Nominees for the Metex Awards announced
The Metex Prize is awarded for excellence in thesis work done in collaboration with a technology company or to promote, directly or indirectly, the significance and use of design and art in technology companies.
The winner of the award will be announced at Designer’s Destiny seminar in Otaniemi on Thursday 23 January. The prize is 5 000 euros.
The four nominees
Juan Camilo Sánchez Carranco: Vibrating Instruments In Virtual Reality: A cohesive approach to the design of Virtual Reality Musical Instruments
The thesis presents the design, implementation and findings of a Virtual Reality Musical Instrument (VRMI). The project focused on how VR can enhance individual musical interaction by blurring the lines between performer, instrument and environment and by creating immersion through 3D audio, audiovisual feedback, bodily and spatial interaction, the performer and the system’s autonomous responses.
Sound in New Media, Department of Media
Salvador Hernandez Gazga: La Loma Larga – Rethinking an inner-city edge in Monterrey, Mexico. Inequality and the built environment
Mexican cities today present a very high level of socio-economic inequality, translated into an acute phenomenon of spatial segregation. This thesis studies the reasons behind the current situation of cities in Mexico, anchored in the historical, cultural, political and economic scenes at a national level.
La Loma Larga area serves as an example of a confrontation between wealthy neighbourhoods and impoverished areas, and this thesis proposes a solution to urbanize the area in order to alleviate the most extreme symptoms of urban segregation. The proposed urban design was constructed and optimized by using advanced computational methods.
Creative Sustainability, Department of Architecture
Ville Piippo: Design Exploration in modular frame architecture for battery electric motorcycles
The world is transitioning towards sustainable transportation. The desirability and therefore sales of the electric motorcycles are hindered by a lack of originality in design.
Background research in this thesis starts with a question: how does a modular electric motorcycle frame architecture open up possibilities in riding ergonomics and future proof motorcycle design?
Collaborative and Industrial Design, Department of Design
Huiyang Yu: Improving Desktop FDM 3D Printer by User-Centered Design
3D printing technology has been receiving more attention in the last decade since it was invented in the 1980s. The undesirable user experience of these desktop machines caused users to believe that 3D printers are just professional toys, instead of a tool.
The thesis describes the product development process of the 3D printer project, and also reflects the mistakes and insufficiencies that happened. At the end, the author discusses what would be other possible results of the project if user-centred design could be applied in a different order.
Collaborative and Industrial Design, Department of Design
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