The Edison Awards begin with nominations sought from product and service innovators in fifteen categories. The products are then reviewed by a panel composed of over 3,000 senior business executives and academics from across the U.S. The award criteria are concept, value, delivery and impact. Special honors are also given such as “Women Behind Innovation”, where two leading female technologists have been profiled in a Digital Journal article. At a separate time of the year, an award is given to young students for their ideas and to encourage young people to become innovators and developers. Finally there is the The Edison Achievement Award which recognizes an individual who, through their careers has made a significant and lasting contribution to the world of innovation. The 2017 award in this category went to Jeff Immelt, the chairman of the board of the U.S.-based conglomerate General Electric.
Edison Awards are given in the following categories: Applied Technology, Athletics, Sports & Recreation, Collective Disruption, Consumer Electronics & Information Technology, Consumer Goods, Energy & Sustainability, Health & Wellness, Industrial Design, Innovative Services, Living, Working & Learning Environments, Media, Visual Communications & Entertainment, Medical/Dental, Science,Social Innovation and Transportation & Logistics. Of special interest to businesses are the awards in the office technology category.
Awards are given to three companies and products at three Olympian levels — bronze, silver and gold. For 2017, the bronze award went to the product Mcor ARKe by Mcor Technologies. The Mcor Arke is the world’s first full color desktop 3D printer. Using paper gives users of our technology an unrivaled experience due to the low cost of printed parts and good color capability.
The silver award for 2017 was given for Rize One, a technology developed by Rize Inc. Rize One is the only means to efficiently and safely 3D print one-offs of customized end-use products on the go in the office or at the manufacturing floor. This technology is set to unlock industrial 3D printing for new markets.
Finally the gold award was given for an innovation called MAX (Modular Agile Exoskeleton) developed by Suitx. The MAX system is a low-cost, flexible, modular exoskeleton comprised of three separate modules (referred to as backX, shoulderX and legX). These modules can be used together or independently to ease the burden of strenuous tasks in a variety of workplace environments. While advances have been made with exoskeletons, MAX is a different kind of exoskeleton that could find a home in the workplace.
These types of products will appeal to a variety of businesses and they demonstrate the types of forward-thinking innovations that technology startups can produce.
