By Paul Hayes

SYDNEY, NSW: Last week saw the announcement of the winners of the 2010 James Dyson Award, the student category of the Australian International Design Awards, with one innovation especially catching the Dyson’s eye.

First prize was taken out by Liam Ferguson from Melbourne’s Monash University for his specialised bushfire defence vehicle, the Amatoya Fire Reconnaissance Vehicle, while second prize was awarded to Samuel Adeloju from the University of NSW for his Longreach Buoyancy Deployment System.

In third place was Benjamin McMahon from the University of Technology Sydney with an innovation of particular interest to Dyson, a Ribbon Ceiling Fan.

McMahon’s ribbon fan is a distinct piece of equipment featuring an innovative fluid blade design that is designed to give the product a unique operation, as well as a highly original aesthetic within the ceiling fan market. (See below for video).

Dyson managing director, Ross Cameron, took specific interest in McMahon’s fan, seeing parallels between it and his company’s new technologies.

“It was interesting for us to see a fan entered into this year's award, particularly having just launched our own fan, the Air Multiplier,” he said.

“I think it shows how ready the category was to have innovation thrown at it. It hadn't changed for over 100 years and that's a challenge any good designer would want to take on.”