Rise of the robots

Dyson news2008, Issue 3

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The collaboration between ISSEY MIYAKE and Dyson continues. Its latest iteration is a band of Dyson inspired ‘robots’. They appeared at a recent exhibition, themed ‘21st Century Man’, at Miyake’s 21_21 museum in Tokyo.

Maybe it has a passing resemblance to some clunky creation from 50’s Hollywood. Or perhaps a gimmicky domestic droid from Japan.

It seems if it walks, talks or looks the part it fits the bill, no matter what it actually

does. Even the father of robotics, Joseph Engleberger, once remarked: “I can’t define

a robot, but I know one when I see one”.

Things have moved along since but we still seem to be stuck with an army of machines that need constant human direction in order to work. Nevertheless, advances seem to be coming from every direction.

What about the creation of a ‘paranoid android’? Researchers at MIT in the US reckon robots would work more efficiently if they had an emotional attachment to their work.

Likewise, South Korea, who have an ambitious robot programme, have drawn up a Robot ethics charter – an oath of good behaviour to protect humans. Eat your heart out Isaac Asimov.

Many are taking their lead from nature. The military is developing a generation of miniature robots that take advantage of collective intelligence in the same way as bees or other hive species. Additionally, plants are being examined in the hope of duplicating their ability to power themselves using minute electrical currents.

On a more practical level, some experts have designed prototype driverless vehicles to offer stressed drivers relief from road rage. Drivers will be able to do all the things they can’t when they have to man the vehicle. Eat breakfast, check their emails, have a snooze...

Apparently the car, unveiled at this year’s American Association for the Advancement of Science conference, is far safer than anything piloted by a person - finally, a stress free drive into

work of a morning.

The National Account team has joined in the effort and is increasing the distribution of Dyson BallTM machines. And with over 160,000 Dyson BallTM vacuums sold to date, the US team is clearly aiming to answer the challenge.

Five million people tuned in to watch James demonstrate BallTM technology on NBC’s Today Show, the highest rated morning news programme in the US.

Dyson also made the move to the silver screen with the DC16 handheld. The machine made its debut in the comedy, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. Adam Sandler’s character, a secret agent turned hairdresser, uses the machine to help stop freshly cut hair touching the floor.

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Designed by ISSEY MIYAKE’S creative director Dai Fujiwara, the 11 Dyson-oids are constructed from Dyson parts. Characters include a break-dancing robot balancing on its hands and a robot dog. Another robot scoffs ice cream from a cyclone cornet.

41 designers from the ISSEY MIYAKE studio worked on the robots – helped by Dyson teams in Japan, Malaysia and UK.

The design team studied the human skeleton and muscle structure to ensure each character was as lifelike as possible.

The characters are a well dressed bunch, modelling Dai Fujiwara’s Dyson-inspired Wind collection, previewed at last November’s Paris Fashion Week.

Unify’s mission is to tie up all Dyson disparate computer systems – from sales forecasting to shipping - into one universal bundle.

Imagine pre-Unify Dyson as a squid. The tentacles are all the different processes – independent to each other but linked to the same Dyson body.

Unify seeks to combine these different elements - from ordering spares to raising purchase orders - and have them go through one computer program. That program is SAP.

It was difficult to know whether to greet the

project with anticipation or trepidation. The problem was that everyone used their own system. But many of these dated back to the beginning of Dyson when there were only a handful of people, not thousands.

For Unify to work, the team needed to know both SAP and Dyson inside out. Glen Leakey was chosen as Project Manager to head up the team. With 14 years in various roles – from finance to IT to project

management – he breathes Dyson. Angel del Valle added vital SAP knowledge.

Glen said: “It’s one thing getting everything in one place and another to get it working. It requires tests. Lots of tests.”

Behind the John Peel stage, to be exact, where up-and-coming bands like The Ting Tings, MGMT, and Crystal Castles performed.

Famous faces including Pixie Geldof and bands such as We Are Scientists were spotted applying a bit of make up and washing and drying their hands.

Next was Cornbury Festival in Oxfordshire: a family friendly music festival set in the grounds of a stately home. The weather that had almost-but-not-quite held up for Glastonbury took a turn for the worse – perhaps contributing to the 29,000 pairs of hands that were dried.

The Dyson AirbladeTM hand dryer summer experience began backstage at Britain’s most famous rock festival, Glastonbury.

Lauren Helm, from the PR team, said: “Heavy rain, thunder and lightening and one sludgy field might not sound like a

recipe for success but it certainly didn’t deter the crowds. In fact, we couldn’t have been busier – people flocked to take

shelter in the tent. And it wasn’t just dry hands. Festival goers can be very creative about what they dry when needs must…”

The Dyson AirbladeTM hand dryer went on to wow the well-heeled crowd at the Cartier International Polo event on the 27th July (“It’s second only to a trouser press”, said one immaculately dressed pin-striped punter) before heading to Regent’s Park in London for the Innocent Village Fete.

Unify spoke to Dyson people from different international departments to come up with a global template. One that could be as easily used in the UK, Japan or Australia as it could in America.

The first release of Unify went live in April

– with SAP being introduced in the UK, Malaysia and Ireland. Such a complex project can cause chaos, but the results spoke for themselves. As an example, spares and accessories are sending out more parts than ever before.

