Trinity students scoop Irish James Dyson award

Two engineering graduates from Trinity College have scooped the Irish James Dyson award with a new binding system for snowboards.

The pair - Alberto Cañizares and Aoife Considine, both aged 22 – will now be in with a chance to scoop the overall James Dyson award, which comes with a grand prize of €35,000.

The Trinty College mechanical engineering students are both fans of snow sports, leading to the development of Boundless, which is intended to improve on the current binding system for snowboards and reduce the risk of injury to boarders on chairlifts.

The new systems is a 360-degree rotational attachment that fits between the board and the binding, allowing boarders to quickly unlock, adjust and relock the bindings into a new position without the need for a screwdriver.

It also allows snowboarders to move their feet into a better position when on flat surfaces, and sit in a more natural position on chairlifts, reducing the risk of injury

Among the nine other projects making it through to the next stage of the competition were: Hydros, a three piece lifejacket with a buuilt-in heatpack to help protect against hypothermia while waitng for rescue; BeatWatch, which is designed to track the heartbeat of those at risk of heart and alert users of potential over-exertion; and Eco flush, a tank that re-uses used shower water for flushing household toilets.

The James Dyson Award is run by the James Dyson Foundation, which works with schools and universities around the UK and internationally, supporting design, technology and engineering education, medical research charities and local community projects. More than 650 entries were received for the international prize.