Inventables Announces Student Design Competition Winners
8/15/2006 – Chicago, IL
CHICAGO – August 15, 2006 – Inventables, a Chicago based company that researches leading-edge innovations for the world’s top consumer product companies, today announced the winning entries in its first Student Design Competition.
Since its inception, Inventables has received hundreds of requests from students and professors for access to its world-class technology innovation research. In response to this unbridled enthusiasm, the company granted limited access to its classified database of technology innovations, with the goal of educating aspiring designers about the innovation process. Upon entering the competition, students were given the opportunity to examine 25 innovative technologies so that they might stock their subconscious with new possibilities. They were then asked to brainstorm a new product concept, based on those technologies, that would fill an unmet consumer need.
First place went to Andrew Ross of Dundee University in the UK for his concept, “Black Ice Indicator,” inspired by the “Thermochromic Barcode.” Thermochromic ink would be suspended in a transparent asphalt coating that would change color when road temperatures fell below freezing, thus warning drivers of invisible ice. Ross’s concept is featured on the cover of the August DesignAid™, which is distributed to all Inventables clients.
Second place went to Christine Doolittle of Savannah College of Art and Design for her concept, “Gutter Cleaning System,” inspired by the “Super Elastic Plastic” technology. The design consists of a tube resting at the bottom of an eaves trough or gutter that would inflate on command and expel the gutter’s contents. Third place was awarded to Justin Kumpf from University of the Arts in Philadelphia for his concept, “Smart-Blox.” This product would use the conductive hook-and-loop technology to enable traditional wooden blocks to communicate with one another, allowing play to be tailored to different age groups. Both of these concepts are featured in the August DesignAid™ journal.
“We were so impressed with the response to the contest and the innovative thinking it generated from students that we are now looking into further ways to expand upon this interaction with the innovators of tomorrow,” said Zach Kaplan, president and CEO of Inventables.