History of SafeZone
The initial SafeZone concept was developed by Sydney-based industrial design firm D3 Design after D3 director Clive Solari was challenged by the P&C (Parents & Citizens') committee from the school his own child attended, to come up with a 'better warning system' for school zones, following a number of near misses caused by speeding cars outside their local school.
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The concept was first shown on the ABC's New Inventors program in 2004 and was extremely well received. However, the technical complexities involved in creating such a device deterred any organisations from taking it up for further development. Then in early 2005, after reviewing the concept and carefully considering its myriad of technical challenges, Sydney-based specialist electronics design firm PNE Electronics took it on. While other in-road light systems exist, SafeZone aims to offer a more modular design that is easier to install, cheaper to own and operate, more robust (ie with no single point of weakness that can cause the whole system to fail), and faster to deploy once a zone is identified where child safety is at risk because of speeding drivers not being aware that the zone is active. |
The system now being installed has come a long way
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If you're familiar with electronics industry magazines such as What's New in Electronics (Westwick-Farrow Publishers) or Engineering News (Reed Business Publications) you're probably familiar with PNE's "Kelly the Control Dog" ad, featuring the headline, "You imagine it, we'll design controls for it". |
PNE has a history of delivery control system innovations. From the first safety cut-out switch for the domestic steam iron (a product we designed and patented in 1985, and which is now endemic in products made around the world), to RF remote controls for some of Australia's leading air-conditioning, evaporative cooling and gas heating systems, to controls for banking machines and 'smart safes', PNE has a history of innovation spanning more than 20 years. Today, PNE helps many companies lead the way by designing solutions that help make theirs products easier to use, more reliable, more fully featured, and safer. |
