Taiwan Bags 19 Golds at 2014 iENA Nuremberg International Invention Exhibition

  The iENA inventors exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany showcased over 700 inventions presented by 37 countries.  Taiwan ranked third worldwide following Germany and China by winning 19 golds, 26 silvers, and 31 bronzes.

Taiwan delegation introduced to the world practical inventions including biomedical equipment, housewares, transportation devices, etc., among which the following four Taiwanese inventions successfully won gold medals from the competition.  They are “Composite Camping Lights”, “Always Sticks Powerful Hook”, “Smart Baby Bathtub with Bluetooth”, and “Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensing System, Apparatus, Method Thereof”.

The Taipei Chengshih University of Science and Technology won 4 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 1 bronze medal, being the winner of the highest number of gold medals among the Taiwanese contestants.  TSAI Yen-Hsin, who is an assistant professor of electrical engineering and won 2 golds in the competition, invented the “Composite Camping Lights” which is able to lighten and dispel mosquitoes and snakes.  The device has GPS that allows campers’ families to locate them and also serves as a charger for cellphones and a hand-shake power generator as well.  The other invention of TSAI Yen-Hsih is the “Always Sticks Powerful Hook”.  The hook is able to latch tightly on to walls under great weight, the instant allowable-load bearing capacity of 15 kg and also a long time allowable-load bearing capacity of 3.1kg.  It can be used in a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and also on refrigerator and closet.  Being such a convenient and replaceable device, this invention has been granted a patent in China and the EU and it has also been commercialized. 

The third gold award went to TSAI Yao-Pin, a lecturer from the Department of Computer and Communication Engineering, who worked with students to invent the “Smart Baby Bathtub with Bluetooth”.  The bathtub can detect water temperatures with a blue light to indicate low water temperature, a green light, moderate temperature, and a red light, high temperature.  The bluetooth equipped on the babytub is to combine with smartphone to perform protection function by automatically shutting down when there is too much water for a baby.  Not only can it protect the baby, but it also can play soothing music when the baby is crying.  Negotiations for production of the babytub has been conducted and this invention will be commercialized and become available on market in 2015. 

The winner of the fourth gold medal is HSU Wei-Ting, an assistant professor of the Department of Natural Biotechnology of Nanhua University, who invented the “Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensing System, Apparatus, Method Thereof”.  By utilizing the characteristic of surface plasmon resonance of nano-particles, the present invention demonstrates the surface plasmon resonance on optical fiber and the bio-molecule derived therefrom is able to detect the target.  The change on the optical fiber terminal will show the result of analysis.  According to HSU Wei-Ting, analysis result on the analyte of simply one drop of blood will come out in ten minutes because this invention is able to promote sensitivity of the sensing system and reduce cost.  Therefore, this invention may be applied to medical rapid test screening and has been patented in the US and Taiwan. 

The other award-winning Taiwanese inventions that draw local manufacturers’ attention for technology transfer include the “life bracelet” invented by Far East University, the “double run-flat tire and wheel” by LIAO Ren-Qing, the “bicycle brake structure with a brake distributor” by Paul Hsu Senior High School, and also Keelung Municipal Ming Chwan Junior High School’s “dustpan structure”.  With respect to the life bracelet, by pressing on a button of the bracelet, fluorescent pigment and ball float will be ejected and a LED light will be turned on to facilitate rescue.  The tire of the “double run-flat tire and wheel” is structured in two layers with a layer of rubber in the middle of wheel rims so as to avoid damage on the wheel rim in case of flat tire.  (November 2014)
/CCS