Singapore startup’s smart electric wheelchair wins top honours at Red Dot Award
The Strutt ev1 will be produced at company’s upcoming facilities at Bulim Square
[SINGAPORE] A Singapore-based company’s smart personal transport solution has won the top award at the annual Red Dot Award: Design Concept competition. Strutt ev1 by mobility robotics firm Strutt took the Red Dot: Luminary 2025 prize, beating other Red Dot: Best of the Best works, at a ceremony on Wednesday (Oct 15) at the Capitol Theatre.
The last time the Red Dot: Luminary went to a project by a Singapore-based entrant was 16 years ago in 2009.
Ken Koo, Asia president of Red Dot Award, said: “This is the highest honour of the award, given to just one project that stands out from thousands of entries.”
Started in 2005, the Red Dot design award is the largest professional design competition for design concepts and prototypes worldwide. Entries are accepted from companies to design students, and, this year, were evaluated by a jury of 16 international experts from 13 countries.
High-quality concepts are given the Red Dot Award, with the best works in a category – ranging from architecture and products to communication – given a Red Dot: Best of the Best accolade. It is from these winners that the top achievement, the Red Dot: Luminary, is selected.
Strutt’s winning compact ev1 electric wheelchair incorporates innovative automotive technology such as advanced sensing, autonomous navigation and intelligent drive-assist mechanisms. With environmental awareness capabilities previously reserved for autonomous vehicles, users can navigate complex urban environments easily and confidently.
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Tony Hong, chief executive officer of Strutt, said: “We’re proud to bring this dual international recognition home while establishing manufacturing capabilities in Singapore.”
Strutt’s upcoming assembly and production operations at JTC Corp’s Bulim Square facility will produce 1,000 units of Strutt ev1 per month when operational.
The other nominees for the Red Dot: Luminary were the artificial intelligence-enabled Sports Bra Design Platform by Sweden’s Above Agency, which pushes the frontiers of future wearables; the nimble Fastport eQuad by American Honda Motor that can shuttle cargo in challenging, high-congestion zones; and Silver Arrow, a modern bridge structure by the UK’s DKFS.io and Germany’s Schuyler-Plan that blends with its surroundings.
Meanwhile, the Red Dot: Next Gen Award for projects by young designers under the age of 30 were also presented for the second year running. The best of these design concepts is given the Red Dot: Peter Zec Prize, a counterpart of the Red Dot: Luminary. Zec is the founder and CEO of the Red Dot Award.
This year, the honour went to Enlightening Star, a remote braille learning system for blind children by the Zhejiang University of Science and Technology in China. The system enables teachers to manage courses online and includes a braille display and writing device for students; even those in less-accessible regions can improve their learning and independence.
Organised by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany, Red Dot awards are also separately given out in two other disciplines – product design as well as brands and communication design.
All winners of the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2025 are showcased at the winners’ exhibition at the Red Dot Design Museum and on www.red-dot.org.
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