{"id":1401,"date":"2015-06-01T10:08:08","date_gmt":"2015-06-01T14:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=1401"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:37:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:37:45","slug":"inspiring-design","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/inspiring-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspiring Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Inspiring Design\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Two Carleton University engineering students have won the top two prizes in the Council of Ontario Universities\u2019 annual Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both winning projects \u2013 a device to assist people in standing up from a sitting position and an app to keep people on track with their goals \u2013 were led by Quayce Thomas and Brendan O\u2019Brien, architecture students in Carleton\u2019s research-intensive Faculty of Engineering and Design (FED).<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re incredibly proud of Quayce and Brendan for their groundbreaking work,\u201d said Dean Mellway, acting director of Carleton\u2019s READ Initiative (Research, Education, Accessibility and Design). \u201cCarleton\u2019s history of high achievement in the IDeA competition underlines the university\u2019s commitment to accessibility in all fields of endeavour.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cOur students are focused on creating solutions to real-world problems,\u201d said FED Dean Rafik Goubran. \u201cAnd many of their innovative projects end up in the marketplace where they can help a wide range of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Taking first place was Timsle, an accountability network that keeps users on track with their goals. The app promotes healthy active living by having others check in to make sure users are meeting the goals they\u2019ve shared with their social networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In second place was Ascent Line, a collection of pneumatic assistive devices. The product is designed to assist users in and out of a seated position while positioned beside a couch or chair. The conceptual idea for the Ascent Line was that an assistive device can be an aesthetically pleasing addition to a home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe IDeA competition goes a long way in raising awareness about the importance of accessible design for a new generation of designers,\u201d said O\u2019Brien, who studies at the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism. \u201cWe\u2019re incredibly proud of what we were able to achieve with these projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honour to be included among such high-calibre projects in this year\u2019s IDeA competition,\u201d said Thomas, also a student in the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism. \u201cAccessibility is becoming a larger part of design all the time. Everyone can benefit from the availability of assistive tools like these, and we\u2019re trying to bring them to a wider audience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten finalist teams from five Ontario universities showcased their inventions at the People in Motion exhibit at Toronto\u2019s Exhibition Place.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Also in the top 10 was a garden planter and hand-washing station for patients using the Healing Garden at the Children\u2019s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, designed by students Jin Kyung Kim and Dayna Conway, who are studying Industrial Design in the Faculty of Engineering and Design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carleton has an excellent track record in the IDeA competition. Carleton projects swept the top three in 2013 and, in 2014, the university took the first and third prizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All 21 Ontario universities participated in the contest, which is supported through the Ontario government\u2019s EnAbling Change program and partners at the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario in the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winner and two runners-up will receive prizes of $1,500, $1,000 and $500 respectively. A bonus prize of $1,500 will be awarded to the IDeA that best addresses a barrier in para-sport and active living.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two Carleton University engineering students have won the top two prizes in the Council of Ontario Universities\u2019 annual Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) competition. Both winning projects \u2013 a device to assist people in standing up from a sitting position and an app to keep people on track with their goals \u2013 were led by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[19],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-1401","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","hentry","cu_story_type-technology-innovation"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/1401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/1401\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=1401"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=1401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}