PolyU design students win 2nd prize in national competition with “smart pill box for elderly”

HUNG HOM, Hong Kong - July 23, 2013 - PRLog -- A team of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design (PolyU Design) students showed their prowess in creativity and care for the elderly by winning the Second Prize in a national innovation competition which attracted more than 500 entries from universities all over the country.

Organized by 3M, the global technology company, with the theme of “Innovation light up the life”, the competition aimed at motivating inspirations and creativity of the younger generation. The team of four final-year students from the MSc in Multimedia and Entertainment Technology programme of PolyU Design with their innovative design ”Smart Pill Box” entered the final round with 17 other units, and finally won the First Prize in Southern China and Second Prize of the national competition.

“We design the Smart Pill Box for the senior citizens who suffer from chronic diseases and need to take medicine regularly,” Nick Zeng, project manager of the team, presented their innovative concept which is highly received by the judges. “The pill box serves three major functions: pill time reminder, one-key caller and GPS positioning, which can effectively tackle the elderly’s problem of poor memory and emergency situations when they are not at home. We have adopted a new kind of user experience and prescribing habits customized for the specific group based on our research.”

The Smart Pill Box addresses various issues associated with an ageing population in China. Not only will the new innovation strengthen the family connection with the users, but also reduce burden of the related government departments. The judges are very impressed by the excellence of this design both in terms of creativity and practicality.

The final judging was held at t3M China R&D Centre on June 22. The PolyU team, formed by Nick Zeng, April Huang, Lulu Chang and Miro Zeng, who got merely one score lower than the champion from Chongqing University, is no doubt the pride and precious asset of the School.

More about the competition: http://campus.my3m.com.cn/

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Press contact: Miss Anita Law, School of Design
Tel: (852) 2766 4925
Email: sdanita@polyu.edu.hk