imperial College London to set up the Dyson School of Design Engineering and £8 million for Cambridge University to build the Dyson Center for Engineering Design and the James Dyson Building.