Announcing Our 2024 Finalists
Congratulations to the seven finalists who will be competing for the Grand Prize during a live presentation round in November:
AstroAnt: A Miniature Symbiotic Robotic Serving on the Outside Surfaces of Spacecraft, Rovers, and Landers for Inspection and Diagnostic Tasks
Cosmetic Silica Upcycled from Rice Husk as Natural Alternative to Microplastic Powders
Laser-Generated Anti-Icing and Anti-Fogging Transparent Materials
Multi-Modal Traffic Detection System
NETrolyze: A Novel Immunotherapy for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
RHOBARR Barrier Dispersions Platform
Thin-Film Thermoelectric Cooling Device
Watch this space for more announcements, including the Top 100 entries and Top Ten most popular.
Help build a better tomorrow
Since Tech Briefs magazine launched the Create the Future Design contest in 2002 to recognize and reward engineering innovation, over 15,000 design ideas have been submitted by engineers, students, and entrepreneurs in more than 100 countries. Join the innovators who dared to dream big by entering your ideas today.
Read About Past Winners’ Success Stories
Special Report spotlights the eight top entries in 2023 as well as past winners whose ideas are now in the market, making a difference in the world.
Click here to read moreA ‘Create the Future’ Winner Featured on ‘Here’s an Idea’
Spinal cord injury affects 17,000 Americans and 700,000 people worldwide each year. A research team at NeuroPair, Inc. won the Grand Prize in the 2023 Create the Future Design Contest for a revolutionary approach to spinal cord repair. In this Here’s an Idea podcast episode, Dr. Johannes Dapprich, NeuroPair’s CEO and founder, discusses their groundbreaking approach that addresses a critical need in the medical field, offering a fast and minimally invasive solution to a long-standing problem.
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contest/2012
2012
2012 Entries
>> All
>> Machinery & Equipment
>> Consumer Products
>> Medical
>> Safety and Security
>> Transportation
>> Sustainable Technologies
>> Electronics
2012 Participants
2012 Results
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Sensordrone: a Practical, Tricorder Like Platform for Consumers and Mobile Device Developers
Mark Wagner, Sensorcon, Buffalo, New York
Sensordrone is a multi-purpose, configurable sensor that dramatically extends the sensing capability of smartphones & tablets. It is a key Fob sized platform for both consumers and developers.
CONSUMER PRODUCTS CATEGORY
LumEN: Luminescent Solar Concentrators for Sustainable On-Demand Electricity Production
Gianmarco Griffini, Massimo Micocci, and Francesca Ostuzzi, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Lum-EN is the first portable device able to harvest solar energy and deliver electrical energy on-demand employing organic luminescent solar concentrators (OLSCs).
MEDICAL CATEGORY
Prosthetic Leg Connector
Dave King, Kelowna, BC, Canada
This is a device to aid those who wear prosthetic limbs. The current state of the art is a multilayer system that consists of a cotton sock and a silicone rubber sock that fits over the limb. The prosthesis can attach to the silicone sock by means of a rod and ratchet device.
ELECTRONICS CATEGORY
Cloud and Smartphone Accelerator
James Awrach, Beverly, Massachusetts
Grid-X is a SeaFire innovation that addresses BWDP, and enables faster local and globally distributed supercomputing at lower power and cost.
MACHINERY/EQUIPMENT CATEGORY
Thermal Stir Weld Process
Jeff Ding, NASA, Athens, Alabama
The thermal stir welding process (U.S. Patents 7,980,449 & 8,127,977) is a new solid-state (meaning the weld metal does not melt during welding) welding process invented at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
SAFETY & SECURITY CATEGORY
LIFE PACK – Hypothermia Prevention Floatation Device
Dwight and Jane Cushman, Portland, Oregon
The LIFE PACK is the first of its kind dual bag floatation device incorporating an inner thermal lined compartment, which holds a heat generating super-corrosion technology sleeve.
SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY CATEGORY
Aquaback Water Purification System
E. Andrew Condon, William Zebuhr, Scott Newquist, David Dussault, Steven Sahagian, Nicholas Wong, Michael Easton, William Burie, Charles Blanchard, and Nicole Sandoval, Aquaback Technologies, Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Aquaback is developing a highly efficient, low cost, low maintenance, compact, modular vapor compression distiller to be the water processing module in a wide variety of water processing systems to clean incoming water or reclaim waste water.
TRANSPORTATION CATEGORY
Re-Thinking Automotive TPMS
Ivan Batinic, San Martin, California
This is a new approach to implementing vehicular Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) which is more economical and ecological than existing systems mass-deployed in the market to date, with significant advantages, the foremost being the passive non-electronic sending unit (inside the tire) thereby eliminating RF electronics, thermal compensation issues, raising of the RF noise-floor and wasteful consumption of limited Lithium resources for batteries.
Congratulations to all the 2012 Contest Participants!
