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/2011
2011
Food is one of the basic needs for human beings. In this modern society, food cooking is carried out using electric power or natural gas. However, rural communities without access to electric power or natural gas in some developing countries are still using traditional way to prepare foods, namely firewood. While the world is struggling with global climate change,
Because our aim is to win the Google Lunar X-Prize (GLXP) in the most commercial and sustainable manner, our design has many practical applications. We are developing an inexpensive yet durable robotic platform, whose resistance to the much harsher conditions of the moon will enable it to be used anywhere on Earth.
Similar to Mars Exploration Rovers,
DCD stands for Dynamic Cylinder Deactivation, the latest fuel saving technology for internal combustion engines. Traditional cylinder deactivation started in the 1970s, and has been verified and proven over 30 years. But it has never been made into an aftermarket retrofitting product until now.
DCD deactivates all the cylinders inside the engine alternatively,
The proposal is the teamwork of Mr. Wayne D. Pickette and Ms. Anna V. Epelbaum with already pending in the US Patent Office since 2008 Flying Dynamo patent application # 11936761.
This style small vane vertical windmill with an internal sail and infinite vane adjustment is presented by three sets of vanes,
SunMod Villages consist of 900-1300 S.F. turnkey, LEED standard, multi-use, self-sustainable, energy and satellite based telecommunications (and ISP) equipped, modular, portable community, residential, commercial and industrial buildings with hydrogen cell backup and local grid. SunMods are self-contained with all power, electrical connections, telecommunications, digital and plumbing installed and sealed at the factory.
Real-live problems
Every day, roadside bombs happen everywhere around the world: Thailand, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, etc. Last Memorial Day weekend (June 30, 2011), America lost nine heroes to an improvised explosive (IED) devices in Afghanistan. IEDs are homemade bombs made from anything that contains explosives and are designed to explode when detonated.
Use a thermal imaging camera and software to detect when your hand is too close to a saw blade and shut down the saw. This could work for any dangerous tool or equipment. Setup would be simple: plug the equipment into a control box, mount the camera pointed at the blade area,
The idea is to use SMA (shape memory alloy) materials for manufacturing cans and in particular to revolutionize and improve the system of opening and make it intelligent, easier, safest and less dangerous, automatic and recyclable respecting the environment.
There are three principal methods of heat loss through a window. These are radiation, conduction and convection. Radiation losses may be greatly reduced by means of an IR blocking (low E) coating applied to the warmer side of the window.
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