What participants say …
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Hoopla Rack,
third place and $4,000,
2008 Schoofs Prize for Creativity;
third place and $700,
Tong Prototype Prize;
and Younkle Best Presentation Award
“Through the whole process, I actually began to see my design turn into a prototype, and now my prototype might actually become a patented reality. By the end, I was so happy that I had chosen to take a chance on myself and do something that brought my engineering and hooping life together.”
—Danielle McIntosh
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Pen Smart,
$1,000 Judges’ Award for Special Merit,
2008 Schoofs Prize for Creativity
“I thought of this product two years ago—I wrote it down and kind of forgot about it for awhile. And I realized that if I didn’t do it, I’d always regret it, so I just decided to pursue it. The competition is a great outlet for anyone interested in innovation and development. The experience gives you the tools to develop the idea and the confidence to continue.”
—Daniel Gartenberg
Innovators in the news …
articles about past competitors
Tong Prototype Prize 2007
Ladder CAT, first place and $2,500, Tong Prototype Prize, and second place and $1,250, Schoofs Prize for Creativity. The team also won the $1,000 Younkle Best Presentation Award, and team member Mike Sracic won the $1,000 Sorenson Design Notebook Award. (large image) |
“I think we’ve learned a lot about the design process, building things to standard, planning, and marketing. There’s a lot of work involved, but if you really enjoy it, it feels more like fun than work. You’ll feel really rewarded when you finish.” — Richard Ehmer
First Place
Ladder Cat: A device for safely lifting loads up the entire span of an extension ladder.
Second Place
Adaptive Fishing Kit: A system that adapts a standard fishing rod and reel so that people with injuries, paralysis or amputation can use it with one arm.
Third Place
BugsTOP: A pond surface agitator that prevents mosquito breeding.
Other entries for 2007 include:
The Automatic Page Turning Machine: A hands-free device that holds books and turns pages for musicians, chefs, people with disabilities and others.
Car Door Thermal Defroster: Remotely controlled heat strips positioned around a car door frame to thaw frozen doors .
Elderly Computer: A simple, easy-to-navigate computer operating system for senior citizens.
EZ Lift Pro: A space-saving lifting platform for warehouse storage.
The High Roller: A wheelchair that can lift and recline to assist in transferring dependent patients between the chair and a bed.
Mechanical Water Purifier: A device to make water potable in third-world countries by removing particles and killing bacteria.
Motorcycle Lighting Innovations: A helmet-mounted indicator system and map light for motorcycle drivers.
Personal Audio Feedback Sonar: A hat to help the blind and visually impaired navigate by emitting audio signals that change in pitch to indicate distance to a hazard.
Smart Brake: An electronic device that monitors wheel acceleration and applies brakes to prevent a rollator walker from rolling away from its user on hills or during a fall.
SwingGuard: A remotely controlled device that cleans rain gutters or eaves from ground level.
Tactile Feedback for the Blind: A computer touch screen with sound feedback and tactile tongue stimulation that enables blind users to more easily use a computer.
Universal Mug Cap: A device that turns any household coffee mug into a leak-proof beverage container.
UW Pipeline: An online community for UW-Madison students to post classified ads, auction books and other items, and plan events.
Wedell AT Binding Interface: A system that provides alpine touring abilities to a standard downhill skiing system.
Wheel-Ease: A fold-out wheelchair wheel that that makes it easier to transfer a patient to and from the chair.
Window Inked: Transparent LCD digital advertising for storefront windows.
Windshield Whiz: A mechanical windshield cover, operated completely on the driver's side of the vehicle, that prevents snow and ice from accumulating on a car windshield.
