Dream It. Build It. Change the World.
The 2026 Create the Future Design Contest is now open for entries! Submit your game-changing new product ideas for a chance at the $25,000 grand prize. $50,000 in total prize value. Get started today.
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 16,000 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 in our 2026 contest.
Read About All the 2025 Winning Inventions
Special Report spotlights the eight amazing winners in 2025 as well as honorable mentions in each category, plus the top ten most popular entries as voted by our community.
Click here to read moreThank you from our Sponsors
“At COMSOL, we are very excited to recognize innovators and their important work this year. We are grateful for the opportunity to support the Create the Future Design Contest, which is an excellent platform for designers to showcase their ideas and products in front of a worldwide audience. Best of luck to all participants!”
— Bernt Nilsson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, COMSOL, Inc.
“From our beginnings, Mouser has supported engineers, innovators and students. We are proud of our longstanding support for the Create the Future Design Contest and the many innovations it has inspired.”
— Kevin Hess, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Mouser Electronics
contest
Contest
Diverse groups of people, particularly the elderly, visually impaired, or individuals with balance or mobility challenges, may be prone to an increased risk of falling. It is proposed that a Smart Shoe could be developed using current state technologies.
Accurate turn movement counts are critical for optimizing traffic flow and improving intersection management. This entry introduces an AI-powered system that automates turn-counting using video feeds from road intersections. By combining deep learning-based vehicle detection with real-time multi-object tracking, the framework extracts precise vehicle trajectories and classifies turn movements based on key zone crossings.
My Idea is for an air-powered hybrid transportation drivetrain utilizing a small diesel powered gas-turbine engine to compress air and provide range-extension. the gas turbine should be sized to provide a real-time air supply to a reciprocating piston air engine, actuated by air-powered rotary valves.
When vehicle idles down, stops or brakes,
I'm not sure how to classify this unit, however it does pump. The impeller is completely symmetrical in all respects. This pump also works in both directions automatically. I have 3D-printed working models. Could this be a new pump design as I know of three types: axial, semi axial, centrifugal and gear style. Radial to radial?
This project focuses on developing a simple and cost-effective impact testing rig using basic sensors and electronics to evaluate materials under low-energy impacts. Commercial testing machines like Charpy and Izod are commonly used, but they are often expensive (₹5–10 lakh commercial systems) and not easily accessible for small institutions or student-level research.
The XESS BP series of residence and business standby emergency power products store energy from any electric source and return the energy back to electric power when needed. The system is autonomous and comes complete with a leveling base and interconnect power adapter cable.
Transcutaneous magneto acoustic stimulation is the application of an ultrasonic beam from outside the skull impinging on brain structures inside the skull, where a transverse magnetic field is externally applied. By using charged ion movement in a magnetic field, stimulation by electronic impulse (due to the magnetic field) is 500x more effective than mechanical nerve stimulation alone.
What problem does your design idea solve?
On the modern battlefield, a critical dilemma exists: to see, one must emit energy with active radar, which instantly reveals one's position to be jammed or targeted. This makes surveillance a high-stakes gamble. Furthermore, the proliferation of stealth technology has rendered many conventional radar systems obsolete,
EcoSia® Inorganic Silicate Coating – Key Features & Advantages
EcoSia is a next-generation mineral paint engineered from potassium silicate, nanoscale ceramic fillers and functional additives. Unlike conventional acrylic or epoxy systems that form a plastic film, EcoSia reacts chemically with mineral or metal substrates to create a glass-ceramic network that is physically anchored (micro-silicification).
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) pose a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems, fisheries, and public health due to the excessive growth of toxin-producing algae driven by nutrient pollution. This project presents a novel, eco-friendly solution utilizing a consortium of algicidal bacteria, encapsulated in biodegradable polymeric beads, designed for targeted and sustained control of harmful algal blooms.
Page 16 of 1037
