Transport of the future - introducing the Red Dot mobility winners

Last week saw the prestigious Red Dot design concept award ceremony in Singapore, which highlights the best in conceptual design from around the world.

Over 12,000 concepts from 60 countries were entered in categories that ranged from "domestic aid" to "recreation," but some of the most exciting innovations were in the mobility category.

A total of 13 winners were showcased by the Red Dot, and although none of them won the overall design concept prize (which went to a new football design from Mexico, the CTRUS Football), they provide an exciting insight into the potential future of design.

Opel was showcased for its unique Flextreme GT/E concept car, which premiered in March this year at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland and features a unique "shape shifting" design that changes the car's form to reduce turbulence.

Audi's two-seater RH concept was also awarded the prize and praised by Red Dot for connecting ecological responsibility and emotional driving, as it is powered by a zero-emission hydrogen engine and is equipped with minimal, lightweight equipment.

Several other transport innovations were also praised, including a futuristic bike-sharing service designed for Korea's capital Seoul, which uses bikes with folding handlebars to enable the installation of ultra-compact modular rental stations.

The high-tech Full-Rear-View-Widescreen Monitor was designed to replace convention rear view mirrors, offering an improvement in rear visibility thanks to cameras mounted on the rear of the vehicle and a windscreen display integrated at the top of the windshield.

See all the winners at http://www.red-dot.de/

The red dot award: design concept 2010 winners (mobility):

- Freedom360 (triple-rotation forklift truck)
- Light Weight Concept (urban vehicle which transforms into a motorbike)
- Transparentius road view transmitting system (blind-zone eliminator for trucks)
- Whalejet (personal water propulsion device)
- Shopping Bike (folding bicycle)
- Security Bus Door (to increase visibility of traffic when alighting a bus)
- Opel Flextreme GT/E Concept (lightweight, shape-shifting concept car)
- Full-Rear-View Windscreen Monitor (electronic rear view system)
- Audi RH Concept (hydrogen-powered concept car)
- Paperclip Armrest (armspace increaser for trains and aircraft)
- Cynomy (demolition vehicle)
- T-bike Sharing System (compact bike-share system)
- Halcyon (cleaning unit to reduce firefighter-related cancer)