Wiltshire, England – On Wednesday, British designer and engineer James Dyson unveiled in Tokyo the Dyson Supersonic, a hair drier that he hopes will revolutionize the market. The billionaire said this is be the first innovation in this market since over six decades.
The new Supersonic hair drier was created by a team of 103 engineers as they focused on speed, weight and noise. The device will be available in the United States starting retail prices at $399 in September at Sephora stores.
The 68-year-old inventor, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006, said millions of people around the world use inefficient hair driers every day. Which in turn, makes them waste their time and cause them hair damage in the long run, according to a report by The New York Times.
Sir James Dyson is hopeful that his device, which came out after 600 prototypes and 100 odd patents, will give people reasons to try it out and change their bathroom routines for once and for all. But he and everyone involved with his company know it won’t be easy to convince them that ordinary hair driers are not effective enough.
Dai Fujiwara, a fashion designer from Japan who worked with Dyson on an Issey Miyake runway presentation, wrote in an email that people don’t tend to notice there’s a problem when everyday life is too normal, said a report by the Times. People simply is accustomed to the devices they have been using for years. Old habits die hard, they say.
For its part, design manager Ed Shelton described Dyson’s hair project as the hardest he had ever worked. Because there are diverse issues related to a strong subjective user psychology the team had to tackle.
Shelton said that while British women seek volume, Japanese women want straightness, for example. The only thing all women around the world have in common is that they don’t want hair damage. Shelton pointed out that the team had to build a fleet of robots to test those specific issues over and over again.
What does the Dyson’s Supersonic has to offer?
The firm said the most important thing it has created for the Supersonic is its high-speed 13-blade motor, which is about the size of a quarter and weighs just 370 grams. Compared to regular motors positioned at the top of the hair drier, this one is so small that it can fit in the base of the device’s handler.
Users of ordinary dryers tend to burn themselves if the device is too close to the head, but that won’t be a problem with the Supersonic, since its smaller motor enables high speed flow but not pressure.
The positioning of the motor also cuts down significantly on noise as the design allows for a smaller fan and longer silencer tube. In addition, the Supersonic’s intelligent heat sensors and its magnetic heatproof nozzles prevent hair burn.
Mr. Dyson said he was terrified. There has been lots of testing and he has even grown his hair especially for a launch. He said the last time he had grown his hair that long had been in his ‘60s student days, when he wore flowered shirts and flares.
Source: New York Times