Design space: Cleaning equipment clean-up Product: AirRAM cordless vacuum cleaner by Gtech; Design: In-house Territory: UK Standard vacuum cleaners gather dirt through a wide nozzle into a narrow tube. It takes a lot of power to draw the dirt up in this way, which means some falls back on to the floor. Gtech, a UK design and engineering company, wanted to bring out a high-performing vacuum cleaner and came up with a solution: do away with tubes. Like many vacuum cleaners, the AirRAM has a rotating roller with integrated brushes, which transfers the dirt into the machine's dirt collector. But unlike others, the AirRAM's dirt collecting area is nearly as wide as the roller, meaning less dirt is left behind. The dirt is compressed into small bales just 5cm from the point of collection. In an independent test, the AirRAM picked up more dirt than its leading competitors. Many other vacuum cleaners, in which dirt travels along tubes to containers or bags, use up to 2,000 watts of electricity; the AirRAM uses only 100 watts because of the absence of tubes and the short distance from roller to collector. To make it more convenient to use, the AirRAM is cordless, so it must be charged before use. The AirRAM, which sells for £229, launched in April through John Lewis department stores. So far 5,000 have sold, and Gtech has more than £6m of orders. It will be available internationally by the end of the year.