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Innovative Excerpts

From Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, PA

GPS/Traffic Reporting System - Turning on your car radio can tell you how much traffic there is, but only on busy and major streets, not the back roads. GPS (Global Positioning System) can tell you the quickest way to get to your destination but not the fastest way with traffic. What should be created is a type of GPS that can tell you how much traffic there is on a given street. The roads would be a certain color; red for a street or road with heavy traffic, yellow would mean a street with some traffic but could be congested soon, and green would mean low traffic, if any.
-- Jonathan Garbose

Text Book Thumb Drive - For years, the cumbersome and bulky textbook has plighted students everywhere. By making versions of textbooks which can be viewed on the computer, this quandary can be eradicated. How would computer versions textbooks work? Well, the average high-school textbook is 654 pages long. At the same time USB Flash Drives also known as thumb drives can hold 32MB to 64GB of information; this provides more than enough space to hold the average high-school textbook. These thumb drives, each with a textbook pre-installed on them, could then be marketed to schools to provide to students.
-- Adam Henderson

Voice Activated Locker Opener - Picture it, a tired, worn out student walking to their locker after class. They are carrying tons of books and dreading the opening of their locker. VALO is the perfect solution. VALO is a voice activated locker opener, hence the acronym. The product is a small voice recognition unit built into the locker, replacing the old lock. The student simply has to record their voice into the unit and save it. VALO will recognize only the student’s voice and therefore only open for the student.
-- Elizabeth Hill

Fire Truck Advertising - There are millions of drivers in the United States, they drive at all different speeds and unfortunately normally multi-task while driving but; every single one stops and pays full attention when a fire truck drives by. A fire truck has bright lights and loud noises to alert every vehicle it is coming, just like advertisers crave! Drivers must pull over and wait until they see the truck go by ensuring eye contact. My idea is to set up a website where fire companies could auction off available space on their trucks. It would be a win-win for both the advertisers, because they get desirable space, and fire companies, because it is an easy way to raise money. The new money could be used for retired firemen’s pensions and would cut down on taxes. Overall, I feel this idea is not very difficult or complex and could be an efficient way to give a little money to the unsung heroes of our country.
-- AJ Josephs

Ice Zone Monitoring - To make the roads a safer and less fearful environment to drive on in the winter, a small censor could be placed on the front bumper and all four tires of a car. This would sense the ice and notify the driver when he has approached the ice and when he has entered the “ice zone”. To notify the driver, he/she would hear a voice say in a calm tone, “Ice Approaching, Slow Down” and then “Ice Zone Entered, Drive with Caution”. This needs to be said in a calm voice because while one is driving, they cannot be spooked or surprised by a loud exclamation. To determine the ice, radar like waves would be sent out at all times.
-- Michael Katz

From Independence High School in San Jose, CA

Nutrition Patch - People today like teens and adults mostly care about how they look and feel. My big idea is to create something that can show your calorie intake, calcium, protein, and fat you took in in one day. Having my big idea around can show the amount of fat they take in and more people get disgusted by the number that shows up and they will eventually stop eating the unhealthy food.
-- Sylvia Doan

“The Laser-Cure” for Brain Cancer -- My invention will revolutionize the way brain cancer is treated. I am going to invent a surgical tool that will separate the tumor from the brain before brain cancer can develop. This invention will be called “The Laser-Cure”. You will turn on the Laser-Cure and use x-ray feature to find the tumor. The once you locate the tumor, you will use the ultrasonic laser feature to separate the tumor from the brain without harming the natural brain tissue. The beauty of this surgical procedure is there is no pain endured and there will be no loss of blood. My grandma was diagnosed with a brain tumor and my ideas for this invention will hopefully be manufactured and used in the near future to help people like my grandma.
-- Sonia Singh

“Clean Water Stand” -- My big idea is a water stand...sort of like a water fountain. However it is much different because of the shape and how it works. The stand is round with eight holes on the surface for cups. There will also be four faucets to obtain water. Within the bottom of the water stand are two sets of filters. The water stand solves a problem that everyone faces. That is dirty water. Ultimately, besides the fresh water in the tank that gets refilled, the stand reuses the unfinished water that has been filtered so that water won’t go to waste, and it recycles the cups to help make a cleaner environment.
-- Phuong Nguyen

The Magic Binder – During the 21st century, computers and technology have become a part of our everyday life. Therefore why do we continue to depend on paper, pencil and binders to take notes in office or in the class? My big idea is the Magic Binder, which blends an ordinary binder with a laptop. The interior of the Magic Binder would be like a Nintendo DS, which will have two LCD screens on both sides. This binder would [also] write everything the speaker is saying so the student or worker can listen without any interruptions. This binder would help our environment because it would lessen our use of paper.
-- Hector Hernandez

