Photos: Presenting the “Spike Away” – The Invention that Protects Your Personal Space on Public Transport

You’ll have to put fashion to one side if you plan on wearing this one. This interesting design for a "Spike Away", was conceived by designer Siew Ming Cheng during a “Chindogu” workshop that was held at the National University of Singapore. Hosted by German furniture designer Werner Aisslinger, the workshop was aimed to inspire crowds to come up with ingenious products to solve everyday problems or first world problems! “A quick brainstorming leads to a everyday situation. Trains are usually crowded during peak hours. Everybody will push each other to try and get onto the train. How can I protect my personal space?” writes Siew Ming. “The idea was then conceived. "What if I wear a vest that is full of spikes?"” They were given just half a day to source materials and come up with a prototype for their invention and the Spike Away was born: According to the designer, "The vest is made of strips of spiky, flexible plastic material found in the gardening section of a handy store. The strips are looped together with cable ties. Fittingly, it was normally used to keep birds and cats away from plants." We'd love to see someone on Dublin Bus kitted out in one of these!