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I-shoes design wins top prize in Paris

A Northumbria University student has won a top international prize for his futuristic personalised transport design which could help ease traffic congestion and cut carbon emissions.

Yang Liu, 21, from the Shangdon Province of China is studying Northumbria University’s BA (Hons) in Transportation Design and he beat competition from post-graduate designers across the world to win the Interior Motives Design Award 2008 ‘Best Xperience’ category for his I-shoes.

Based on the initial concept of a skateboard, the I-shoes is designed for personal transportation, using the human body’s centre of gravity to control direction. With a maximum speed of 20 mph the lightweight board concept is designed to be carried easily and is fitted with a turbo fan, relying on electronic power.

Yang says: “I was stuck in a traffic jam one day which made me late to hand in an important assignment at University. To compound the problem, I then couldn’t find a parking space nearby and this experience inspired me to develop a design which draws on my own passion for cars with a revolutionary means of personalised transport.”

Yang believes personalised transport is the way forward in the future. He said: “I think the I-shoes concept combines three crucial elements - reducing accidents, with its low speed travel, making traffic jams a thing of the past and reducing emissions to help save the planet.”

Rob Leeman, Senior Lecturer in Transportation Design at Northumbria said: “Winning the Interior Motives Design Award was a real coup for Yang as he was competing against much more experienced post-graduate students and this is a testament to his creativity and vision. Collecting the award at the ceremony in Paris gave him an excellent opportunity to meet some of the leading lights in the motor industry today and we are delighted with his success.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .