-So, what we did was utilize
the Compact Reconnaissance
Imaging Spectrometer for Mars
on board NASA´s MRO, the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter...
-Sure.
-...to identify
spectral signatures of hydrated
minerals called perchlorates,
which, of course, are widespread
in the rocks
and regolith on Mars.
-Of course.
And we found
he spectral signatures
in seasonal dark streaks called
recurring slope lineae.
RSL.
-Exactly.
They sometimes appear when the
temperatures at the surface of
Mars rises up to about zero
degrees Celsius, and the
recurring slope lineae were
originally spotted
by Lujendra Ojha.
-"Luju."
-Yes.
-Oh, I love his work.
He´s great.
He´s a great guy too.
-So,
he´s now a PhD candidate
here at Georgia Tech,
and he used
the orbital mapping spectrometer
to identify hydration
via the 1.9-micron,
vibrational H2O spectral band.
-Uh-huh.
-And then,
Mary Beth Wilhelm,
another PhD candidate
here at Georgia Tech,
suggested that perchlorates
could be the best match
for the previously unidentified
spectral feature
at 2.15 microns.
-Of Course.
-So, basically,
that´s how we confirmed
that water flows on Mars today.
-Wow,
that´s really fascinating.
Thank you.
But I was just asking
if you knew
where to find a water fountain.
-Ah.
-´Cause I wanted to get a drink
before the show.
-Right.
Yeah.
Sorry, I have no idea.
-Live from the campus
of the Georgia Institute
of Technology,
it´s the 2016
Georgia Tech InVenture Prize.
Join us as the nation´s finest
students unveil the future
and compete to win $35,000
in prizes and patents.
Please welcome your host,
Emmy Award winner Faith Salie.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-[ Laughs ]
So nice.
Oh.
I feel buzzed.
Thank you.
Thank you so much
and welcome
to the 2016 Georgia Tech
InVenture Prize.
I´m so thrilled
to be hosting this competition
for my fourth year in a row.
And I know what you´re thinking.
I know that technically makes me
a senior,
but don´t worry --
I red-shirted my freshman year,
so I´m still eligible
to come back in 2017/
And then, you know,
there´s always graduate degrees
after that, right?
The Georgia Tech InVenture Prize
seems to get bigger every year.
This year,
we started with 537 student,
which is is the most entries
we´ve have ever had,
and it really set the stage
for an amazing pool of talent
and some
pretty incredible inventions.
Tonight, you´ll see
our top six teams present
their inventions to our judges
and compete
for our first-place prize,
our second-place prize,
and a People´s Choice Award,
for which everyone watching will
be the judges.
And for more information
on the prizes,
let´s go to my fabulous co-host,
Georgia Tech´s own
Bahareh Azizi.
Bahareh?
-Thank you Faith.
[ Applause ]
It´s nice to be back
to celebrate another great year
of student ingenuity.
I know we have some teams
who are eager to take the stage,
but first let´s talk
about the prizes.
The team that wins the
first-place prize will take home
$20,000 to help finance
their invention
as it moves forward,
as well as a entry
into Georgia Tech´s Flashpoint
accelerator program.
The team that wins
second place will earn $10,000.
And both the first-
and second-place teams will
receive a patent
to protect their inventions.
The judges will determine
who takes home first
and second place,
but it´s you, our audience,
and those of you at home who
will decide the winner
of the People´s Choice Award.
That prize is worth
$5,000 to the team who receives
the most votes
at the end of the night.
Please remember
that People´s Choice voting
won´t open until all six teams
have presented their inventions,
so if you´re watching at home or
here at the Ferst Center,
you´ll have to be able
to cast your vote
and cast it fast by texting your
favorite team´s keyword to 22333
or by visiting online
at pollev.com/InVenture.
I´ll give you those keywords
at the end of each presentation.
I´ll remind you of them again
before voting opens.
Remember to watch out
for auto correct
when casting your votes,
and you can only vote
once per device.
So, wait until the last
presentation has concluded
and then choose wisely.
I´ll tell you exactly when it´s
time to pull out those phones.
But now, Faith,
I´m sending it back to you.
-Thank you, Bahareh.
Our judges have joined me
on stage.
They´re hydrating.
This is going
to be very grueling, you guys.
[ Laughter ]
Before we meet our first team,
let´s meet the experts
who will be evaluating
their inventions.
First up is someone
you may recognize
from last year´s competition.
He´s an Atlanta-based
entrepreneur
and the co-founder of AirWatch,
which is now
the largest enterprise
mobility management provider
on the planet.
Please welcome back
Georgia Tech alum John Marshall.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Also joining us on stag
e for her sophomore year is
a Georgia Tech graduate with
more than 20 years experience
in the fields of media
and technology.
She currently works
as the chief customer officer
for technology startup Yext,
who just passed
the $100 million revenue mark.
Please give it up
for Ms. Wendi Sturgis.
[ Cheers and applause ]
And finally, you don´t have
to be a rocket scientist
to weigh in
on this year´s InVenture Prize,
but it certainly doesn´t hurt.
Although he holds
more than 100 patents,
he is presently focused
on advanced energy technology
but -- this is the best part --
you probably know him best
for the Super Soaker water gun.
Please help me welcome
Dr. Lonnie Johnson.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Thank you all
for joining us this evening.
I´m sure you´re eager
to get started, as I am,
so let´s meet our first team
of the evening, Team Wobble.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Hi.
My name is Ana Gomez.
-I´m Hailey Brown.
-I´m Matthew Devlin.
-And I´m Garrett Wallace.
And we are...
-Team Wobble.
-Concussions have risen
to the forefront of sports media
in recent years,
which has led to collegiate-
and professional-sports programs
investing over $86 million
in concussion-recovery protocol.
♫♫
-In the immediate aftermath
of a concussion,
the brain is
in a highly vulnerable state
when even a relatively
small impact can cause
permanent brain damage.
-Many people don´t realize
that balance is actually
one of the main things
that is affected
even weeks after sustaining
a concussion.
-Unfortunately,
there isn´t adequate technology
right now to use balance to
determine concussion recovery.
-So, now more than ever,
the world needs the Wobble.
-Our hope is to use the momentum
from winning the InVenture Prize
to eventually get the Wobble
in every single locker room
and keep athletes safe
from further injury.
-This was a big concern for me
when I was playing
college football,
so I want to hear more.
[ Laughter ]
Please put your hands together
for Team Wobble.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Concussions -- The NFL,
Department of Defense,
and even Hollywood
have addressed
the danger of concussions,
but what do we really know
about concussions?
Well, one thing
researchers agree on is
that concussions cause
balance problems.
So, if we were able
to measure balance,
we could measure concussions.
the trouble is it´s difficult
to measure balance,
and this is why.
Hailey is demonstrating
the current method
that we test balance
for concussion recovery.
He simply stands on one leg,
and a physician counts
the number of times
he loses his balance.
It´s so easy, his brain is
barely engaged in the activity,
and that´s exactly the problem
our team identified
is that current
balance-testing methods
don´t require the brain
to actively maintain balance.
So we created the Wobble.
The Wobble is going
to take Hailey´s brain
out of its comfort zone.
Here you can see
Hailey actively trying
to maintain his balance
as the platform wobbles
underneath him.
Four sensors are also measuring
how well he is balancing.
By forcing his brain
into an active state,
we´re able to detect the damage
caused by a concussion.
So, now, with the Wobble,
we´re able to use balance
as a means of measuring
concussion recovery.
And this is important
because then we can determine
at what point
someone has recovered enough
to do certain activities --
so, for the student athlete,
when they are ready
to return to the classroom.
For those defending our country,
when they´re ready
to return to combat.
But concussions also have
a serious safety concern,
and I can share with you
how scary this can be,
but I would rather share
with you the story
that inspired our team,
and here it is.
-As a sophomore in high school,
I got hit really hard
at football practice.
After running
through the concussion protocol,
my coaches felt that I was okay,
and I felt okay to play
in the game the next day.
A regular hit in that game
sent me in a helicopter
to a hospital
to undergo brain surgery.
When my parents got there,
the doctor was not
very optimistic that I would
make it through the surgery.
It was a miracle
that I made it out like I did.
Many people with the same injury
either don´t make it
through the surgery
or have serious health
complications afterwards.
-So, as you can see, concussions
can be life-threatening,
and they can also prevent us
from returning
to our daily lives.
The Wobble can help improve
both of those problems.
Our team came together
around this idea,
around this story,
and so far we´ve developed
two iterations of our prototype,
spoken with the director
of the NCAA
concussion-research task force,
validating our technology,
and we´ve set up a pilot study
with the Westminster Schools
of Atlanta this fall.
Winning the InVenture Prize
would give us the money
and the patent we need
to make that next step.
We are confident
that the Wobble will become
an integral part of the solution
to the concussion problem,
and we hope you can help us get
to our next step.
Thank you.
-This is a really hot topic.
And this is a very impressive
and timely creation.
So, let´s put our judges
to work.
What questions do you all have
for Team Wobble?
-Great.
Great job, guys.
I would have liked
to see Lance Austin on that
after the sixth kick last year,
see if after he got tackled
by his team.
So, you talked about combat
and also -- Is it portable?
Do you see this being carried
with teams?
What levels are you thinking?
Are you thinking
all levels of football?
And then, talk a little bit more
about combat.
I want to hear more
about the market
and how you´re thinking
about who it´s gonna go to.
-Sure.
So, actually,
in terms of combat,
almost a quarter of our active
military service members
will suffer a concussion.
And after speaking
with neurologists,
they told us
that one of the reasons
that limits the implementation
of balance-testing devices is
portability, cost,
and ease of use,
so these are
some of the things that we --
challenges that we tried
to design for.
And high-school athletes are
actually three times more likely
than collegiate
or professional athletes
to suffer
catastrophic brain injuries.
So, we´re really looking
at focusing in
on the high-school market.
And actually,
just this past week,
a head football coach from
a local Atlanta high school saw
a couple of lines about us
in the local paper,
and he reached out,
insisting that they be
a part of our pilot study
and promising resources,
facilities, and players to help
move our research forward.
-That´s great.
-That´s great.
So, a question I have --
I don´t have good balance.
So, how do you know, sort of,
a steady state
or the difference
between fatigue or cramps
or somebody that´s really active
or somebody that has bad balance
versus somebody that´s really
going through a concussion
and identifying
these false positives?
-Right, so, actually,
false positives are --
False negatives are actually
a huge problem,
and we are looking
to do more validation
to look at the effects
of fatigue
and the other things
you mentioned.
But the main thrust of it is
what matters is
your difference
from your baseline.
So, at the beginning
of the season,
players would go on the Wobble,
and then we would track
their performance over time.
-And then, are you sending
that data sort of --
You´re collecting it
and identifying it
with a specific athlete.
So, you know,
the sidelines can be chaotic.
But once you start capturing
that data,
you have some HIPAA liabilities
and patient data
and all of that.
So, is somebody sort of saying,
"This person is on it
at this time,"
and tracking that?
-Correct.
So, we are looking
at developing a software
for data management
that would be hosted
on a HIPAA-compliant server,
and this could actually be
a powerful tool for clinicians
because one of the reasons
we don´t know
a lot about concussions is
we don´t have enough data.
So, if we can take
the data from the Wobble
and put it all in one place,
then, all of a sudden,
a clinician could be like,
"Oh, you know,
these interventions are working,
and these aren´t."
-And would you have
different levels
of how much it wobbles based
on the age, the sport,
those types of things?
-Correct.
So, we are able
to adjust the settings based
on the patient population,
and that is actually
really important to be able
to move into other markets.
I actually do balance research
at the Emory Center
for Rehabilitation Medicine,
and we work mostly
with older patients.
So, assessing risk of falling
for older patients is
a huge public-health problem,
and if we can quantify
their risk of falling,
we can intervene sooner.
-We got less than a minute left.
Lonnie?
-So, how do you intend
to deploy these systems?
Will they be located
with the teams?
Will the teams operate them
themselves?
Will they be trained
in terms of how to operate it
and what to look for?
-So, more generally,
in terms of distribution,
the short answer is
we´re not looking
at doing it all by ourselves,
so we´ve actually been
in preliminary talks
with the industry leaders
in balance testing,
and they told us
they can see the Wobble fitting
in really well
to their product line.
And we really want to move
acquisition talks forward.
But first, we need a patent and
data to really bring leverage
to that negotiations table.
-Congratulations, y´all.
You are shaking up
the world of balance testing.
[ Laughter ]
Thank you to Team Wobble.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Our judges are done
with their questions,
but Bahareh still has
a couple more,
so I´ll send it over to her
and one of Team Wobble´s
biggest supporters.
Bahareh?
-Yeah, Faith, I can´t stop
wobbling myself, of course,
because I´m nervous.
But I´m here with Donna Hays,
who is a certified
athletic trainer
at the Westminster Schools.
You´re dealing with different
sorts of wobbling, right?
Do you deal a lot
with concussions?
-We do.
We deal at a lot
of different levels.
And, you know, we talked
about just just dealing
with the athletes --
We have a concussion team
that deal with concussions
throughout our entire school
from our students
to going back to P.E.
So, we have a Return to Learn,
Return to Play.
So, this would be
a great instrument for us
to be able to use
to improvise
and put people back to
where they are safely returning
to whatever sport
or just school P.E.
-Yeah, so, it will definitely
help further your field of work.
-Absolutely.
In the sports-medicine world,
we´re always searching
for tools to help us to make
a better decision
and make sure
all of our kids are safe.
-Excellent.
So, we shouldn´t wobble
on this one for sure.
-No, no wobbles.
No wobbles.
-All right,
if you agree with Donna here,
then make sure to text
the keyword Wobble to 22333
when it´s time.
Back to you Faith.
-Thank you, Bahareh.
We are off to a strong start,
so let´s keep
things rolling along
with a team who´s looking
to, well, keep things rolling,
Team TEQ Charging.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I´m Dorrier.
-I´m Mitchell.
-I´m Isaac.
-And I´m Josh.
And we are...
-Team TEQ Charging.
-One of the biggest sources
of pollution is
the pollution
that people generate every day
by driving to and from work.
♫♫
-Electric vehicles can
help solve this problem.
But in order for that to happen,
there needs to be
a sufficient charging
infrastructure in place.
-If you live in a city,
you don´t have a place
in your space at your apartment
or at work
to charge your vehicle.
-Our team is made up
of many disciplines ranging
from mechanical engineering
to computer engineering
and computer science.
And one of the biggest
advantages of that is
being able to build
on each other´s ideas based
on the backgrounds
and different things
we bring to the table.
♫♫
-After speaking
with over 100 property managers,
we learned that the reason
they don´t install
more electric-vehicle chargers
is due to the high cost
of installation,
specifically the back-end,
electrical infrastructure
to support
a network of chargers.
-And TEQ Charging solves
that problem.
♫♫
-I´m excited to learn more.
So, let´s hear more
from Team TEQ Charging.
-Thank you.
After speaking with all of these
electric-vehicle drivers,
we started
to hear the same story,
drivers getting to work
but not having a place
to charge their vehicle.
So, we talked
to property managers
and asked them why more weren´t
being installed.
The answer was simple.
They couldn´t afford
the expensive
electrical-infrastructure
upgrades
it takes to support
a network of chargers.
So, these drivers were stuck.
Many of them told us
they were anxious.
They´d leave
over an hour early for work
just to get
one of the charging spots
or charge their vehicle
on the way to work.
Well, TEQ Charging has developed
an intelligent power strip
for electric-vehicle charging.
Our solution allows
property managers
to install more chargers
without having to upgrade
the expensive electrical
infrastructure of that building.
We can take the two chargers
they already have
in the building
and expand it to serve
the 15 to 20 vehicles they need.
For places like airports,
where cars are parked
for much longer periods of time,
we can take a couple chargers
and expand it to serve
30, potentially 50 vehicles.
When we talked
with our customers,
they told us they needed
this solution right now.
So we put our minds together
and developed
a software solution
that we could run on chargers
just like this one right ere
that are already being used
across the country.
We put a charger like this
at each spot,
and the driver just plugs
their vehicle in
and uses the TEQ Charging app
to tell us when they´re planning
to leave.
Our proprietary algorithms
then place them into the queue
to ensure that every driver gets
the charge that they need
by the time that they need it.
We´re currently working
on our first installation site
at an office building about
20 minutes north of here.
We were able to save this
property manager over $25,000
in electrical-infrastructure
upgrades.
We also gave him the ability
to charge four times
the amount of vehicles
as he would have been able to
without using our solution.
The electric-vehicle market
has been growing
for the past six years
and is continuing
to see incredible growth.
Every major auto manufacturer
right now is producing
at least one
if not an entire line
of plug-in, electric vehicles.
Cities across the world need
a solution
for charging infrastructure,
and TEQ Charging is here
with that solution.
Our next step is to install
over 250 plugs
in the Atlanta area.
From there, we will continue
to work full-time
to scale our solution
to cities across the country
and across the world.
And winning the InVenture Prize
would give us the resources
to make this happen.
Thank you.
-That´s powerful stuff, y´all.
All right, judges,
what do you think?
Lonnie, you have a poker face.
-[ Laughs ]
It´s actually very impressive.
So, how do you intend
to market the product?
How do you intend to contact
the various property owners?
And that´s one question.
The next one is how do solve
the net amount of energy
that needs to be delivered?
Because, you know, quite often,
the infrastructure is limited
in terms of the amount
of current that they can supply.
So, that´s a wire-size problem.
-I´ll answer the first one.
So, we´re currently partnering
with a few
of the major distributors
of electric-vehicle
supply equipment in Atlanta
and the southeast, and we´ll be
partnering with them,
getting them
to install our system
along with our own ventures
into the community.
And then, from there,
we´ll be able to extend
and expand into the country.
-And with respect to the energy,
ultimately you have to provide
the energy
that you have to provide,
but the real crunch isn´t
the peak energy that you need.
It´s the power in the back room
that the code makes
you have available
because right now,
if your system isn´t protected,
you have to have
all of the power to run
every single charger
at the same time
even though
that never happens in practice.
But with our solution in place,
we protect the system
from ever turning them all on,
and so you can have a smaller
transformer in the closet
that feeds the electricity.
-What´s unique?
What is unique relative
to other people
that are entering this market?
-So, currently, the majority
of the market is focused
on short-term-parking solutions,
so retail for example.
However, after talking
with our customers,
we really know that they need
long-term-parking solutions,
so this includes
hospitals, hotels, airports,
apartment buildings, and that´s
where the open market lies.
-And if you think about energy
as being power times time,
all of our competitors are
focused on the power component.
We´re the only technology
that uses time
to optimize
the energy distribution.
-But, so,
just to follow on that,
you talked about parking
at an airport
or at work all day -- I guess
I´m trying to figure out --
Do people --
when they go to the airport,
they´re not coming back
to move their car.
So, or when you go to work,
you don´t want to come out
in the middle of the day
and start moving your car
for the next person
in the queue.
So, how does that really work
in one of these big,
dispersed parking lots?
-Yes, so, right now, the drivers
do have to leave work
to move their cars, but using
this solution will put chargers
like this at 15 or 20 spots.
And when they arrive at work,
they plug their vehicle in,
and we take care
of the rest from there.
-Is it essentially --
You mentioned if they have
two chargers they already have,
then they can leverage this,
so are you daisy-chaining off
other infrastructure?
They have to have
that basic infrastructure then?
-Well, that´s exactly right.
And buildings have
different infrastructure,
but the average
in an older building would be
enough for two.
So, we can daisy-chain
from that power line for two
and make it a power line
for 8 or 10.
-Got it.
-Is -- Go ahead.
-Well, I was just gonna ask --
I mean,
you´ve made the investment.
How much does it cost
to manufacture,
and how much are you planning
to sell it for?
-Do you want to take that?
-Yeah.
-Go ahead.
-You´re the money guy.
-So, we´re not actually
manufacturing our own chargers.
We´re using chargers
like this one,
which are on the market
for about $500, $600.
And so, the building would
just install
as many of these chargers.
And then, our software would
just run on top of it.
-That´s what I was trying
to get at.
So it´s a minimal,
incremental cost, right?
They just have
to license the software?
I´m just trying
to understand, right?
You´re piggy-backing off of a
purchase they´re already making,
and then you´re saying it´s just
an incremental --
-Correct.
-And then, what are you thinking
the incremental cost is going
to be per unit
for the software?
-Um...
-Go ahead.
[ Laughter ]
-Free!
That´s the wrong answer.
[ Laughs ]
-Not quite free.
So, what we´re looking at is
to have maybe $200
of an annual fee per plug
at the installation site,
and that´s a little variable.
We´re still in earlier stages
right now.
And at scale, we´ll also have
a subscription fee
for the drivers
for access to our chargers
in the locations that want us
to charge them.
-So, I have a question, as well.
Power management is not new,
so is there
intellectual property here?
How do you protect yourself
from someone else
providing software
to do the same thing?
-So, right now,
we have a provisional patent
on the math and the algorithms
that efficiently queues
these chargers.
And our strategy is to turn that
into a series of utilities.
For example,
our drivers have told us
that you don´t have
the same priorities --
-Okay, this is a cliff hanger.
Your time is up.
Can you finish this sentence
with an answer?
-[ Chuckles ]
And so, every use case becomes
a utility patent
with slightly different math.
-Bam. Mike drop.
Thank you very much.
[ Laughter ]
Thank you, judges.
Thank you, Team TEQ Charging.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Now let´s send it
over to Bahareh.
I believe you have
somebody from the audience
who can tell us
a little bit more
about TEQ Charging´s story.
-Faith, I definitely do.
I think
behind every great invention is
much love and support.
So, I´m here with Kelsey,
Dorrier´s wife, from the team.
So, tell me, a long process,
lots of lonely nights?
-Yeah, so, Dorrier´s been
working on this full-time
for about a year,
so in the meantime
I´ve been supporting us
on my nonprofit salary.
So, the idea of him getting
funding is very exciting,
getting it off the ground,
hopefully get
some income rolling in.
-I know, so,
you´re probably going to expect
some sort of revenue
from their revenue generation
from this and winning the prize.
-Yeah, I´m hoping for at least
a really nice dinner.
[ Laughs ]
-Oh.
[ Laughter ]
To start.
-You got to set your -- You
know, you got to ask for more.
So, a lot of pressure on Dorrier
to win tonight?
-Definitely.
-Or else,
in the doghouse, huh?
-Definitely in the doghouse.
-Oh, not good.
So, just for the sake
of Dorrier´s marital status,
I suggest we all vote
for the team.
So, if you guys think that
Team TEQ Charging should win,
then make sure to text the
keyword TEQCharging to 22333.
Faith, husband, wives,
issues here.
[ Laughter ]
-Like I mentioned earlier
the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize
is bigger than it´s ever been
this year.
We have six great teams
who will take the stage tonight,
and each one of them had
to work their way
through an unprecedented level
of competition to get here.
As you can imagine, getting
to this stage is hard work,
and most people don´t see
everything that goes into it.
So, we thought we´d try
to give you a quick glimpse
of what competing
in the InVenture Prize is like
with a piece we like to call
"The Road
to the InVenture Prize."
♫♫
-The road to the 2016
Georgia Tech InVenture Prize is
not always a direct route.
For most
of the 500-plus students
who started signing up
for the competition
as early as last summer,
it´s sometimes been
a bumpy ride.
-It´s use is
to optimize medical treatment.
All right, we´re going
to do that again.
[ Laughter ]
-The competition
officially got underway
with an event last September,
when former finalists
and winners were on hand
to offer advice
to students hoping to follow the
trails they´d already blazed.
-When somebody asks you
about your idea,
being able to say it
in the most simple terms --
-And at the December
Capstone Design Expo,
potential
InVenture Prize candidates
got an early chance
to present their work
alongside some of Georgia Tech´s
senior design teams.
-The project before you is
the hand trainer.
It is primarily targeted
towards rehabilitation.
-Some inventions stood out
from the pack
and were awarded
golden tickets...
-We would like to present
to you this golden ticket.
-...granting them a free pass
into the semifinal round.
But the rest of the teams had
to battle their way
through preliminaries.
-So, this is
the most ever students
who´ve actually competed
in the InVenture Prize.
-Here, students from
a wide range of disciplines...
-I´m an info-media,
computer-science major.
-I´m an industrial-design major.
-Mechanical engineering.
-Electrical engineering.
-Material science
and engineering.
-I´m an information-technology
management major.
-...brought an unprecedented
level of competition.
-We´re Team Replantable,
and we´ve invented a way
for people to grow produce
right in their kitchen.
-Those who were able to advance
to the semifinals found
that the judges weren´t pulling
any punches...
-So, who are going to be
the early adopters
of this technology?
-Your competition is Apple,
one of the most valuable
companies in the world?
-It´s kind of a yes or know.
Do you know?
Maybe you don´t know.
-...while others had the
judges whistling a happy tune.
-[ Whistling ]
-At the end of the day,
six teams emerged eager to prove
that their inventions are ready
to go the distance,
leaving just one question --
Who will win the 2016
Georgia Tech InVenture Prize?
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Just watching that
makes me sweat.
But maybe our next team
can help me rehydrate.
Let´s take a look
at Team TruePani.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Hi, I´m Shannon.
-I´m Sarah Lynn.
-I´m Naomi.
-And I´m Sam.
-And we are Team TruePani.
-Last summer, Shannon and I went
to India on a research project.
And India, like many parts
of the world, has challenges
with water quality.
-We began to investigate this,
and we discovered
that contamination was happening
at a cup level.
-Every year,
nearly $60 billion are spent
bringing clean water
to developing countries.
-But it doesn´t matter
how clean your water is
if the last thing it´s going
to touch will contaminate it.
One in five hospital beds are
filled with someone
who´s been infected
by a waterborne illness...
♫♫
and TruePani will change that.
-We´ve spent months
conducting background research
on our product.
But the best moment
so far has been
when we conducted lab tests
and saw results
that exceeded our expectations.
-The idea for our product came
from our trip to India.
But the beauty of TruePani is
that it can be adopted
worldwide.
-Please give a warm welcome
to Team TruePani.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-You are sitting
in an auditorium
on one of the most innovative
and technologically
advanced campuses in the world,
but at the same time in India,
a child is dying
every 60 seconds
from a waterborne illness.
88% of children who die
from diarrheal diseases
could have lived
had they had improved sanitation
within the home.
Household hygiene
and intermittent water supply
are two crucial factors
in drinking-water quality.
And here´s why.
In places like rural India,
running water is
not available 24/7,
so families depend
on water that they collect
in storage containers
like this one.
Poor hygiene practices
like animals in the home
or people dipping their hands
in to get a drink
make this water
a breeding ground for microbes.
Last summer, Sam and I went
to India, and we discovered
that household cups contaminate
sterile water.
Judges, you could take your
bottle of water right there,
pour it into the cups
these people are using,
instantly drink it,
and you just ingested
harmful amounts of E. coli.
We were shocked.
Contamination is happening
at the very last point,
negating all previous efforts.
We looked for a solution,
but a huge problem
with bringing innovation
to underserved areas is
limiting behavior change
and cost for the user.
So, for our solution,
we took an old-school approach
from ancient India itself --
copper.
And with that,
we created TruePani.
-This is the TruePani kit,
a cup and a lotus.
Both are made
of stainless steel
but have been electrodeposited
with copper.
Copper is antimicrobial.
That´s been known for centuries.
But by coating it, we get
the benefits without the cost.
The lotus goes
into the storage container,
and it releases ions
into the water
to kill harmful microbes.
These microbes could be E. coli,
but they can also be staph
or MRSA.
We chose the lotus design
because the lotus flower means
purity in Hinduism and Buddhism.
Part two is this cup.
It prevents biofilm formation,
battling the last point
of contamination.
In the lab,
we have tested effectiveness
and durability
with great results,
but winning the InVenture Prize
would let us take our product
to India
to pilot with our users.
We plan to work
with local researchers
who are already excited
about copper-based,
water-purification techniques,
but the beauty of TruePani is
that it can be expanded
globally.
So we have been working
with the World Water Relief,
who have expressed interest
in bringing our design
to the Dominican Republic
and Haiti.
We are only four women,
and the problem
of global water quality is
bigger than us.
InVenture Prize,
it´s bigger than all of us.
But change starts somewhere.
Thank you.
-Well done, TruePani.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Does the word pani
mean "water"?
-Yes, it means "water" Hindi.
-Okay, my only other question is
where I can buy
one of those fetching tunics,
So, I think it´s time
to turn it to the judges,
who have
more substantive questions.
[ Laughter ]
-All right, so, you talk
about worldwide.
What about Flint, Michigan?
Will it solve that problem?
-[ Laughs ]
So -- Okay, go for it.
-So, the problem
in Flint, Michigan, is
obviously lead,
and we´re focused
more on microbes in the water.
So, copper will target bacteria,
viruses.
The lead is a little bit
of a different problem.
-And that really leads
to my question,
which is different parts
of the world have
different levels
and types of contamination.
And the end user wouldn´t really
know what type of contamination.
So, as an end user,
how would I know
if it´s solving my problem?
And then, I know durability
and the length isn´t
really there,
but how would I know
when it´s no longer capable
of solving my problem?
-Yes, okay, so,
the lifetime of our product,
we´ve tested in the lab,
and we found that it would last
for a little under four years.
But the problem is that
this is assuming
ideal conditions.
And in India, you can´t
really assume ideal conditions.
And so that´s
why it´s so important
for us to bring our product
to the users
to see how they interact with it
so that we can have
a better estimate
of how long it will last
and how long
it will be effective.
-And what about
the types of things?
How do you know, as an end user,
if it´s solving --
You know, is there
any indicator or any indication
of where it should be used?
As an end user, I don´t know
if I have a microbe problem
or if I have a different disease
or bacteria?
-Bacteria.
-Yeah, so, in the lab,
we have been targeting E. coli.
And E. coli, is
a fecal indicator,
so when E. coli is present,
it´s safe to assume
that there are
a lot of other pathogens
that are present in the water.
As far as using --
The thing about our product is
that the innovation is there.
It can be expanded globally.
So, the lotus means purity
in Hinduism and Buddhism,
but maybe in Cambodia it doesn´t
have any cultural connotation.
So, designing it
to fit the user is
a big part
of what we´re trying to do.
-Okay.
-I can tell you guys thought
about design a lot,
and I appreciate that,
but talk to me
about the competition.
I mean, there´s things
like filtration straws, right?
So, tell me
how you see this being adopted
in a more acceptable way
than those type of things.
-So, filtration will clean
your water,
and that´s great, but kind of
like what we mentioned --
If you have filtered water
and you put it in a dirty cup,
it´s going
to become contaminated again --
-Like the straws, right,
so that you can distribute
the straws that actually purify
the water as you´re drinking --
-Straws are expensive.
Things that work like
our product --
Our product is --
We´re estimating about 77 cents,
and Naomi can talk
a little bit more
about cost on that --
-So, it´s a cost.
-Yeah, so, it´s a cost issue.
And it´s also that type
of adoption --
People aren´t currently
using straws,
but they´re
currently using cups.
Alternatives
to our product would be
a solid copper cup
instead of just electroplating,
but that doesn´t deal with
the storage-container problem.
And then, there´s other things,
technologies out there
where you just drop something
into your storage pot
like we´re doing with the lotus,
but with our estimates
we would be able to treat
about 16,000 liters of water.
And the nearest competition can
only treat
about 1,800 liters of water.
-That´s a good answer.
So, you´re saying the cup
and the lotus is 77 cents?
-Yes.
-Okay.
-But tell me a little bit --
-Oh, go ahead. Sorry.
-We got one minute.
-Tell me a little bit
about your business model.
How do you succeed
with this?
You know, copper cups are
not hard to make.
-Sure, so, TruePani´s
social mission is
as important to us
as the success of our product.
For that reason, we will be
structuring our venture
as a social enterprise.
A lot of people think
when we first tell them
about TruePani,
"That´s awesome,"
and, "Are you going to be
giving it away to people?"
We´re actually going
to be charging a price
that our consumer can afford.
And the reason we´ve decided
to do this is because
research shows that if
you engage with your customer
in the marketplace,
they´re more willing
to use your product long-term.
Our customers are
value-demanding consumers
just like you and I,
so we will be charging
a price that´s affordable.
I can go into the price -- Sure.
-One last question.
If you have a successful launch,
what is your next step?
-If we have had
a successful launch?
-If you have a successful launch
of your product,
what would be the next step?
-Well, the next step would be
moving on from India,
keeping people there
to keep operations going well
and then moving on to work
with the World Water Relief
in Haiti
and the Dominican Republic --
Scaling our product to help
as many people as possible.
-Thank you, TruePani.
Namaste.
[ Laughter ]
Now that the judges have
finished with their questions...
-Thank you.
-...let´s send it
back to Bahareh,
who I believe is standing by
to talk
with one of TruePani´s
biggest fans.
-That´s right, Faith.
I´m here with Dr. Joe Brown,
professor of civil
and environmental engineering
at Georgia Tech,
who actually mentored and took
the students to India, correct?
-Right, yeah, this is the --
Like they said,
the inspiration
for this product came
on a research trip to India,
where we were studying
rural infrastructure,
rural water infrastructure
and sanitation in rural India.
-And the name of the invention
is quite unique.
Do you know where it comes from?
-Not really.
I think "pani" means "water,"
but, no, this is their concept.
-Awesome, and it´s so nice
to see an all women´s team, too,
of Georgia Tech students.
-Yeah, it´s a wonderful thing,
and I got to put in a plug
for environmental engineers.
We´re doing very well in
attracting women to engineering,
and I´m very proud of that.
-That is fantastic.
So, you must feel really proud,
as well.
I mean,
you´re taking these students,
you´re opening their eyes
to real-world problems.
You know, they´re coming up
with solutions to things
that impact
the lives of millions.
-Right, it´s incredibly
gratifying as a professor.
I mean, this is -- Clean water
is one of the intractable,
global problems of our time,
and so, you know, having
really bright engineering
students working
on real problems
that matter is really --
It´s what it´s all about
for me.
-I couldn´t agree more.
So, if you agree,
as well, at home, make sure
to text the keyword TruePani
to 22333 when it is time.
I´m so inspired, Faith.
Back to you.
-Okay, it´s time
for our next team
to get in the hot seat.
And fortunately for them,
their invention is fireproof.
See for yourself.
-Hi. I´m Tyler.
-And I´m Zach.
-And we are Team FireHUD.
-About a year ago,
I was talking to a family friend
who´s a firefighter,
and he was trying to tell me
what it´s like to be in a fire.
He said it´s hot, it´s chaotic,
and he can barely even see
his hands in front of his eyes.
♫♫
-And it got us thinking
this is a big problem
that needed to be solved.
-Currently, there are
about 1 million firefighters
in the United States.
These firefighters incur
about 63,500 injuries per year.
-That´s because firefighters
lack critical information
that would help
to keep them safer in fires --
information such as heart rate,
external temperature,
and internal temperature.
♫♫
-We recently tested FireHUD
with professional firefighters.
-And that gave us the data
that we need
to make FireHUD even better.
Firefighters are
first responders
and everyday heroes that deserve
the best equipment possible.
-And we´re here to provide that.
-FireHUD.
-Protecting our protectors.
Let´s hear it for Team FireHUD.
-Hi.
I´m Tyler.
Oh, I´m sorry.
-You are eager.
-Yeah.
-Let´s hear it
for Team FireHUD.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Go for it Tyler.
-Sorry.
Hi. I´m Tyler.
-And I´m Zach.
-And we are Team FireHUD.
And we´ve also brought
David along with us,
who is a firefighter,
to help demonstrate our product.
-As you can imagine,
inside a fire, it´s hot,
it´s chaotic, and you can barely
even see your hands
in front of your eyes.
Who would volunteer to walk
into this hellish nightmare?
There are about 1 million heroes
that put their lives at risk
every day to help protect
people like me or you.
These acts of selfless bravery
is not something
that they simply do.
It´s who they are.
Unfortunately,
they do not always come home.
The number-one killer
of firefighters is
sudden cardiac arrest,
and the number-one injury is
overexertion.
The true problem is
the firefighters are so focused
on rescuing others
that they do not realize
that they´re pushing
their bodies past their limits.
We have created a solution
that will allow the firefighters
to view bodily information
and environmental information
in real time.
-David is currently wearing
FireHUD.
FireHUD is the next generation
in firefighting equipment.
It includes a heads-up display
for firefighters
and a software application
for their
commanding officers outside
which will display
life-critical information.
This information includes things
such as internal
and external temperature,
heart rate, and respiratory
rate.
And up until now,
this information is unavailable.
Let me show you the display
that David is looking at
right now.
Mm-hmm.
Over here, Yep.
As your eye gets closer
to the display,
everything comes into focus.
The top three areas
of the display are where
all of the life-critical
information is located.
-The bottom tier that you see
is a communication area
with the incident commander.
The incident commander is
the outside official directing
the entire fire operation.
This is the screen that
the incident commander sees.
For the first time,
the incident commander
now has a detailed profile
of the firefighters´
physical status in the fire.
-We recently took FireHUD
to be field-tested.
All the firefighters at the test
were extremely excited
and eager to try it out.
One firefighter even brought the
device into a burning building.
We got great feedback and input
from all the firefighters there.
Let´s hear what David has
to say about it.
-Knowing that cardiac arrest
and overexertion is
the number-one killer
of firefighters,
this technology here has
great potential
in making sure that we all
get home to our families.
-Thanks, David.
We currently have
45 letters of intent
from firefighters who are eager
to get their hands on FireHUD.
We´re shooting for a price point
of around $1,000,
which would be
a small incremental cost
to the around $11,000 worth of
air gear that they pay for now.
We are also in talks
with Scott Safety,
who manufacture around 90%
of the firefighting masks
in the U.S., and we hope
to integrate our product
into their line
of safety equipment.
We´ve worked really hard
on FireHUD,
and we´ve taken it
to firefighters.
And they´re super-excited
about it,
and we hope that you are too.
Thank you.
-Thank you Team FireHUD.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I feel like maybe
your invention could be helpful
on a bad first date.
You know, it would be like,
"Danger!
Fall back!
Evacuate the scene!"
[ Laughter ]
Judges, what do you think?
-First of all,
I think anything that we can do
to help first responders is
always so important.
I guess one of the concerns
I have looking at this right now
is a little bit of the U.I. --
I feel like
it´s a very intense situation,
and even looking
at the speedometer on a car
or something,
it can be distractive.
More color coding, you know,
sound queues,
have you thought about
other ways --
And is it distractive
when you went through
and tried to say,
"I´m fighting a fire"?
Are you able
to really start looking
at these metrics over here
and make heads or tails of them?
-Yeah, that´s a good question.
We don´t really expect
the firefighters to pay, like,
really detailed attention
to all the stats,
but we´re going
to flash the display
whenever something bad comes up,
and that will alert them
that something is wrong.
And also the incident commander
can call them
and tell them
that they need to cool down
or take a break for a second
to cool off and stay safer.
-And do you see this
as something
that really becomes
more of a team-based --
Again, if it´s not you,
it´s your colleague
that´s in the burning building
with you.
That´s probably an area that are
you thinking about?
Or do you tie it in
to more of a team-based
so you know if your colleague is
stressed or injured
or maybe needs assistance,
as well?
-Yeah, do you want to --
-Yeah, we would definitely try
to alert the buddy
of the firefighter
to help the other one.
-Yeah.
Like, everything is
on a network that´s closed,
so, like, we can alert
other firefighters
of what´s going on with the
other firefighters in the fire.
-Okay.
-Is there GPS in it,
or do you already have
GPS technologies
that you know where
the other firefighters are are?
-Yeah, so, I mean,
that´s a good question, as well.
GPS doesn´t really --
-The fireman wants to answer.
-Okay, go for it.
-Oh, I´m sorry.
[ Laughter ]
-I think that depends
on the department
whether they have
that kind of tech.
Now, I don´t think it´s GPS,
but we have
protective emergency systems
that we can activate ourselves.
-That´s what I wondered.
How much does it weigh?
I mean, was it heavy?
Was it light?
-It´s no noticeable difference
than wearing it normally.
-Okay.
-Yeah, it weighs just as much
as a smartphone.
-What´s your
intellectual-property status?
And tell me a little bit
about business model.
You said that you were
in contact
with manufacturers already
or suppliers of equipment.
Tell me a little bit
about how that´s going to work,
and how do you will benefit
from this?
-That´s a good question.
So, currently,
we have a provisional patent
on our device.
There are
other heads-up displays,
such Google Glass
and things like that,
but nothing is really meant
for a fire situation,
to go inside a firefighter mask
and to withstand the heat.
So, we´re unique in that aspect,
and we think we can protect
ourself in that regard.
-So, what´s your comm link?
What technology are you using?
For communication, what --
-Oh, it´s a radio.
-Yes.
-It would be -- Yeah.
-And this Scott Safety --
I mean, kind of building
on the commercial --
What share of the firefighter
municipalities do they have?
You said they´re a player,
but are they big?
How big are they?
-So, Scott Safety makes
90% of the masks.
-So 90% of the market.
-As well as the air gear, too,
like tanks
and everything they wear.
-Okay.
That´s good.
-And so, your focus is
really around the application
of tying together
all of these sensors,
bringing them into the masks,
and that´s really your piece.
So, would you really get
in the middle
of manufacturing this,
or is it really more
of linking
this technology together?
What´s your play?
-So, yeah, we are definitely
working on the actual device
and, you know, progressing that,
and then we want to eventually
retrofit our device
into their existing masks,
but we are going to be working
with manufacturers
to make our product real.
-So, working
with manufacturers --
Are are these the people
who are already making
this equipment?
Are you going to do a license,
or do you want to set up
a factory?
I want to be clear on that.
-So, we´re going to try and
license it through Scott Safety.
-Okay.
-Yeah.
-And will it work
on existing helmets
and you can retrofit everything
that´s out there today?
-Not all masks, but all
of Scott Safety´s masks have
a similar attachment
on the side,
and we can use that
to attach our device.
