Most Imperial students may not have noticed it, but this month saw a celebration of 21 years of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE). The course, which is run jointly by the Faculy of Engineering, in conjunction with the Royal College of Art, was founded to foster a resurgence of design, and of pride of design, in British Industry.

A week-long event entitled "IDE21: Outside the box" was hosted by the Royal College of Art, including several debates and forums. However, the most interesting part of the activities was an exhibition of some of the work carried out by graduates of the course.

As well as the expected Dyson vacuum cleaner (a tribute to the IDE's most celebreated alumnus) there was a bizzare Personal Assitant (or more colloquially, Techno Bra). It was designed by Kursty Falconer, an IDE graduate in 1999, and includes a heart rate monitor that can detect if a woman is at risk of suffering from cardiac problems or a panic attack. It can then alert the wearer and, using a GSM-GPS module, the emergency services.

More details on the IDE can be found at the exhibition web site.