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Graduates look to design the future

The annual Coventry University Design Show is widely acknowledged as one of the best student design shows of any university in the United Kingdom.

Opened by Andrew Summer, Chief Executive of Britain's Design Council, the show in the English Midlands featured students' work in the design disciplines of automotive engineering; consumer product; graphic; industrial product; transport and technical communications.

The original and innovative designs on display included scale models reflecting the latest ideas in land vehicle, aircraft and boat design, and also new and challenging designs for everyday products that the public often takes for granted.

Scott Andrew Herring, a student who has recently qualified as an industrial product designer at the university, is pictured with his intriguing 'Rescue Sentry'. This is a facsimile model constructed from engineering drawings that will be used to build a prototype of the airborne search system designed to transmit pictures and data to a search team on the ground.

The easily maintained system consists of an airborne viewing platform, a ground-based control unit with visual display and a suitable carrying case for transporting the system and its accessories.

Small enough for one person to carry easily, it is designed to aid various organisations, such as mountain rescue teams and police forces, when its members are faced with difficult terrain at ground level while searching for people or objects.

Having the ability to hover over a given position at an altitude of between 150 to 300 m, the system uses three types of camera: standard video, infrared and heat-sensitive. The low-cost flying platform is powered by a modelmaker's 'glow' engine fuelled by a mixture of methanol and castor oil and weighs 3,5 kg; the complete system weighs 7 kg.

The aircraft will also be able to fly itself by virtual mapping; it is radio-controlled from the ground with camera feedback on the controls and a computer system linked with a GPS (global positioning satellite) system for rolling its heading and position. Its lightweight construction, provided by high strength materials, ensures excellent flying performance in variable weather, both in daylight and at night. Flying duration is 40 min.

For details contact Coventry University on tel: (0944) 1203 838352, fax (0944) 1203 838638 or visit website www.coventry.ac.uk/newevent/designsh/

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