From the MATCH Charter Public High School in Boston, MA

Business Location Service - We will provide information on the most profitable areas possible to expand, relocate and/or open a new business. The website will have reliable sources on areas fitting your company’s needs and services. Each vacant lot, found on our website, will be accompanied by specific details on its surroundings, price, size, clientele and depending on what service you provide or products you sell, a rating system will show you the probability of success your company might have (according to statistics, recommendations and the area’s history).
-- Ariah Dawson and Helder Rosa

High School Center - My big idea is to have a center for high school students between the ages of 14 and 18. I want this center to be available for teens who need a safe area to hang out and also look into fields that they are interested in. For example, take fashion classes with a tutor every Friday, or have a hair braiding workshop every Wednesday for teens who are interested in making that a career.
-- Jaleesa Walker

IT services - Computer troubles are a worldwide epidemic that we all must go through. This company would provide services and a set of our own products that would facilitate daily network usage or simply daily usage of your ordinary computer, guaranteed with minimal to no malfunction. Our business is aimed towards companies who would need us to network their office site.
-- Wallas Vieira and Arnold Lai

From The Potomac Lighthouse Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.

Ramir’s Little Angels - My business is babysitting. I will be open on Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. If your baby spends the night it will be $20. My business will be different than other babysitting services because I actually care about babies. I’m starting this business so I can donate money to the homeless. I’m also doing this because I understand how busy parents are.
-- Ramir Booker

The School Service - My business is a school bus company. I want to start this business because I want Washington, D.C. to be a better place because there are not a lot of school buses in D.C. to help people get to school. I will sell the old ones to Central and South America since I know that they buy old buses.
-- Darriel Cunningham

“With These Hands” - At my business, students will learn sign language. I will teach my class at the church that I belong to. Sign language is important for people to know because if they have a friend that is deaf, they can communicate with them in sign language. This will help children be friends with different types of people.
-- Tiara Destry

The Rush Hour - The Rush Hour stand is for people who are rushing to work for lunch. I’m going to serve burgers, hot dogs, soda, candies, magazines, newspapers, coffee, donuts, smoothies, and juices.
-- Diarra John

The Math Meter - My business is called The Math Meter. It is a business where your children can come when they need help in math. At my business I’ll make sure your child will get help in math. Your child will have a good time learning math. The materials I need to start my business are math books, calculators, paper, and pencils.
-- Aysha Hatcher

From the Riverside Poly High School in Riverside, CA

GPS for iPod – My big idea solves the problem for people who don’t have enough money to afford a navigation system in their car, people who need information on local hotspots on the go and sometimes even help find missing individuals. All these problems could be solved with the GPS Navigation system for the iPod. From local restaurants to mountain resorts, this software could get you almost anywhere in the United States. If ever a person goes missing, it would be easier to locate them if they had their iPod on them.
-- Patrick Liquete

“Artistracks” Home Recording System - My idea is for an entirely simple, onboard home recording system for computers. In order for a home recording musician to record quality CD music, he or she has to invest in expensive equipment such as recording program, microphones, amplifiers, outboard rack effect processors…and none of this actually guarantees that he or she is going to attain the desired sound and quality. There are programs out there that allow musicians to record music. All of these programs would cost thousands of dollars which not many home musicians can afford. My idea combines all of these things into one large, simple program.
-- Shawn Yates

The CASBAW - The name of my invention is the CASBW or catch and shoot ball and wristband. This invention solves the problem of chasing down your rebounds when you are shooting alone. Many people that play basketball feel the need to practice shooting and lose large amounts of time chasing down their rebounds. It works by pressing a little button on the wristband. Once this button is pressed the magnetic sensor in the ball will trigger and the ball will magnetically be returned to the person with the wristband. It will be returned just like a pass from a teammate.
-- Michael Clark

Ringtone Doorbells – When you hear a doorbell, it’s always the same old boring sound. Do you ever wish that you could listen to good music whenever someone comes over? Well now you can with Ringtone Doorbell. To get Ringtone Doorbell installed in your home, all you need to do is purchase a special doorbell and have it replaced over the existing doorbell. The next step is downloading whatever music you like from the website ibells. If you want to move to the next step, you can get a finger print reading doorbell that enables you to assign music to up to five people.
-- Mylisia Hairston-Stewart

“iPic” iPod Camera - iPod has many accessories to make one’s iPod more slick. I would like to introduce the latest iPod fad. The new iPod gadget is a camera that connects to your iPod. It’s called the iPic. It plugs into the bottom of the iPod and uses the batteries of the iPod. The iPic even has camera effects to make your pictures look cool and flashy. The iPic is compatible with all iPod types.
-- Ruben Perez

