While a lot of industrial design projects start from client briefs of the "Design us a sexier coffeemaker" variety, there are also those projects that start from the discovery of a new material. Inventor Andy Morrison had been dreaming of a rescue winch for years, but the materials he'd need to build what he'd envisioned simply didn't exist. Then, in 2008, he discovered a type of rope that was as strong as steel cable, but only 1/10th of the weight. Around the same time Morrison watched news reports of China's devastating Sichuan earthquake, which reduced 600,000 structures to rubble almost instantaneously.After working with Robrady Design, the Florida-based ID firm that's not shy about incorporating heavy mechanical engineering into their designs, Morrison and Robrady developed the Rescue Wizard. The gas-powered winch can pull 12,000 pounds and be operated by one person, and its portable size means it can be transported where heavy vehicles can't go, greatly increasing its rescue utility.

The Rescue Wizard's website is not yet live, but it's already won this year's Red Dot Concept Award in the Protection category.