Grand Prize
Sensordrone: a Practical, Tricorder Like Platform for Consumers and Mobile Device Developers
Mark Wagner, Sensorcon, Buffalo, New York
Category Winners
Consumer Products
LumEN: Luminescent Solar Concentrators for Sustainable On-Demand Electricity Production
Gianmarco Griffini, Massimo Micocci, and Francesca Ostuzzi, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
Medical
Prosthetic Leg Connector
Dave King, Kelowna, BC, Canada
Electronics
Cloud and Smartphone Accelerator
James Awrach, Beverly, Massachusetts
Machinery & Equipment
Thermal Stir Weld Process
Jeff Ding, NASA, Athens, Alabama
Safety & Security
LIFE PACK – Hypothermia Prevention Floatation Device
Dwight and Jane Cushman, Portland, Oregon
Sustainable Technologies
Aquaback Water Purification System
E. Andrew Condon, William Zebuhr, Scott Newquist, David Dussault, Steven Sahagian, Nicholas Wong, Michael Easton, William Burie, Charles Blanchard, and Nicole Sandoval, Aquaback Technologies, Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Transportation
Re-Thinking Automotive TPMS
Ivan Batinic, San Martin, California
Top Ten Most Popular Entries
Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies (ET3)™
Daryl Oster, ET3 Global Alliance, Longmont, Colorado
Benchtop Pomegranate Deseeder
Uddhab Bharali, North Lakhimpur, Asssam India
Making Fuel from Vehicular Emissions
Jaideep Singh, Delhi, India
Multi-Function Photocatalytic Solar Desalination
Amin Taheri Najafabadi, Vancouver, BC, Canada< /p>
Adaptive Smart Home Technology
Amit Badlani, Bangalore, Karnataka India
Virtual Walking Stick for the Visually Impaired
Jonathan and Maxwell Tolstedt, Fargo, North Dakota
Inoculation Monitoring Device
Avantika, Patna, Bihar India
Solar Boiler Electrical Generator and Heat Machine
Matthew Davis, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Design and Development of a Multi Stage Contra Rotating Mini Axial Compressor
Amit Mangtani, Apoorv Maheshwari, Achyut Panchal, Pranav Raheja, Raj Patel, Mitanshu Sharma, and Nishant Khanduja, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra India
Flying Safer
Alaa Thabet, Cairo, Egypt
View the 100 highest-scoring entries
Thank you to our panel of judges.
The following entries received the highest overall scores from the panel of judges. They are listed in alphabetical order by title.
3D Endoscope Using Controlled Aberrations
A Better Way to Text and Touch-Type
A Capacitive Multichannel ECG Measurement System
A Home and Small Business Electricity Micro Generation Unit
Active Passive System for Damage Detection
Applying Stress to Cells under Microscopy
Aquaback Water Purification System
Autonomous Robotic Vehicle for Transmission Line Inspection
Catherina, Smartly Illuminate Your Life
Cloud and Smartphone Accelerator
Device for Control Over Drive of Valve for ICE
Device for Improvement of Cancerous Margin Assessment in the Operating Room
Dry Snorkel Cold Immersion Suit for Hypothermia Prevention
Ear Prophylactics (Dry Earplus for Diving)
Elpipes: Critical Enabling Technology for a Supergrid
Engine with Oscillating Rotating Pistons
Fault Tolerant Power & Communications System
GE SpinLab™: First Automated Multichannel Hyperpolarizer
Hardware and Smartphone App to Prevent Forgetting Child in Vehicle
HistoMosaic: Cancer Tissue Diagnostics by Multiplexed PCR
HTI Dynamic Combustion Chamber
Isolating DIAC-Based Power Supply Saves Standby Energy
Laser Guided Car Parking System
LED A19 100W-Equivalent Lamp with Active Cooling
LED/Optic Display Production Machine
LED/Optic Identity Verification in the Visible and IR Frequencies
LIFE PACK – Hypothermia Prevention Floatation Device
Methods and Apparatus for Imaging, Detecting, and Monitoring Surficial and Subdermal Inflammation
Molecular Microscope and Nano-Fabricator
NanoCam - Microscopic Sized Camera
Nanocoating Tool: Linear Self-Assembly
New Design for a Miniaturized Frequency Agile Repeater System
New Low-Loss Planetary Shift Transmission
New Technology Provides Precise, Dynamic Control of the Pitch of a Boat Propeller
Parabolic Trough Solar Concentrator for Process Heat Generation
Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury Software Simulation Framework
Photocoagulator for Superficial Abrasion
polyMEAs: Tissue-Like All-Polymer Microelectrode Arrays for Neuroprosthetics
Quantum Frostless Heat Pump with MPR Valve
RASP®-Reduced Agricultural Storage Program
RF Sensor Network Improves Aircraft Availability
Rolling Piston Air Motor or Pump
SafeDrive Anti Drowsiness Camera
SAW Convolver Sensor for Wireless Structure Monitoring Systems
Self Recharging Laptops: Work Longer with Confidence
Self-Adjusting Bushing Bearing
Self-Protective Alloy Treatment for Extreme Environments
Self-Sizing Internal Combustion Engine
Sensordrone: a Practical, Tricorder Like Platform for Consumers and Mobile Device Developers
Snapshot Imaging Plenoptic Spectral Camera