From San Leandro High School in San Jose, CA

The Flash Alarm - The Flash Alarm notifies car drivers (via their car alarm remote) that their car alarm has been triggered. It is useful for those car drivers who are in a mall or in a store, away from their car. A flashing light or a ring tone programmed on the car alarm remote would indicate the car alarm was going off. With the flashing light or ring tone, the car driver will know the alarm was going off even if they were out of earshot to hear their car alarm sound.
-- Betsy Cheng

Wireless Chip - My idea seems somewhat complicated, but technology now isn't that simple anymore. In general, this will involve a new wireless chip/module similar to Bluetooth technology but used in a different way. This new wireless chip will connect to other phones with the same wireless technology and those phones will connect to more phones and the cycle will keep on going. Basically what is does is have the phones share its network to those who have a weaker signal. The idea of these programs is the more people who share the file, the faster the other person can download the file. So, the more phones that share their network via the wireless chip, the greater call quality the phone can receive.
-- Andrew Estrada

Resistance Pain - The RESISTANCE paint would help to solve the problems of various forms of vandalism and graffiti. I’m pretty sure there is a specific chemical or specific bonding within permanent markers and spray paint that help the paint to cling to its walls or surfaces. With the Resistance Chemical, it could be poured into pre-made paint mixtures which make the paint entirely Resistant to abuses.
-- Ryan Goh

“Phone Like” Remote Control - My big idea is to take the idea of a house phone and cross it with a remote for anything. If you can, think of a wireless home phone with a charger base and an ordinary remote. On an ordinary phone you have a pager that can locate your phone when you can’t, why not have that same pager technology combined with a remote. Also, to eliminate the hassle of having to keep extra batteries, I want to also have a rechargeable remote that one would sit in that pager base to recharge its batteries just like a regular phone.
-- David Johnson

Flat Iron Highlighter - The problem is that the comb [for highlighting hair kits] does not work very well. The dye is either stuck at the bottom of the comb or the comb does not highlight the entire strand of hair. In addition, the gloves provided in the kit make my fingers so bulky that it is hard to pick out the strand of hair I want to highlight. I noticed that using flat irons to straighten my hair reaches all parts of my strand of hair. Therefore, I came up with the idea of having a flat iron shape looking plastic with the ends having spikes / raised bumps. The spikes would be short so that there won’t be leftover dye in the clamp once they color a strand of hair. I would call this the Highlighter.
-- Chrissie Ng

From Wallingford Elementary School in Wallingford, PA

Global Positioning System Cart - The G.P.S.C. (Global Positioning System Cart) is a shopping cart that you can drive in stores that has G.P.S so you don’t have to search for items you want…. An electric engine powers the cart. You sit in a seat that heats your back and bottom (while you’re in the freezer aisle.) Above the steering wheel is a G.P.S. You key in what you want to find and it tells you what aisle to go to. The G.P.S.C. can be specially programmed for each store.
-- David Lanciano & Torben Spring

Sailboat Ballast System - When the wind blows and you’re in a sailboat, you have to go at an angle from the wind to keep going forward. To get anywhere, you have to zigzag across the water, which takes a lot of time. If you were able to go straight, you could save a lot of time. My idea is to counterbalance the wind force with ballast so you can go straight. [The boats] go faster because they’re able to go straight even if the wind is blowing sideways.
-- Ellis Driscoll

The Clip-on Soundproof Door - The clip-on soundproof door is useful because of noisy children and other loud things while you are trying to sleep or work. It is also a great invention because you can take it on and off.
-- Isaac Dunbar and Ben Wolters

The Viewer - My idea is called the viewer. It is an invention for blind people. It helps them be independent because it does the viewing for them. The main component is a walking stick which tells the user where s/he is. The walking stick has an electronic antenna with a GPS. It communicates with the person through an electronic speaker… It would help them a lot because it would say “turn left in 5 steps” or any other direction. It would say for example, “Stop it’s a red light.”
-- Neal Geosits

Happy Ears - Do you have cold ears? Are ear-muffs not warm enough? Come on down and try our new heated ear-muffs, Happy Ears, product! Happy Ears is a good product for skiers. This way they now won’t have cold ears… With this product you can adjust to the temperature you want your happy ears to be (Hot, warm or cool).
-- Emma Hartley and Sarah Peeleman

Heated Gloves and Socks – The problem our invention solves is cold hands and feet. Almost everyone has this problem, especially during the winter. How our invention works is there are regular gloves and socks, but there is heating tape in them to heat up the gloves and socks.
-- Claire Hollyer and Allison Petula

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