Asymptomatic

Every year, Abby's elementary school runs a kind of science fair with the purpose of inventing something new and useful. All grades can participate, and there isn't any restriction against fanciful or impractical ideas.

This year's convention was in the school gym, and hosted 85 participants. There were quite a lot of interesting ideas.

There was a guy who invented a machine to mix together custom cereal with different types and quantities of ingredients, including marshmallows. Another, unlike many who simply had posters of their inventions, had actually built a working frog-trapping contraption. There was a rocket-powered skateboard, several robots, and even a time traveling device.

A few of the elementary school kids' ideas were inspired by recycling initiatives. There were a few office machines designed to recycle paper in the office, and also at least one robot with the purpose of making recycling easier by vacuuming cans off the ground.

A major theme I saw with the elementary school inventions is to tack on the "3000" moniker to the invention, just like we used to do with "2000" back before the year 2000 rolled into history. "The Frog Trapper 3000". "Janitor Robot 3000". Kind of funny.

Three of the inventions really stuck out of the crowd for me, and even if "every kid gets an award", I would have given these three something extra for their job of filling an actual need with something that could actually be manufactured, marketed, and sold.

First is the car ice scraper, which I initially didn't notice until Berta pointed out the poster. The idea improves upon the ordinary ice scraper by adding some features that would be more useful. The primary idea is that the handle contains a water reservoir that can be filled with hot water that can be sprayed to clear the tough ice from a windshield. The hot water can also keep your hands warm while scraping.

The scraper was lacking a few little refinements. For example, I would have examined existing scrapers a bit more. What makes them work? There are scrapers that have features that work well, like the ice-breaking ribs on the back side of the scraper (yes, that's what those are for and nobody seems to know it - I should make a movie of this after the next freezing rain) and separate "scraping" edges -- one for ice, one for thin frost, one for a squeegee. I think that given a little more time for product research, vast improvements could be made in this product arena, but I see this invention as a good step forward.

The second invention that I liked was this idea of a follow-along radio car. I think this idea is super-marketable as the next toy. Basically, you put radio transmitters in your shoes, and as you walk, a battery-powered car follows along behind you. Ingenious!

There are a couple of down-sides I see to this little gadget. First, the technology might be prohibitive. I'm not sure how easily you can pack what seems like a sophisticated bit of real-time radio triangulation software into a toy-car-sized container, especially one that can distinguish distances as small as a child's step. Second, I would really rather see the car go in front of me. Imagine that you're walking down the sidewalk, and you kick your foot forward and the car 5 feet in front of you scoots a bit farther ahead. You could intentionally "steer" the car. That would be neat. Collecting the car when playtime is over would likely be a challenge, though.

The third invention that I liked was the idea of a kit that would turn those ugly water drainage basins into natural sanctuaries. The kit is a bit expensive, estimated at ~$5000, but well worth it for a community to turn a dirty run-off pond into a wildlife area that's pleasant to visit and better for the environment. The poster the girl had at her presentation area discussed the relative benefits of the kit to leaving the basins plain, and it seemed like a good idea. Even if the ecological benefit was slight, the aesthetic improvement was worth it.

I would actually be quite surprised if someone hasn't thought of this idea already. Those drainage basins are such an ugly waste of space, and they're everywhere. Surely someone has had some idea about doing something with them that satisfies the need for the basin (water run-off) and preserves aesthetics of the scene? Maybe it's not worth $5k to make your drainage look nice near an industrial park or shopping center, but here at our development, for example, there are several drainage basins that could be incorporated into our trail system and have this inventive idea applied. Be rid of the disease-carrying mosquitoes, encourage beneficial wildlife, and potentially turn an eyesore into a pleasant gathering place for the community.

The ideas that these kids came up with are pretty unique. It's heartening that Abby's school encourages the kids to be inventive and use their imaginations. You could tell that the ideas were more full of passion than the silly ideas I saw in Microsoft's IDSA PC design competition, where apparently we need another brick-like device with an OLED screen. Oh. Joy.

Abby enjoyed checking out the inventions in the competition, and maybe next year she'll come up with an invention of her own to present.