MOTO Development Group Wins International 2001 Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) for its Innovative futurator Concept SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 15, 2001 — MOTO Development Group, a leading full-service engineering and product development firm for mid-sized to Fortune 100 companies, today announced the receipt of a Bronze 2001 IDEA in the Environments category for its unique futurator concept. The futurator is a discarded 1950s refrigerator, reincarnated as a hopped-up, high-tech super appliance: a video-capture device designed to elicit and record stories about our future and the future of technology. The award is presented by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and sponsored by Business Week. About the futurator Developed by Andy Diaz Hope, MOTO's Director of Interactive Environments, the futurator uses a combination of state-of-the-art technology and sandbox play therapy to encourage people to play while telling their stories. The refrigerator was chosen as the form factor of the unit because of its familiar quality as a food storage container, family nerve center and its enigmatic position in the future of technology development. The 50s represent idealism about the future while injecting an element of critique into the vision of a technology driven utopia. The refrigerator is a comfortable, human scale device, making it more likely for people to want to approach it and leave their stories. Opening the door of the futurator exposes the inner stage filled with objects and characters to help the storyteller compose and narrate their story. Turning the temperature control wheel changes the color and location of the internal lighting and the tone of voice in which the futurator speaks to help set story mood. When the futurator is idle, it plays back previously recorded stories for the enlightenment of those in its vicinity. To view the futurator, visit www.futurator.tv. "Our multidisciplinary approach to product development has allowed us to successfully bridge the cultures of art, technology and research resulting in unique, valuable and innovative solutions for our clients and partners," said J. Daniell Hebert, president of MOTO Development Group. "Receiving IDSA's Bronze IDEA for our futurator concept further awards our efforts in product development, most notably in the interactive environments arena."