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It’s no big surprise that we believe technology can do good things. But at Sony we also believe that people can make really amazing things happen when they get together. We’ve created this challenge as part of our commitment to help create a more sustainable environment for current and future generations. And we’ve also built it to show that communities can play a vital role in accelerating the pace of technological, social and environmental change.

At Sony we believe that technology can play a key role in solving some of the environmental issues facing the planet. We’ve also set ourselves strict sustainability targets that include lowering energy consumption, re-using materials and recycling more. We also look beyond our products to support eco initiatives that could benefit from using our technologies and products for environmental gain. For more information about our environmental activities and targets, visit www.sony.co.uk/eco

Sony is extremely proud to have WWF as its environmental partner in Open Planet Ideas. WWF’s commitment to raise awareness of environmental issues complements Sony’s own belief that we can address many challenges via the creative use of technology. We’re also delighted to have three senior WWF experts as members of our judging panel. Alongside experts from Sony and IDEO, they will assess your concepts for using existing Sony technologies in radical new ways to create a cleaner, more sustainable planet.

The short answer is anything and everything that’s related to repurposing existing technology for new environmentally beneficial applications. What’s really important is the exciting potential for your ideas to address our most pressing problems facing our planet or your own more local environment.

This site is not about suggestions to make electronic products greener: Sony is already deeply engaged in minimising the environmental footprint of our products. Nor are we looking for ideas that involve pulling apart and altering the hardware and software within the products themselves.

But we are interested in hearing about new applications for existing technologies, either used on their own or in novel combinations. It’s all about thinking laterally – like realising that our CCTV cameras could be powered by solar panels and used for the early detection of forest fires. As an example of this, see our Forest Guard inspiration.

Sorry, but that answer’s no. We’re not trying to create new products here: that’s the job of our engineers and designers. The spirit of this challenge is what we call ‘the art of the possible’. We think that the answers to some of our biggest environmental challenges could be solvable with the tools that we already have. All that’s needed is applying them in radically new ways.

Absolutely: it’s bright ideas that matter, not who has them. Open Planet Ideas is open to everyone: and this makes it a great opportunity for colleges and universities to get involved. Teams can enter in exactly the same way as individuals: just get your team leader to register and submit your ideas.

It would have been easy to offer a cash prize for your concepts, but that’s not what Open Planet Ideas is about. This is a truly collaborative project, where everyone’s invited to participate and contribute. By removing a ‘competitive’ element from the project, we’re keeping the exchange and development of original ideas as open, transparent and collaborative as possible.

If your idea is selected, you’ll be invited to our special awards presentation. You’ll also get the exciting chance to join our ‘Realisation Phase’ and work alongside Sony engineers on developing your concept. Participating in this challenge also counts towards your total OpenIDEO Design Quotient and awards associated with it.

What’s more, creators of the winning idea will enjoy widespread international PR and media exposure.

Open Planet Ideas isn’t a platform for Sony to commercialise the ideas of other people. It’s our aim to turn the winning suggestion into a technologically viable ‘proof of concept’, supported by a white paper that documents how other parties could actually put your concept into commercial production.

All the information, documentation and other Intellectual Property related to the realisation phase of the project will be released by Sony into the public domain. As a condition of submitting your ideas, you agree to allow Sony to make use of your submission without any kind of limitations.

At Sony we fully recognise the impact that technology has on our planet, and not always for good. As well as consuming earth’s precious finite resources in their manufacture, technological products have a further environmental impact in their working life and during their end-of-life disposal.

These are realities that we can’t escape from. But there are at least two ways that we can respond to these challenges as a responsible corporate citizen. As a manufacturer, Sony is constantly looking for new ways to make our products – and all our business operations – as energy- and C02-efficient as possible and minimise negative impact.

In parallel with this, we believe using existing technologies in smart new ways can have quite unprecedented and beneficial effects that make a net positive impact on the planet. Who knew that mould growing in laboratory glassware eighty years ago would lead to the creation of penicillin? Who predicted that the digital techniques pioneered by NASA to communicate with astronauts on the moon would anticipate today’s mobile phones and DVD players?

Just like a construction set, think of the complex structures you can build from a very basic set of parts. The nine Sony technologies we’ve picked are all very different. Some of them have obvious applications for communication, sensing and monitoring. Others promise exciting ways to create and share pictures, video and sound. So what happens when you put them together in new ways that nobody has thought of? We’re looking for radical answers to questions that might not have even been asked yet.

Don’t think that you are restricted to only using the nine technologies we’ve selected. These are just a starting point to give you some initial inspiration and guidance. If you can think of other existing technologies by Sony that could be used in radical new ways, we’re keen to hear your suggestions. Equally, you’re welcome to bring other open source technologies into the mix. Phones, tablets, PCs and other devices running the Android operating system are a great example of this.

Just like the challenges that our environment is facing, this community is worldwide. That means we need a way for everyone involved to communicate simply and efficiently as possible. While we’ve chosen English as the principal language for this site, we’ve included a Google translation tool on every page to help anyone who’s not a native English speaker.

The challenge timeline follows these phases:

(1)    The inspiration phase runs from September 1st to October 1st 2010. During this time, you can submit your inspirations in the form of text, photos, images or video. Initially we want to hear your thoughts and inspirations about an environmental challenge that you think could be addressed by the smarter use of technology.

(2)    The final challenge brief will be posted on this site after synthesis of inspiration content by Sony and WWF. You can respond to the brief with your own ideas during the concepting phase that runs from October 11th to December 12th.

(3)    Up to 30 of the best concepts will then be taken forward to an evaluation phase for assessment by community members and our expert panel. The evaluation phase starts on December 13th and ends on January 10tht.

(4)    The final concept will be selected by the expert panel and announced on January 11th 2011.

(5)    Sony will bring the winning concept to life during the realisation phase that starts as soon as the winner has been announced. Regular updates progress of this phase will be posted on this site, allowing the whole community to stay involved in the realisation. Key contributors will also be invited to participate in a “hack day” in February 2011.

See full Challenge Terms and Conditions here.

There are several ways you can make a contribution to this project as part of our community. You can help shape the challenge by telling us about the environmental challenges that are affecting your part of the world. You can share your ideas about re-using current technologies by Sony to combat environmental problems in radical new ways. Or you can critique, tweak, refine and contribute to other people’s original concepts. Everyone can make a contribution, large or small: it’s your own thoughts, ideas and inspiration that really matter here.

We’re hoping that the exchange of ideas stimulated by our challenge will stimulate our community to create other future challenges. Open Planet Ideas is just that: an open, global platform to share and refine the inspiration of others. In setting this first challenge we’re already looking forward to hearing your own ideas for harnessing the power of open innovation in other – perhaps quite unpredictable – ways.

OpenIDEO is a place where people design better, together for social good. Open Planet Ideas is one of the challenges running on the OpenIDEO platform. Find out more