ZOTAC, our partner in developing the first solid-state actively cooled Mini PC – the ZBOX pico PI430AJ with AirJet® - has been honored with Japan’s prestigious GOOD DESIGN AWARD. The integration of two AirJet Mini chips into the device was recognized as a truly revolutionary step forward, with the GOOD DESIGN AWARD Judges’ acknowledging “This Mini PC achieved the world’s first completely fanless design by adopting the cooling chip called ‘AirJet’ by Frore Systems”. The Judges continued stating the Mini PC “succeeded to prove the capability of its cooling chip”.
The GOOD DESIGN AWARD is recognized as the only comprehensive design evaluation and promotion mechanism in Japan. Established over 60 years ago, its goal is to make people's lives and society better through design. The award is based not only on the visual appearance of a product but its ability to make people, society and the future better off.
Japan’s GOOD DESIGN AWARD, recognized by an astounding 83.6% of the people in Japan, has an excellent reputation. Over 5000 hopeful contenders for the 2023 award participated in a rigorous five-month screening process with a judging committee of design experts from Japan and abroad.
Hiroyuki Fukano, President and CEO of the Japan Institute of Design Promotion, stated “What makes us unique is that multiple experts carefully analyze the ideas behind each design, as well as the process through which they took shape. Indeed, the high expectations people have for us in this regard is reflected in the diverse pool of applicants, which includes major global companies, local small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and those who work with government and community activities. Trends in the GOOD DESIGN AWARD reflect how Japan and the world are evolving.”
Seiichi Saito, Chairperson of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD added, “Just because it looks good does not make it a winner”.
As explained on the Award’s website, the jury members consider four "screening perspectives" to determine whether or not the entries are good designs based on a composite of various views of design context, purpose, process, and outcomes.
Human Perspective:
- Whether due considerations, including usability, understandability, friendliness, etc., are given to users
- Whether various considerations, including safety, security, environment, physically weak persons, etc., are given to maintain the credibility.
- Whether the design gains the sympathy of users.
- Whether the design has attractiveness and induces users’ creativity.
Industrial Perspective
- Whether issues are skillfully solved by using new technology and materials or through creativity.
- Whether the entry is reasonably designed or planned with appropriate technology, method, and quality.
- Whether the entry contributes to the creation of a new industry or business.
Social Perspective
- Whether the entry contributes to the creation of new cultures, such as a new method, lifestyle, communication, etc.
- Whether the entry contributes to the realization of the sustainable society.
- Whether the entry suggests new value, such as a new method, concept, style, etc. to society.
Time Perspective
- Whether the entry puts past contexts and accumulated achievements to propose new value.
- Whether the entry proposes a highly sustainable solution from medium- and long-term perspectives.
- Whether the entry represents continual improvements in accordance with the times.
The submission from ZOTAC highlighted that the ZBOX pico PI430AJ with AirJet® was the world’s first Mini PC to use the revolutionary solid-state active cooling solution. Emphasizing that the design is entirely fanless, silent, and so small, at just 114.8mm x 76mm x 23.8mm, it can fit in a shirt pocket. Despite the tiny size, the pico PI430AJ is a full featured desktop computer with an Intel Core i3 processor and a full range of connectivity.
The award focused on three key aspects of the design:
- The world’s first Mini PC to use a revolutionary solid-state active-cooling solution.
- A full featured Windows desktop PC so small it can fit in a shirt pocket.
- Powered by an Intel Core i3 processor, the PI430AJ is a fanless design with silent performance.
The ZOTAC ZBOX pico PI430AJ with AirJet® is designed to meet the needs of a wide and rapidly growing range of demanding industrial and commercial applications, such as digital displays. Digital displays are becoming more integrated in everyday life scenarios including in buildings, kiosks, vehicles, airports, airplanes, restaurants, point of sales, and more. Behind the display is a computer system that makes all the visuals possible, whether it’s a digital sign, menu, informational, or some form of transaction access point such as sales, registration, checking in or out, etc. The versatile ZBOX pico PI430AJ compact computer system, with its capable compute performance and multi-display support, utilizes no moving parts, extending durability and increasing reliability and longevity. The system is capable of high performance in the most demanding airflow-limited spaces.
“We are delighted that the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2023 has recognized ZOTAC, AirJet, and the significant impact we are making in the Mini PC industry.” said Dr. Seshu Madhavapeddy, founder and CEO of Frore Systems. “ZOTAC is a great partner and I highly commend Tony Wong, CEO, Jacky Huang, Director of Product, and Surf Wong, Senior Industrial Designer, for having the vision of a ZBOX pico PI430AJ with AirJet® and making that vision a reality.”
AirJet solves the biggest challenge facing the tech world today - heat. AirJet cools devices with breakthrough technology to meet the ever-increasing demands of today’s consumers, delivering a 2x to 3x improvement in performance while operating in silence. AirJet’s compact size and unique capabilities enable faster, quieter, thinner, lighter, and dustproof devices.
Frore Systems launched AirJet in January 2023, and has seen unprecedented demand for the small and highly effective AirJet active cooling chip. The AirJet Mini is 2.8mm thick, 27.5mm x 41.5mm in size, and weighs just 9 grams. AirJet is scalable, meaning that multiple chips can be easily integrated into devices, resulting in major performance gains. AirJet can enhance performance across numerous devices from Notebooks, Mini PCs, Pro Tablets, Smartphones and SSDs, to the approaching tsunami of IOT devices such as collaborative displays, WiFi access points and LED lighting, and in industries as challenging as data center AI factories and autonomous vehicles.
