The idea is to create a spray-on antibacterial coating which will work even after several washings and will be applied to a variety of textiles as well as other materials. The polymer coating is supposed to be simple, inexpensive, and scalable. Able to kill a wide spectrum of bacteria, yeasts, and molds, it will be applied to both natural and synthetic materials, either during manufacturing or at home by the owner. The coating will be able to survive several hot water washings, and...

Foldable skis will be designed to allow snowboarders to access terrain they will not be able to reach on their boards. The skies will come with skins already attached, providing the traction needed to climb the mountain. Once at the top, the skis can be folded into thirds and locked down with cam hinges. They will include a specially created backpack designed to keep the skis secured at a low center of gravity. The skis will open up the backcountry to snowboarders, allowing...

The idea is to combine a facial recognition system with a hand gesture recognition system, which could allow users to control their devices more naturally. The technology will use a previously recorded image to recognize the shape, motion and position of the user's hand, and will be able to detect vertical and horizontal hand motions as well as a variety of hand and finger shapes. A wave of the hand will access the system, and it can also be automatically triggered by analyzing the...

I wish I had some device which would clean my pool without any assistance. Ideally, this device would float in the pool and filter the water collecting leaves, seeds and other garbage in itself. It would have photo cells to work from the sun energy; the energy would be also accumulated so as the cleaner could be used in the rain or at night. All I'd need to do would be to clean the devise of the collected garbage.

The new helmet will use round beads to form cushions of air, creating a more comfortable helmet with up to four times the impact absorption of conventional foam. The helmet will be integrated with small polypropylene beads stuffed inside pockets. The balls will be packed closely together, passing on and diluting the energy from an impact. This will reduce the intensity of the blow before it reaches the wearer's head. The beads will also shift a bit when the helmet is put on,...

Goggles able to display information about the area with color-coded outlines will make it easier for partial-sighted people to move through their environments. Visually impaired people often struggle with discerning contrast and depth. The new goggles will feature a pair of cameras mounted on a virtual reality headset and connected to a very small computer. The cameras will scan the area ahead of the wearer and convert the information to digital code sent to the computer. Using an...

The idea is to develop a head worn device that will interpret facial movements and translate them into speech. The system will consist of small magnets inside the mouth and on the tongue which will create a magnetic field. Sensors attached to the headset will be able to detect changes in the field and translate the motion into words. The device could also be improved by developing magnets that can be implanted in the tongue, as well as reducing the headset to the size of a...

The idea is to create smart sunglasses that can detect and automatically darken bright spots and glares. The lenses will be LCD screens with a light detecting sensor at the nose which will be able to work with a microprocessor to identify the glare. The pixels could be switched on and off to black out certain areas of the lenses and could identify the movements of the user's head and respond to the new areas of glare. The glasses could have applications for people with light...

A new plastic able to 'bleed' and heal like human skin will self-repair while also sending a signal of its damage. The plastic will be incorporated with molecular bridges which will cross the polymer chains making up the plastic. When a bridge is broken due to damage to the plastic, they will change color to red. Exposure to light will allow the connections to repair themselves, and the red color will fade as the damage 'heals'.

A new polymer that kills bacteria and germs when exposed to sunlight could open the door to a wide range of self-cleaning furniture and gadgets. The titanium dioxide-doped polymer coating works through an electrochemical reaction. UV light from the sun causes the titanium dioxide to produce free radicals, which degrade cell walls and cell DNA, thus destroying bacteria and fungi. Smudges and fingerprints also disappear from the material after an hour of exposure to sunlight.