Press Release
Anri Sugihara Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Wusa Electric Personal Mobility in Vehicle, Mobility and Transportation Design
Anri Sugihara of Rds honored for vehicle, mobility and transportation design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ Wusa Electric Personal Mobility by Anri Sugihara of Rds, designed for RDS Co., Ltd., has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Vehicle, Mobility and Transportation Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Silver A' Design Award Explained
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About Wusa Electric Personal Mobility
Wusa is a small electric motorcycle that also serves as a power unit for a manual wheelchair. The compact vehicle is intended for urban travel and leisure use. A sturdy steel frame holds a lightweight lithium-ion battery placed low and to the side, so the unit can be used with a wheelchair. Rear-wheel drive allows a top speed of 35 kilometers per hour, and a rear suspension with a long stroke adds comfort. Existing motorcycle parts can be fitted, so the vehicle can be customized. Wusa is designed to appeal to all riders, not only to wheelchair users.
About Anri Sugihara
CEO and the design director of RDS Co., Ltd. and the founder and the head editor of HERO X, Japanese web magazine about culture, para-sports, technology, and some.
About Rds
Product design and manufacturing company. Our main bussiness is CFRP product manufacturing for motor sport.
Award Record
Anri Sugihara of Rds is a winner of 4 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2019 - 2020 to 2020 - 2021 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Vehicle, Mobility and Transportation Design Award
The A' Vehicle Design Award is an international vehicle design competition recognizing good vehicle designs by best vehicle designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to vehicle designers, mobility solution providers, transportation design studios and automotive engineers from all countries. Entries typically include cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, buses and trains. Awarded vehicle designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/vehicle
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/117242
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/117242
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!117242
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/267084
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Wusa Electric Personal Mobility
- Function
- Electric Personal Mobility
- Category
- Vehicle, Mobility and Transportation Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Automotive
- Colors
- Black, Dark Gray, Gainsboro, Dark Slate Gray and Light Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- RDS Co., Ltd.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Anri Sugihara
- Country
- Japan
- Brand
- Rds
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #117242
Credits
- Team
- RDS Ltd., Co., exiii design Inc. Yoshihiro Hirata R2, MAGNET Inc., makesense Inc. and quod, LLC
- Image Credits
- RDS Co., Ltd.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- WUSA is a small electric motorcycle that you can easily ride. It is a vehicle with two sides, It isn't only a motorcycle but also a combined with a wheelchair to be used as electric mobility, and is intended for use in urban areas and leisure activities. It can also be docked with WF01, which won the Platinum Award at the A'Design Award in 2020, and is a proposal for a new means of transportation regardless of the rider, with a wide range of users with various usages.
- Inspiration
- Japan is a leading country of issues. One of the typical issue is the progressing of the aging and depopulation especially in local sites, causing how to keep daily moving as a issue. Some public transportation is being closed due to reduced demand. In addition, there are wheelchair users as existing vulnerable. Any transportation that fills the middle between a car and a wheelchair will help a lot yet for only limited demand for welfare use, it is often hard to solve it in reasonable price.
- Challenge
- RDS Co., Ltd. has been engaged in R&D of various motor sports products for years and has been an official partner of F1 racing team Scuderia AlphaTauri recently. RDS have also developed competitive equipment for parasports with athletes. They live in wheelchairs and have limited mobility, but love vehicles and speed. The technology cultivated in racing field can create a vehicle enjoy together. “Cool thing is justice” is the philosophy of RDS, and we aim to create products that embody it.
- Realization and Technology
- A sturdy steel frame with a lightweight, high-capacity lithium-ion battery placed low and sideways for use in wheelchairs. Existing bike and mini bike parts can be used, and you can customize it as you like. Its rear-wheel drive up to 35 kph maximum and does not lose traction with wheelspin uphill with wheelchair use. Equipped with a rear suspension with a large stroke, riders can enjoy comfort ride and the difference of turning with acceleration and braking that is fun as a motorcycle.
- Operation and Interaction
- WUSA is a vehicle with two sides, It isn't only a motorcycle but also a power unit for a wheelchair. This compact mobility won't separate user by their body ability. It can be enjoyed by both manual wheelchair users and able-bodied people for their own usage. By not to be a pure welfare product, an attractive design that everyone wants and be able to ride, RDS want to add a new way of the welfare mobilities should be.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in September 2019 in Japan and keep on going.
- Specifications
- size:950 x 500 x 600 weight:25kg max motor power:500W(to resister as a moped to ride on public road in japan)
- Keywords
- eMoto, Movility, Wheelchair, SDGs, Inclusive Design, EV
