Toyota’s “Ideas for Good” Challenge Concludes

Toyota formally announced the winners of its “Ideas for Good” challenge. Over the course of a few months, Toyota received over 4000 submissions for ideas on how to use current automotive technology for the betterment of mankind in other areas.

Toyota challenged consumers to create new, non-automotive applications using five distinct Toyota technologies that could hopefully be used to benefit our society. This campaign ran from November 8th, 2010 and concluded February 28th, 2011.

Building a Better Bike Helmet submitted by Stu S.: Inspired by T.H.U.M.S., this idea uses Toyota’s technology to assess the strengths and weaknesses of current bicycle helmets and improves upon these designs to protect riders from traumatic brain injuries.

Pure Air submitted by Tim W.: Using the Solar Powered Ventilation System, this idea proposes a way to draw smoke from huts in developing nations, ultimately providing improved health conditions in an environmentally-friendly way.

Power Plant Gym submitted by Birken S.: This idea was inspired by Toyota HSD technology to convert the energy exerted at a gym into electricity. Connecting exercise equipment to a system of resistance cords and turbines, users would put electricity back into their local power grid simply by working out.

Automated Firefighting Extension Ladder Guidance System submitted by Fran O.:
This idea uses the Advanced Parking Guidance System to increase efficiency and precision in emergency situations, reduce risk and decrease the amount of time it takes to accurately position a firefighting ladder.

Touch Tracer Mouse, Keyboard & Monitor submitted by David C.: By integrating Toyota’s Touch Tracer Display into a computer mouse, keyboard and monitor all in one place, this idea allows users to easily toggle between the mouse, keyboard and numerical pad while the heads-up display shows them exactly where their fingers are in relation to the keys.

With their continual excellence in the automotive industry, Toyota has taken another step in building its resume with their unique ideas and consumer relations genius. This challenge created a way for Toyota to allow mankind to give back to mankind. Each winner in addition to receiving their choice of a new Toyota vehicle, was invited to build a prototype of their invention.