Toyota Material Handling Europe hosts logistics design contest

Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE) is looking for ideas on how to improve the “circular economy”—the reduction of material use by recycling—through logistics. To find the very best ideas, TMHE is again hosting the Toyota Logistic Design Competition, open to undergraduate and graduate students in university programs worldwide.

Specifically, this year’s participants are challenged to develop solutions for the future that improve lives, minimize waste, and use resources in a way that has little impact on the environment. 

This is the third year the Europe-based competition is welcoming contestants from the United States. Two U.S. students received top awards in 2022: an entry from the University of Houston for a highly maneuverable delivery cart for dense urban environments, and one from California State University for a modular drone fleet for warehouses and “micro hubs” that could streamline the process of handling and organizing goods.

Toyota has pledged a cash prize of 5,500 euros ($6,000) to the winners in each of three categories: 

• Vehicle/transportation and industrial/product design: New ideas and designs for means of transport and products that promote circularity and sustainability in the logistics and mobility area.
• User interface, user experience design, and service design: New ideas for apps, digital services, and Internet of Things solutions that promote circularity and sustainability in the logistics and mobility area.
• Business innovation design: New ideas for revenue streams, business cases, and completely new business proposals that promote circularity and sustainability in the mobility and logistics area.