Toyota Announces Ideas for Good Challenge Winners

The North American division of Toyota has finally concluded its Ideas for Good initiative, announcing the five winners of this challenge that invited consumers to share their ideas on how to repurpose Toyota technologies beyond their automotive applications. The winning ideas will materialize during a rapid prototyping session in June.

"The caliber of submissions was impressive," said Bill Fay, group vice president of marketing for TMS. "The winning ideas truly re-imagine existing Toyota technologies in ways that continue to improve quality of life and positively impact the communities in which they might be used. We look forward to bringing these ideas to fruition alongside the winners and our partner organizations next month."

In addition to receiving a choice of three Toyota vehicles—Highlander Hybrid, Prius or Venza—winners are invited to participate in a rapid prototyping session June 3-5, 2011 at CMU's campus in Pittsburgh, PA.

The top five ideas include:

• Building a Better Bike Helmet submitted by Stu S.: Inspired by T.H.U.M.S., this idea uses Toyota's technology to assess the strengths and weaknesses of current bicycle helmets and improves upon these designs to protect riders from traumatic brain injuries.
• Pure Air submitted by Tim W.: Using the Solar Powered Ventilation System, this idea proposes a way to draw smoke from huts in developing nations, ultimately providing improved health conditions in an environmentally-friendly way.
• Power Plant Gym submitted by Birken S.: This idea was inspired by Toyota HSD technology to convert the energy exerted at a gym into electricity. Connecting exercise equipment to a system of resistance cords and turbines, users would put electricity back into their local power grid simply by working out.
• Automated Firefighting Extension Ladder Guidance System submitted by Fran O.: This idea uses the Advanced Parking Guidance System to increase efficiency and precision in emergency situations, reduce risk and decrease the amount of time it takes to accurately position a firefighting ladder.
• Touch Tracer Mouse, Keyboard & Monitor submitted by David C.: By integrating Toyota's Touch Tracer Display into a computer mouse, keyboard and monitor all in one place, this idea allows users to easily toggle between the mouse, keyboard and numerical pad while the heads-up display shows them exactly where their fingers are in relation to the keys.