Dyson On: Dyson Year in Review: 2019

In March 2019, Dyson launched a suite of new technology globally, engineered to support wellbeing. The newly released Dyson V11 cord free vacuum, Dyson Lightcycle task light and floor light and Dyson Pure Cool Me personal purifying fan all challenge convention and present new and innovative technology developed to improve people’s lives and solve problems other’s ignore. Personalisation and intelligence are words readily associated with the three machines, which take the performance of cleaning, purification and lighting to the next level. 

The Dyson Supersonic hair dryer continued its innovation in 2019, with Dyson launching five new attachments in July, to revolutionise the way we style our hair. From the gentle air dryer, which provides a more diffused airflow to protect sensitive scalps and aid colour longevity, to the wide tooth comb, made specifically for people with curly or coily hair, the new attachments created quite a stir in the hair community. Watch the video from our Influencer Styling Event below.

Dyson’s latest purification technology, the Dyson Pure Cool Cryptomic purifying fan and the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Cryptomic purifying fan heater launched in Shanghai in September. They mark Dyson’s first machines able to both capture pollutants and destroy formaldehyde. Pioneered by Dyson chemists and engineers, the machine is the culmination of two year’s development and £1m investment in new research labs at Dyson’s Malmesbury campus. This latest launch speaks to Dyson’s growing expertise in purification and a new milestone in the environmental care category.

In October 2019, Dyson launched the Dyson Airblade 9kJ hand dryer, the fastest most energy efficient HEPA-filtered hand dryer. With a completely unique design and cutting-edge technology, the machine enables people to try their hands quickly and hygienically, while using low energy and offering an alternative to paper towels. Not only is it Dyson’s quietest hand dryer to date, but it produces up to 85% less carbon dioxide emissions per dry than paper towels. 

In a first-of-its-kind project for Dyson, engineers developed state-of-the-art sensing backpacks that were given to 250 children from five schools in London. Reworking existing sensing technology used in Dyson air purifiers, the engineers designed the portable air monitoring devices especially for the Breathe London study. The results of the study were published in October, following data examination from academics from King’s College London. Surprisingly, the children who walked, scooted or cycled to school were generally exposed to lower levels of pollution, compared with those who took the bus or went by car. Importantly, the King’s College London report stated that following the research, 35% of children are now taking a different route to school to lower their exposure to air pollution, having been empowered by the knowledge of air pollution levels. 

In June 2019, the Dyson Institute opened Dyson’s Undergraduate Village- the latest evolution of its Malmesbury Campus in Wiltshire, forming part of Dyson’s £31.5m investment into The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology. Designed by James Dyson and Wilkinson Eyre architects, the new spaces provide Dyson’s growing Undergraduate population with five star accommodation and a range of leisure spaces. The Dyson Undergraduate Village is made up of 63 pods which are stacked up to three high and are arranged and angled in the campus landscape to provide every Undergraduate with an impressive view. At the centre of the village is The Roundhouse, equipped with a café, bar and screening room, as well as stunning 360 ° views of the surrounding Cotswolds’ countryside.

The opening of the Dyson Demo store in Paris on Wednesday 18^th September 2019 marked Dyson’s largest Demo store to date. Located in the Opera district of Paris, the shop has two floors, offering a diversified experience and allowing the discovery of Dyson technologies, demonstration and discussion with Dyson experts. It has a floor dedicated to events and exhibitions, which has already been used to showcase the inventions of this year’s national James Dyson Award winners.

This year saw Dyson launch two new Beauty Labs in Stockholm and London, as Dyson continues its journey in beauty, placing innovation and hair heath at the heart of its stylings. Also active in Singapore and Sydney, these operational salons allow customers to enjoy a professional blow dry, engineered to give healthier looking hair. The Beauty Labs enable people to experience Dyson personal care technology and see the array of styles that can be achieved for all hair types. 

In November 2019, Dyson announced that it has secured a new site for its global headquarters in Singapore, at the historic Saint James Power Station. With the move scheduled for 2021, the 100,000sq ft. national monument will increase Dyson’s research and engineering footprint in Singapore two-fold, and will sit at the centre of its ambitious global expansion. Saint James Power Station already has a rich history, and its next chapter will see the installation of new-state-of-the-art laboratories that will supercharge Dyson’s research into future technologies.

2019’s international James Dyson Award winner was 24-year-old Lucy Hughes from the University of Sussex (UK). Lucy attempted to solve the problem of both single-use plastics and inefficient waste streams by harnessing fish offcuts to create a unique plastic alternative, MarinaTex.  As international winner of the James Dyson Award, Lucy received £30,000. She aims to commercialise her invention sustainably, using her award money for further research into how MarinaTex can become a global answer to the abundance of plastic waste while still harnessing local solutions.  

In August 2019, alongside the release of students GCSE results in the UK, the James Dyson Foundation reported on the results of a six year-long project, which shows how the teaching of Design and Technology can be improved to make it more relevant to a career in engineering. The new approach encouraged a 37% increase in the number of students who chose to study the subject at GCSE, despite a national decline during this time, and as a result improved the perception of engineering careers amongst young people.

Every year, Dyson puts the creativity and engineering prowess of all Dyson people to the test through an ultimate design challenge. This year, Dyson people globally were challenged to create their own escape room experience, built using Dyson machines and technology. The entries included a Supersonic pinball machine and a Dyson vacuum-based anagram challenge and were put to the test by Dyson people across the world.