RSA launches bike security design contest
Budding designers could be at the forefront of battle against bicycle theft in a pioneering new project being launched today by the Royal Society of Arts in collaboration with the Home Office and the Bikeoff 2 research project.
Design Against Bicycle Theft will challenge design students and graduates to come up with innovative cycling products, infrastructure, schemes and services, which could reduce the risk of cycle theft.
Designers are invited to create a new bike, lock, parking environment or some other innovative method to solve the problem of bike security.
Launching today as part of the London Bicycle Film Festival (www.bicyclefilmfestival.com), the project has been created to increase cycle use in the UK, following two years of research into the subject.
Bike theft has been found to be the greatest deterrent to cycling after fears over road safety, with one bike being stolen every minute in the UK.
The RSA Design Directions states, ‘[The Government] is investing £140m over the next three years to facilitate cycle use. If the benefits of cycling are to be realised, design innovation must keep pace with capital investment’.
The project will culminate in cash prizes and internships for the winning designers.
Submission for entry forms is 20 November, while the deadline for all project entries is 17 November to 12 December.
great news! but where does one find the link to the competition, should they wish to participate?
Hi I work for Bikeoff 2 here is the link to the Design Resource as its not mentioned in the article http://www.bikeoff.org/design_resource/
There is some really great research on there ranging from how thieves steal your bikes to the crazy automated bike parking facilities in Japan. The site is invalube for anyone ranging from designers, to installers of bike parking to concerned cyclists anting to lear how to portect thier bike.