“We’ve already been going more than two years. But the scope is always changing – Dyson is moving, changing, growing. Which is great but it makes things more difficult,” said Glen.

James Munro, who joined from Dyson Australia, acts as business process support for the Sales team. “I think people have been apprehensive about Unify but as they’ve used it they’ve come to understand the benefits,” he said.

The team are working hard on the second release of the project that will see SAP introduced in the US and Canada around the middle of next year.

Glen sums it up: “It’s a big change but in the long term it’s about making things easier, and more consistent.”

Why ?

Dyson people hail from all walks of life. Some more unusual than others.

The real rise of the robot Everyone has their own idea of what a robot is.

Dyson BallTM machines in under a year.

In May, Martin McCourt posed a challenge to Dyson US: sell 350,000 Dyson BallTM vacuums by the end of the year. A sizable endeavour.

Patrice Compernolle, VP of field sales,

and the Sales team responded by rolling out a sales contest and a new in-store training programme.

“You really want to keep training fun and light,” says district training manager, Nathan Rood. Territory sales managers begin by laying down a competitor’s vacuum box. Associates (store staff) compare a competitor’s wheeled vacuum to a Dyson BallTM machine by circumnavigating the box. “There’s that ‘Ah-ha’ moment when associates first try

it, which is great to see,” says Nathan.

There was no average day at the office on

the front line. On constant duty, Thomas was based in the mountains where tasks included monitoring and reporting shooting activity, determining where battles were located and what kind of ammunition was being used.

“What drove me to be a soldier was the desire to help people and to stop the war. I like to be involved in the running of things, to build things up and see a good idea become reality. There’s nothing like a challenge, and that’s what I see in the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer.”

“Life as a UN soldier was an experience. It was exciting to be able to make a difference.”

Take Thomas Korreborg. Nowadays he’s responsible for driving sales of the Dyson AirbladeTM hand dryer in Scandinavia. But in 1992 he was serving as a UN soldier in Yugoslavia. He’s since swapped the rugged mountains of Yugoslavia for fjords of Scandinavia, and bullets for blades (albeit of air).

So he’s had plenty of experience in problem solving before coming to Dyson. And with people from Scandinavia amongst the most likely to dry their hands every time they wash them, the working environment is a lot less hostile.

Based in Croatia for six months at the height of the war, Thomas was part of the second wave of military personnel sent in from Denmark. “Believe it or not, the skills I learnt in military service are the same ones I use at Dyson.”

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Back row, L-R: Mario Moyano, Angel del Valle, James MunroFront row, L-R: Kirsty Williams, Glen Leakey

Pixie Geldof

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Over the past three years, hundreds of French school children have attended a ‘dismantle and construct’ workshop, organised by the JDF and the Centre Pompidou. The aim is to excite young children about design engineering, encourage them to use their imaginations and make things with their hands.

This year, school children are being set the challenge ‘My house in 2050’. A series of workshops will explore this theme over the coming months. The children’s prototypes will be displayed at the museum and online.

Early contenders include a recycling machine for school homework and a mobile phone / toothbrush fusion.

In July, a preview workshop was held for journalists and their off spring. The event resulted in a daytime TV debate on getting children interested in design.

Dyson’s home has been in Malmesbury since 1996. It’s safe to say Dyson is the biggest employer in this quiet Wiltshire town. So when the local fire service needed

fire fighters, Dyson people responded.

Chris Harvey, Steve Cooke and Paul Wright, who work in creative services, and Andy Mills, from RDD, are all retained fire

fighters at Malmesbury fire station. They

can be called on at any time to respond to accidents and emergencies in the local community, which has a population of 16,000 and covers 76 square miles.

Each fire fighter has an alerter pager that

goes off in the event of an incident. The response is swift. The average time – from the alert to fire truck leaving the station –

is just three minutes 53 seconds against a government expectation of 5 minutes. These incidents can be anything from a barn fire to a medical emergency.

One such incident happened in July 2007. 17 year old, Adam Wickson had been skateboarding, when a stunt put him through a window hands first.

A friend ran to a fire station where Chris

Harvey and Andy Mills from Dyson had just finished their regular Monday night

training. Together with fellow fire fighters,

Nick Exton and Wayne Jones, they grabbed their kit from a fire truck and

ran to the scene.

“There was a lot of blood,” recalls Chris. “I applied pressure to his arms and calmed him down. We quickly bandaged both arms.”

Paramedic Barrie Slade arrived on scene and Adam was transported to Great Western Hospital by air ambulance and then on to Oxford’s John Radcliffe for specialist treatment to save his left hand.

Chris, Andy and the rest of the crew were presented with a Royal Humane Society Award for saving Adam’s life earlier this month. The Queen is a patron.

Thankfully, Adam has since made a full recovery from his injuries.

For information on being a retained Fire Fighter please contact Chris Harvey on extension 8193 or the Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service recruitment line on 01380 731144

Who are the André Citroens of tomorrow? Well, the James Dyson Foundation has found some potential candidates.

“His hands had gone through the glass and there was a very deep cut down his left arm. It was a mess.”Chris Harvey, Dyson new media operations and Malmesbury fire station crew manager.

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L-R: Andy Mills, Steve Cooke, Chris Harvey, Paul Wright

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