Ready for more proof that Toyota is looking to change the world for the better? As if the Toyota Prius wasn't proof enough, Toyota recently launched the 'Ideas for Good' campaign. In this campaign, Toyota asked their fans to think of how they would put any one of five Toyota technologies to good use outside of the automotive industry. The choices for technologies were Total Human Model for Safety (T.H.U.M.B.S.), the Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD), the Advanced Parking Assist, the Touch Tracer Display, and the Solar Power Ventilation System.
Toyota started accepting submissions for the 'Ideas for Good' campaign in November of 2010. From the start date until the deadline of February 2011, Toyota accepted a total of more than 4,000 submissions. With so many entries to go through, Toyota needed to make sure that they remained as objective as they could. That is why they brought in an outside team of panelists to review them all.
The review panel for Toyota's 'Ideas for Good' campaign included:
- Grace Hawthorne of Stanford University
- Fuseproject's Josh Morenstein
- Keith Grossman of WIRED magazine
- Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center's Joel, Stitzel, Ph.D.
- Popular Science magazine's Jake Ward
The panel of judges carefully considered each proposal, and decided on five finalists to represent each of the technologies used as a platform in the entries. With a total of 25 finalists, Toyota left it to the public to find one winner for each of the technologies as they opened a public vote online.
Here are with winners of Toyota's 'Ideas for Good' campaign:
- Pure Air - Using the Solar Powered Ventilation System (submitted by Tim W.)
- Building a Better Bike Helmet - Using T.H.U.M.B.S. (submitted by Stu S.)
- Automated Firefighting Extension Ladder Guidance System - Using the Advanced Parking Assist Guidance System (submitted by Fran O.)
- Power Plant Gym - Using HSD (submitted by Birken S.)
- Touch Tracer Mouse, Keyboard and Monitor - Using the Touch Tracer Display (submitted by David C.)
"The caliber of submissions was impressive," said Bill Fay, Group President Marketing, Toyota Motor Sales. "The winning ideas truly re-imagine Toyota technologies in a way that continues to improve quality of life and positively impact the communities in which they might be used..."1
The contest may have ended, but Toyota's innovation has not. Their next step in the 'Ideas for Good' campaign is to actually build each of the winning contestant's ideas. To do this, Toyota plans to recruit the help of a number of key partner organizations.
When you consider the level of innovation that Toyota shows on a daily basis, is there any doubt why so many car-buyers are drawn to Toyota's amazing lineup? Vehicle like the RAV4 and the 4Runner are just a few great examples of Toyota's award-winning innovation. And at Marion Toyota, we invite you to come see them for yourself at 3300 W Deyoung Marion, IL 62959.
Source: 1http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/winners+ideas+for+good+may+2011.htm