Solar Boiler Electrical Generator and Heat Machine
Solar Water Distiller Using Spray Flash Evaporation
Solving the Last Hurdle Preventing LEDs Becoming Mainstream Products
Synthetic Bone Made by Indirect Selective Laser Sintering
The Integrated Off-Shore Wave Powered Turbine Shaft (OSWPTS)
The Pulsed Turbine Turbo-Prop Engine Concept
The Sipficient Travel Mug: Piping Hot to the Very Last Drop
Thin-Cavity Cooling of Electronic Circuitry
UV-C Bare and Gloved Hand Flash Disinfection
V2 Renal Denervation System for Vessix Vascular
Vibration Resistant Thumb Screw (VRTS)
Virtual Axis Steer System VASS
Virtual Walking Stick for the Visually Impaired
| Michael Akins Senior Consultant WorleyParsons Reading, PA |
Malath Arar Senior Engineer General Electric Schenectady, NY |
Dean Baker Doctor Physics for Industry Auckland, New Zealand |
| Nate Bernklau Design Engineer John Deere Davenport, IA |
Douglas Bradley Composite Materials Specialist General Dynamics Sterling Heights, MI |
Stuart Brown Managing Principal Veryst Engineering Needham, MA |
| Kyle Bunch Research and Development Scientist Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland, WA |
Jeff Crompton Principal AltaSim Technologies Columbus, OH |
Juergen Denker Senior Research Engineer TK Polysius Beckum, Germany |
| Mitch Finn Engineering Manager Medtronic Fridley, MN |
Venkat Gaddam Electrical Engineer Medtronic Neurological Minneapolis, MN |
Alan Goelzer Group Manager Jacobs Consultancy Durham, NH |
| David Jorde Senior Development Design Engineer Solar Turbines Inc. San Diego, CA |
Pankaj Kalore Engineer Siemens Buffalo Grove, IL |
James D. Lane Automation Engineer BP Durango, CO |
| James Lauer Lean 6 Sigma Masters Black Belt Caterpillar Morton, IL |
Matthijs Klomp Doctor eAAM Driveline Systems Trollhattan, Sweden |
Nora McGuiness Global Marketing & Communications Nordson EFD East Providence, RI |
| Scott Moore Senior Staff Technologist Alliant Techsystems Anoka, MN |
Stephen Osborne Senior Electrical Engineer Stanley Black & Decker Towson, MD |
Sergio Pacheco Program Manager Freescale Tempe, AZ |
| Anilkumar Pandit Senior Consulting Engineer GE Energy Bangalore, India |
Pramod Patil Assisted General Manager Suzlon Energy Ltd. Pune, India |
Samuel R. Phillips Consulting Engineer Samuel R. Phillips Consulting Grass Valley, CA |
| Antonio Quintieri Senior Engineer Procter & Gamble Stombeck Bever, Belgium |
Carlos E. Ramirez Valenzuela Researcher Institute De Investigaciones Electricas Cuernavaca, Mexico |
Kiran Reddy Senior Research Scientist Kimberly Clark Corp. Roswell, GA |
| Peter Seiler Principal Materials Engineer Medtronic Mount View, MN |
Susan Stanton Principal SBCI Sunbury, OH |
Darren Stevenson Researcher University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL |
| Glenn Strahs Technology Manager U.S. Department of Energy Washington, DC |
David Strei Principal Engineer Rosemount Inc. Chanhassen, MN |
Paul Schwendinger Program Manager Honeywell Golden Valley, MN |
| Thomas J. Steinbrunner Electronics Engineer National Air and Space Intelligence Center Wright-Patterson AFB, OH |
Vladimir Theodorof Engineering Specialist Caterpillar Dunalp, IL |
Michael Vidal Director of Quality Nordson EFD East Providence, RI |
| Rich White Mechanical R&D Engineer Agilent Technologies Wilmington, DE |
Brandon L. Winslow Clinical Engineer Providence Health and Services Portland, OR |
Jian Zhang Principal Systems Informatics Analyst Amgen Thousand Oaks, CA |
PURPOSE
Landing of an aircraft is a very important phase of flight. It is also a very challenging task in terms of safety. Automatic landing systems have been installed in aircraft but require aiding instrumentation on the runway.
Even with the many recent advances in battery technologies, the limited un-recharged range of electric vehicles in comparison to their gasoline counterparts is a “deal breaker” for many potential purchasers. In extreme climates (hot or cold),
Problem: In large stores such as Walmart, it's a bit difficult to find things sometimes efficiently. The guided shopping, computers and signs' sentiment are neat features; but, they are not intelligent enough in case that a customer want to take products in an efficient way and a shortest path.
Proper dental care is very important to an individual's overall health and general well-being. Additionally, proper brushing can significantly reduce the expense and discomfort of dental restorations, cleanings, and examinations - which is why there are now many mechanical aids available for cleaning teeth.
My proposal is for the implementation of an augmented reality network for technical field workers based on a combination of technologies. Components from makers such as, Google, Vuzix, Tektronix, Agilent, and others are currently being used or they are being researched.
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