BYU students pitch design ideas to 2 firms

PROVO — Bike-peddling cops may soon be printing receipt-size citations from gadgets hooked to their utility belts.

On its face, it sounds like something only Inspector Gadget could pull off.

But it could be a reality if representatives from Dell computers liked what they heard in a presentation Monday afternoon at Brigham Young University.

A class of industrial design students separated into groups midsemester to construct various new gizmos for Dell's portable computer sector and a new line of mesh chairs for the Orem-based chair manufacturer Mity-Lite.

Nico Li, a self-described techie who would like to see on-the-go police officers print tickets from their hips, said the group "interviewed officers, sketched designs and even tried the prototype out on officers."

Li's group aimed at "really connecting" officers on foot or bike by replacing their current over-the-shoulder radio with a smarter one — one that is designed to show GPS navigation, capture video and allow officers to scan a suspect's fingerprints to a police database via the Internet.

Students conceded that not all the technology for the police gadget is practical for mass production yet but made clear that most of it is "out there" already and ready to be combined for a more powerful police force.

In another pitch to Dell, one design team targeted college students who loathe textbook costs and hassles — "An easy-to-find demographic," the group said.

As a result, the group created a small, tablet-style laptop that opens and reads like a book complete with electronic stylus and highlighting options.

Many of the electronic doodads were a mite larger than traditional handhelds, suggesting that although most users want something small and convenient they don't always want to sacrifice a larger screen and a more practical way to type, said designer student Nan Poochaneeyangkoon.

Business vice president of local Mity-Lite's research and development, David Laws, attended to hear how students had solved his company's challenge: to use the factory's existing chair frame and modify it by replacing the hard plastic seat and back with a lightweight heavy duty mesh material.

Mity-Lite has been challenging BYU students for half of its 20-year business history in similar designer contests, Laws said. There are "quite a few (designer) things" students have inspired at Mity-Lite.

Three designer groups constructed prototype chairs, some modern looking and some resembled an industrial style with exposed nuts and washers.

Laws didn't seem to be interested in aesthetics; however, he let his backside do the judging.

"I could sit on this through a whole presentation," he told a watching crowd, leaning back and smiling. "It's got very good lumbar."

The chairs may someday replace the harder, heavier versions currently stacked in facilities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other churches, said professors.

For 3-D computer images and detailed sketches of designs readers can visit BYU's Web site at byunews.byu.edu/archive07-Dec-inddesign.aspx.

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E-mail: jhancock@desnews.com

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