On April 19, the Belin-Blank Center announced the 2021 Invent Iowa State Invention Convention winners who will advance onto the National Invention Convention. Young inventors from schools across Iowa submitted their inventions to the state competition. We were impressed to see so many creative inventions to everyday problems!
Winners qualified to compete at the virtual National Invention Convention. The Belin-Blank Center awarded the top 5 inventions with all expenses paid to advance to the next level of competition. Check out this Google Earth tour of the winning inventions!
Congratulations to our 2021 Winners:
1st place: The B.O.S.S. (The Beneficial On-Site Skin Scanner) by Charles Smith from Ottumwa
Firefighters have a higher risk of cancer because they are exposed to carcinogenic chemicals in fires. There is not an on-site method to locate the toxins on the skin, which greatly increases their cancer risk. The B.O.S.S. (The Beneficial On-Site Skin Scanner) is a dermal scanner that will allow firefighters to locate the carcinogenic chemicals quickly, enabling them to remove the toxins while on-site. This helps decrease the chemical absorption through their skin, which would reduce their cancer risk and could save lives.
2nd place: SSS (Smart Sensing System) by Sujan Vijayraj Shadrak from Marion
The SSS is a system that can be used in an automatic sliding door. The SSS runs through a Rasberry pi 4 and is coded in NODERED. The SSS will use Artificial Intelligence and human image detection to first take a picture of the person standing outside, then process it, and if the picture resembles a human the door will open. This invention will prevent animals from entering public places and can also act as a filter by tracking who enters and leaves the area. We have made the SSS prototype along with a visual example of a sliding door.
3rd place: Ring Around the Dog Collar by Carolyne Jorgenson from Treynor
Leather dog collar that has multiple D-rings for easier leash attachment.
4th place: Aqua Cleaner by Manasvi Devi Reddy from Marion
It solves the problem of oil spills making the oceans and rivers clean. This in turn helps the ecosystem.
5th place: Reptile Pedicure by Mason Smith from Dyersville
The purpose of the Reptile Pedicure is to make it easier to get the toe shed off your reptile’s toes. This allows your reptile to be comfortable during the process and the owner to have more control. Those that own reptiles know that the shed on the toes is the hardest for the reptile to get off on their own. This results in deformities and their toes to fall off. It also changes their walking pattern.
Finally, we want to say a big thank you to our generous sponsor McKee, Voorhees & Sease, P.L.C. Congratulations to all who competed, and keep inventing, Iowa!
