Mac Invention Picked Tops for Canada

August 25, 2009

Lindsey Kettel's and Cory Minkhorst's collapsible bicycle trailer has topped the rankings as the best invention from Canada as selected by a panel of engineers judging for the James Dyson Award.

The win moves them on to the round of 20 country finalists who are vying for a £10,000 ($17,000 CDN) top prize and the annual Dyson Award trophy for student inventors.  The winner's university department also receives a matching cash prize.  The overall winner is scheduled to be announced September 7 from the U.K.

Lindsey and Cory received $5,000 CDN for winning the country-round and a Dyson vacuum cleaner each.

"I can't speak for Lindsey, but I'm going to lend my vacuum to my mom until I move into my apartment in September," said Cory.

Both Lindsey and Cory are quite excited about their success so far.

"We were actually hiking in Killarney (Provincial Park) last week, and got back to some very exciting voice mails," Cory explained.  "We were both surprised and very excited to hear that we had won.  It's a great honour to be chosen by the Dyson engineers as the top Canadian project!"

The Crosstown collapsible bicycle trailer is unique in that it folds up and sits over the rear wheel of the bicycle when not in use.  The inventors hope that it will encourage more commuters to cycle to work by making it easier for them to run errands at the end of the day.

"The majority of people we spoke with indicated that they couldn't run the same errands with a bike that they normally would in a car," said Minkhorst.  "We realized that, in order for bicycle commuting to become a more practical means for daily life, commuters need the ability to transport large or heavy items."

Crosstown collapsible trailer in folded position.

The Crosstown currently weighs in at just over 10 pounds and is designed to carry nearly 100 pounds of cargo.Earlier this year, the Crosstown placed first in the innovation category at the Ontario Engineering Competition and second at the Canadian Engineering Competition.

The James Dyson Award is an international design award that celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers.  It is run by the James Dyson Foundation, James Dyson's charitable trust, in 21 countries.

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J992-8VJ_ac
www.jamesdysonaward.org