Winner of the Innovate Ingenuity Award

“The level of talent at the New Designers Show this year was outstanding” said Innovate Managing Director, Alastair Swanwick. From portable washing machines for refugees to vibrating motion sensors for blind people, the creative ingenuity required to think outside the box was truly exceptional. Nevertheless, one invention stood out from the rest; an invention that displayed cleverness, inventiveness and commercial viability. It was Cyclopic – an apple green bike with futuristic Tron-like aesthetics – that caught the Managing Director’s eye.

What is Cyclopic?

Cyclopic is a unique invention that utilises a hollow front bike wheel, enabling the rear wheel to fold inside. Thus, making a very compact and transportable product. The product comes with a bag allowing the user to place the product inside and roll it away. The inventor believes the spokeless wheel design is a concept that can be developed for innovative commuter bikes in the future.

South Bank University Student Stands Out

Before the prize-giving ceremony, the Managing Director and respective Innovate judges had not met the inventor. So, it came as a surprise when Cyclopic inventor, Alan Rallings, was not your typical twenty-something undergraduate designer - synonymous with New Designer exhibitors. In fact, Alan had attended South Bank University as a mature student just as Managing Director, Alastair Swanwick, had done back in 1996-2000.

Unbeknownst to Innovate, after discussions of a potential patent draft for Cyclopic using Innovate’s expert IP services, it turned out that Alan was already a client. He had registered an entirely different project so that Innovate could conduct a worldwide patent search.

Managing Director, Alastair Swanwick said: “Without a doubt, South Bank University really shone this year, the standard of their projects were really high. Alan’s product is a testament to the exceptional teaching that the BSc (Hons) Engineering Product Design course has to offer. It provides gifted students with the expertise, skills and knowledge required to excel as young aspiring product designers. The technical understanding and attention to detail really impressed me this year. We hope that now, Innovate can help advise Alan on how to get his product to market.”