We, MetroWeather Co., Ltd. are pleased to announce that our product “Wind Guardian” has won the Red Dot Design Award in the Product Design category, one of the world’s most prestigious design awards.

Our Press Release is here (Japanese only)

For the commercial operation of drones and flying vehicles, visualization of wind in the flight area is more essential than ever before to ensure safety and security. To cover the entire flight area, a Doppler LiDAR that can measure and visualize wind in three dimensions and in real time is effective. However, in the past, large and expensive Doppler lidars were the norm, making multi-point deployment difficult. Metro Weather is a Kyoto University startup that is working to solve these problems by developing a Doppler LiDAR that is smaller, more powerful, and less expensive than conventional ones.

■About the product “Wind Guardian”

Doppler LiDAR visualizes wind movement by emitting an infrared laser beam into the air and using the Doppler effect of reflected light from Chile. “Wind Guardian” is a cutting-edge product designed to be both advanced and compatible with the public landscape, with high durability for long-term outdoor installation.

■Design Concept and Key Point

Design Concept：” Beauty of Use” for advanced product

The term “Beauty of Use” was given by Muneyoshi Yanagi, the founder of the Mingei movement, to daily utensils that have a simple beauty of form, are created with the user’s needs in mind, and can be repaired and used over and over again for a long period of time.

Metro Weather is a Deep-Tech Startup that has been accumulating technology at Kyoto University for many years, and “Wind Guardian” will be used for decades to come, and will be installed in public spaces as well. Therefore, we did not want to create an eccentric form that simply asserts its cutting-edge status, but rather to create a balance between blending in with its surroundings and maintaining a dignified appearance of wisdom, aiming for the epitome of “Beauty of Use” as an advanced device that can adapt to a long era.

-The wisdom of cutting-edge science is expressed in the sharp silhouette of the diamond-cut surface, with no waste cut away by cutting aluminum.

-Following the Kyoto tradition of the beauty of simplicity, the elements of the parts are laid out in a grid as simple as possible.

-The octagonal footprint and strong silver lines extending to the legs on all four sides express the use of the drone for weather observation and drone monitoring.

-The design also takes into account ease of installation at high elevations and ease of maintenance.

-The product uses a highly weather-resistant coating that can withstand long-term operation in the harsh outdoor environment, and the pure whiteness of the white color, which is highly effective in reflecting the sun’s heat.

■Designer’s Introduction

Mr. Masaru Okada( Veronica design. )

The product was designed by Masaru Okada, who has been involved in the industrial design of digital information equipment for many years at major consumer electronics manufacturers and telecommunications carriers, and has sold more than 1 million units of such equipment.

He’s won several awards, and one of them is Good Design Award. This product is his first work as an independent designer.

■About the Red Dot Design Award

The Red Dot Design Award is an internationally recognized design award that has been held by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany since 1955. About 20,000 entries from more than 60 countries are submitted, and about 50 world-class design experts judge the entries based on various criteria, including innovation, functionality, ergonomics, ecology, and durability, and award the prizes to the best products. It is known as one of the world’s most prestigious design awards and is considered one of the world’s top three design awards along with the German “iF design award” and the American “IDEA”.

Red Dot Design Award Official HP links to here

■About Metro Weather

Founded: May 13th, 2015
President and CEO: Jun-ichi Furumoto
Address : No.6 Uji Venture Business Development Factory,
1-25 Nishinohata, Okubocho, Uji, Kyoto
Business
We develop, sell and provide data from Doppler LiDARs, which use an infrared laser beam to capture reflected light from atmospheric dust and particles scattered by the wind and analyze it using the Doppler effect to analyze and visualize wind conditions in real time and in three dimensions.

Based on the development and analysis technology of atmospheric remote sensing technology cultivated at Kyoto University over many years, we have developed a compact, high-performance Doppler LiDAR that offers the same performance as conventional large Doppler Liders, but at a lower price. In order to solve social issues using our Doppler LiDAR, we have been conducting joint research and demonstrations with several companies and research institutes in Japan and overseas, and we’ve been participating in a NASA research and development project since 2021.

■Product “Wind Gurdian”

Our Doppler LiDAR can now be installed on EVs, making it possible to observe wind conditions while on the move.