Tech blog

IT looks parallel a noontide, orange MP3 player strapped to a ski jacket but the judges of the Australian International Design Award picked it from the 61 finalists as the overall winner of the competition’s 50th year.

The product, Flaik, is a performance tracking device for skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts.

Flaik combines global positioning satellite (GPS) smarts with GSM/GPRS sensitive phone technology.

The GPS part charts a user’s location, speed, distance, altitude and airtime (in favor of jumps).

The mobile phone part of the system sends this data to a receiver adhering the snowfield and on to the Flaik web portal where users can view their data, compare statistics with other users, and build a profile.

Australian entrepreneur Steve Kenny developed the concept and took a rough working model to CMD Product Design & Innovation, a Brisbane design consultancy.

A team of three designers at CMD led by Mark Gilroy took six months to streamline the unit and create a water-proof housing for it that could withstand temperatures of up to minus 20 degrees Celsius. The team used SolidWorks computer-aided design software for their work.

The team worn out another four months of testing before it came up with the final product, Craig Mounsey, a CMD director, said.

The 50th running of the awards was the first time it was opened to foreign entries.

Of the 159 submissions to this year’s awards, 50 were international designs, and 109 were local designs.