Open innovation is a great way for businesses and entrepreneurs to identify innovative and unexpected product design solutions, whatever their project. Cad Crowd has been a hub for crowdsourced design competitions for years, and we’ve seen plenty of creative and exciting invention ideas over that period. Let’s take a look at five of the coolest new products designed through crowdsourced challenges on Cad Crowd.
1. Robot Desk Defender 3D Modeling Design by Luka B
This super fun contest asked designers to come up with ideas for a little robot to defend one’s office from pesky co-workers. The idea of the desk defender is for a motion-detecting and controllable little robot that can shoot foam missiles at targets and deliver verbal warnings when introducers encroach on the workspace. The desk defender can swivel around, and the arms can move up and down to lock on to the target.
2. The Mother Load 3D Modeling Design by Adam
This cleverly named product is one for the new mothers out. Since the rear-end is liable to be a bit sore after performing the miracle of birth, the purpose of this design contest was to come up with a product that would help new mommies sit more comfortably during the recovery period. The design had to be portable and to be usable with regular chairs and car seats. It’s always great to see innovative products to help out new mothers!
3. Custom Kettlebell Product Design by Sergui.Nasta
This is definitely one of the more fun design contests we’ve had. The buyer wanted a sinister set of kettlebells, and boy were they delivered. The menacing medley consists of a few demons, a couple skeletons, some evil clowns, and a grenade for good measure. These certainly aren’t weights for the faint of heart. The right combination of creepy and fun.
4. Antimatter Light Case Jewelry Design by Cristiano
Wow. Well you’re no likely to lose your lighter if it’s encased in a glowing sci-fi sculpture and tied around your neck. This creative design competition saw a wide range of ideas in the various submissions. The two winning designs almost couldn’t have been any different from each other, which speaks to the creative potential of open innovation. The task was to design a cool 3D printable custom lighter case with a sci-fi flavor that could be worn around the neck and which included some glowing tritium components. Pretty cool, man.
5. Modular Cryptocurrency Miner Enclosure 3D Printing Design by jnatzic
This interesting contest challenged designers to come up with a modular enclosure system for special computers designed to “mine” digital cryptocurrencies like LiteCoin. The modular system is designed for easy expansion and houses the peculiar processors used to run the scripts that generate the currency. 3D printing meets cryptocurrency: some pretty futuristic stuff we’re dealing with here.
So there you have it! Five of the most inspiring design contests we’ve seen over the past couple years. But that’s not it! There’s always new contests going on at Cad Crowd. A great way for CAD designers to practice their art, and a fantastic way to find innovative solutions to your design problems. Find out more, or launch you own contest today!