James Dyson Award 2020 Global winners announced
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2020 was a record-breaking year for the James Dyson Award, which has now financially supported 250 promising inventions from young engineers and scientists around the world. So far, 60 per cent of the international winners have successfully commercialised their inventions. This is against a backdrop where 90 per cent of start-ups fail. Despite this year’s context, the Award received its highest number of entries, and the quality was exceptional – highlighting the ingenuity of young inventors. The two winners, who each receive £30,000, solve significant problems of global importance: women missing breast cancer screenings and sustainable methods to effectively generate renewable energy.
International Winners
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The Blue Box is the International winner of the James Dyson Award 2020. Invented by 23-year-old Judit Giró Benet it is a new way to detect breast cancer, at-home, using a urine sample.
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AuREUS System Technology is the first ever Sustainability Award winner of the James Dyson Award 2020. Invented by 27-year-old Carvey Ehren Maigue. It is a new material, made from waste crop, which converts UV light into renewable energy.
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International winner The Blue Box, invented by Judit Giró Benet
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The problem
This year’s International winner of the James Dyson Award was inspired by the inventor’s mother’s diagnosis of breast cancer. Judit realised that there is a global need for a less invasive and more accessible screening process for breast cancer. Currently screening requires women to attend hospitals or medical facilities and undergo an invasive, sometimes painful, and often costly procedure. As a result, it is estimated that 40% of women skip their breast cancer screening mammogram, resulting in 1 in 3 cases being detected late, leading to a lower chance of survival.
The solution
The Blue Box, invented by Judit Giro Benet from Tarragona, Spain, is an at-home, biomedical breast cancer testing device that uses a urine sample and an AI algorithm to detect early signs of breast cancer. It empowers women to take charge of their health with a non-invasive, pain free, non-irradiating, low-cost alternative which you can do regularly at-home.
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The device performs a chemical analysis of urine samples and sends the results to the cloud. Here, the AI based algorithm reacts to specific metabolites in the urine, providing the user with a fast diagnosis. The device is linked to an App which controls all communications to the user, immediately putting them in touch with a medical professional if the sample tests positive.
The next few years are crucial for Judit as she and her team work towards the final stages of prototyping and data analytics software at the University of California Irvine, ready for human studies and clinical trials alongside vital patent filings.
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On winning the International prize, Judit says, “The Blue Box has the potential to make cancer screening a part of daily life. It can help to change the way society fights breast cancer to ensure that more women can avoid an advanced diagnosis. The day that James Dyson told me that I had won the International prize was a real turning point as the prize money will allow me to patent more extensively and expedite research and software development I am doing at the University of California Irvine. But, most of all, hearing that he believes in my idea has given me the confidence I need at this vital point.”
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James Dyson said, “Unfortunately, I have witnessed first-hand the harrowing effects of cancer and as scientists and engineers we should do anything we can to overcome this terrible disease. Judit is using hardware, software and AI together, in an impressive way, to create a well-designed product that could make cancer screening part of everyday life. The data which The Blue Box collects and stores in the cloud will provide insight which can enable more precise treatment and expand global knowledge of Cancer. She deserves all the support she can get as she navigates the highly complex system of medical approvals.”
AuREUS System Technology, invented by Carvey Ehren Maigue
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The problem
Many renewable energy sources suffer from intermittency: wind power and solar power can only be generated in very specific environmental conditions. Solar panels mostly capture and convert visible light into renewable energy and must be facing the sun to do so. Current solar farms are only built horizontally, never vertically and often placed on prime arable farmland, meaning the land can’t be used to grow crops. Yet, there are thousands of windows and other surfaces that could be repurposed.
The solution
The James Dyson Award’s first ever Sustainability Award winner is tackling the challenge of how we could more effectively generate renewable energy from light and upcycling waste in the process.
AuREUS, invented by Carvey Ehren Maigue from Mapua University in Manila, the Philippines, is a material that can be attached to a pre-existing structure or surface to harvest UV light and convert it into visible light to generate electricity in a way that traditional solar panels can’t. Whether the sun is shining, or it is cloudy, Carvey’s material will still generate electricity as the particles in his material absorb UV light causing them to glow. As the particles ‘rest’ they remove excess energy and this ‘bleeds’ out of the material as visible light which can then be transformed into electricity. AuREUS has the potential to turn more solar energy into renewable energy than traditional solar panels and it can function fully even when not in direct sunlight. Current testing suggests that it can produce electricity 48 per cent of the time, compared to 10-25 per cent in conventional photovoltaic cells.
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The Philippines is victim of severe weather disruption and Farmers can lose much of their produce as a result. Rather than leave the crops to rot, Carvey sought to use them as a UV absorbent compound for his substrate. After testing nearly 80 different types of local crops, Carvey found nine that show high potential for long-term use. The substrate, when applied to materials, is durable, translucent and can be moulded into different shapes. Carvey is already looking into how he can develop his material for use beyond windows and walls, such as fabrics and embedded into cars, boats and airplanes.
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“AuREUS is impressive in the way it makes sustainable use of waste crops, but I’m particularly impressed by Carvey’s resolve and determination. Having failed to make the national stage of the Award in 2018, he stuck at it and further developed his idea – this will be a very important character trait as he embarks on the long road to commercialisation. I wish him every success because, as a farmer, I have always been concerned about covering fertile, food-producing, agricultural land in photovoltaic cells. Carvey’s invention demonstrates a convincing way to create clean energy on existing structures, like windows, within cities.” James Dyson.
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After speaking to James Dyson, Carvey said, “Winning the James Dyson Award is both a beginning and an end. It marked the end of years of doubting whether my idea would find global relevance. It marks the beginning of the journey of finally bringing AuREUS to the world. I want to create a better form of renewable energy that uses the world’s natural resources, is close to people's lives, forging achievable paths and rallying towards a sustainable and regenerative future.”
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