“Create the Future Design Contest” is the most reputable award in the field of engineering. Since 2002, each year 100 of the most innovative engineering products and technologies are selected for this award in the following seven fields: aerospace and defense, automotive and transportation, consumer products, electronics, mechanics and automation, medical treatment, and sustainable technologies.

ITRI’s “Fluid-Driven Emergency Lighting” utilizes differences in fluid potential energy to generate electricity and provide emergency lighting. It turns a turbine using powerful fire fighting water pressure to provide electrical power for LED lighting on fire fighting nozzles. Small lithium-ion batteries attached to the lights store the power so that they can still continue to provide illumination when there is no longer any water.

ITRI has conducted research and development for fire fighting aiming lights with lighting power of over 25,000W. Weighing only 8000 grams, they are ten times as powerful as normal fire fighting lighting and more than five times as powerful as conventional chest lights. The aiming lights can also be directly installed on fire fighting nozzles. The installation only takes thirty seconds, and the connector can be rotated to change the lighting direction at any time, making it suitable to be held by left-handed fire fighters.

The “Fluid-Driven Emergency Lighting Technology” has been awarded thirty patents globally along with Germany’s iF and Reddot awards, The United States’ IDEA award, the Pittsburg Far East Best Invention award, Japan’s Good Design award, and an R&D 100 Award. The technology has also been transferred to fire fighting equipment manufacturers and been put to use by fire fighting bureaus in Tainan, Taipei, and Keelung accumulating over 200 fire fighting verifications.

(TR/ Phil Sweeney)