Feil Liza, a former Industrial Product and Form Design student and current part-time lecturer at the Sándor Rejtő Faculty of Light Industry and Environmental Engineering, has achieved an outstanding international success: her Smart Buoy project has received the prestigious Red Dot Award, one of the world’s most renowned design awards.
The award-winning Smart Buoy represents the intersection of advanced technology, functional design and environmental protection. The development is designed to continuously monitor the condition of rivers and standing waters and to support the early detection of changes that may threaten water quality.
The buoy continuously measures and transmits water-quality data even under extreme aquatic conditions, providing information that can contribute to monitoring the health of aquatic ecosystems. The system can help identify potential risks such as oxygen depletion, rising water temperatures and the development of algal blooms at an early stage.
A key strength of the project is the integration of design with technology. Alongside the product design, Liza incorporated the compact data-processing unit developed by dFarm and the joint development work carried out with the Vízion team, transforming the concept into a market-ready product suitable for serial production.
From a university thesis to international recognition
The project started as a thesis project at Óbuda University in spring 2022. The concept subsequently received several prestigious professional recognitions, including the Best of METU Diploma Award, a Special Award at the Hungarian Design Award, as well as the BIG SEE Product Design Award and its Grand Prix in Slovenia.
Following five months of redesign and refinement carried out together with the Vízion team, the buoy’s internal structure and operation were finalised. The development has now reached another major milestone by receiving the prestigious international Red Dot Award.
The project is an excellent example of how an idea originating in a university environment can evolve through research, development and industry collaboration into an innovation that contributes both to technological progress and environmental protection.
Our heartfelt congratulations to Liza Feil on this outstanding international achievement! We are especially proud that, after completing her studies, she continues to strengthen the Óbuda University community as a lecturer and member of the TDK Review Committee, sharing her knowledge and experience with the next generation.