That´s around 90%
of the masks in the U.S.
that we can work with
and retrofit.
-And I guess
my last question is, again,
when you were thinking
about heat
and all these elements
and stuff --
failure rate on this equipment,
and obviously you have
electronics and sensors --
Fire and these temperatures
aren´t really conducive
to the technology maybe
that you´re putting
in these situations.
-Yes, so, we went
on a field test,
and we took a different
prototype into the fire.
And that was really
what we were testing is
how well our electronics
would survive.
And we found
that our housing that we built
actually did
a better job of insulating
than the actual
firefighter mask,
so it stayed well below
the threshold
for electronic components
failing inside of our --
-Nice.
You burned up your time.
You guys did a great job.
Um, Lonnie...
[ Laughter ]
I just have a suggestion.
I´m not an inventor,
but maybe if you team up,
Super Soaker shooter
with this technology...
[ Laughter ]
you guys can´t be beat.
Well done, everyone.
Thank you Team HUD.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Now let´s find out
whom Bahareh has standing by
to give us the inside scoop
on Team FireHUD.
Bahareh?
-Faith, look at this team.
They have the coolest props.
I mean, I look so cute.
At least, I think I do.
Anyway, I´m here
with Amanda Richardson,
who is the wife
of a firefighter.
So, Amanda,
this invention must really hit
close to home for you.
What do you think of it?
-It does.
As a nurse and the wife
of a firefighter,
accident prevention and safety
are very important to us.
-And do you think
that this invention will put
your mind at ease at night
knowing that he is out there
and is protected?
-Yes, I do think -- You know,
I think this product is great
because it does help
with safety.
It´s going to save lives,
and it´s gonna definitely make
everything great.
-And especially that
they protect us, as well, right?
-Absolutely.
-So, I hate to ask this.
I´m almost embarrassed.
But I can´t help but think
of, like, firefighters
and calendars and so --
-[ Laughs ]
-Is your husband hot?
-He is, yes.
[ Laughter ]
-Well, that´s good to know.
All of a sudden,
I´m kind of really hot myself.
So, anyway, Faith, I think,
if you want to vote
for Team FireHUD,
then you got to text
the keyword FireHUD --
F-I-R-E-H-U-D --
to 22333 when it´s time.
Back to you.
-Bahareh, I think
you need your vitals checked
just about now.
And you do look very cute.
Like I said earlier,
this year´s competition began
with 537 students,
and only the top 6 teams are
represented here tonight.
I wish we could show you
all of the inventions
that were entered
into this year´s competition,
but that would take
an entire show by itself.
So, instead, here are
a few of the clever creations
that unfortunately missed out
on this year´s InVenture Prize.
It´s a video we like to call
"Maybe Next Year."
♫♫
-We´re Team Dermetrix.
-We are Team Club Scrub.
-We are the team
the League
of Extraordinary Engineers,
and this is our project,
Iron Joey.
-There´s only one question --
What is your invention?
This is the InVenture Prize.
-One of the features
of our shoe is that it connects
to social media.
-And I invented Otto,
a portable car seat,
foot rest, and organizer.
-The artistic people are going
to go nuts over this.
♫♫
-And these
16 different sensors detect
my brain electrical activity.
-I think it´s great
that you guys are trying
to change human nature.
-We have created
a device that tracks
the tennis acceleration swing
over time.
♫♫
-Basically,
I go into a training environment
to train different signals
to go left, right...
♫♫
up, down, rotate...
♫♫
forward, backward.
♫♫
-And by creating
defraction gradings
in order for it to be polarized,
it´ll eliminate
the ultraviolet light.
-Seems simple to me.
-Aparka uses
two insulated layers of air
to keep you warm on the inside,
and a layer that´s waterproof
on the outside
to keep you dry
in cold conditions.
-Well, maybe you´re
on to something with this.
-Aparka,
it keeps my girlfriend warm,
and it´ll keep you warm, too.
-Have you talked
to any real people,
like real customers?
-I´m going to win
this year´s InVenture Prize
because I have a great idea,
and I have the charisma
to back it up.
-You´re dad must be
proud of you.
♫♫
[ Laughter ]
-Very interesting ideas.
Of course,
our next presenters won´t have
to wait until next year.
In fact, let me introduce you
to them right now.
They are Team RoboGoalie.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Hi, I´m Siu.
-I´m Zhifeng.
-I´m Ko.
-I´m Tim.
And we are Team RoboGoalie.
Over 240 million people
around the world play soccer.
However, one of the
biggest problems they have is
collecting the ball
and wasting energy
and breaking
their train of thought.
♫♫
Currently on the market,
there is nothing that solves
the problem
of retrieving the ball.
And we were very surprised
to find this out.
As mechanical engineers,
we got right to work on it.
While we were working
on our project,
one of the biggest challenges
that came up was
how to make
our solution portable
and cost-effective
for anyone to enjoy.
♫♫
The potential market
for RoboGoalie is huge,
from the recreational level
all the way
to the professional level.
We are very excited
about RoboGoalie because
there are over 240 million
soccer players worldwide,
almost no competition,
so we can´t wait
to bring RoboGoalie
to the market.
-RoboGoalie --
where perfection meets practice.
-Please welcome
the gentlemen representing
the future of soccer training,
Team RoboGoalie.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-So how did people get good
at soccer?
How do millions
of people get good at soccer?
Practice, practice, practice.
For soccer players and goalies
who want to practice alone
and maximize efficiency
and focus their energy
on maximizing
their concentration,
this, RoboGoalie, is
the must have.
Players need to concentrate
on kicking the ball,
but by running
and picking up the ball
each time they kick,
players lose their concentration
and they waste the opportunity
to kick and retrieve the ball
many more times.
Also, it is literally impossible
to practice training alone.
In this video, you´ll see
what makes RoboGoalie unique.
So, how it works is
the player kicks the ball
into the goal, and RoboGoalie
automatically scoops up the ball
and shoots it back to the user.
This process can be made
even more efficient
with multiple soccer balls
because one ball is returned
shortly after another is kicked.
Simply reversing
RoboGoalie´s direction
allows goalies
to practice alone,
which has
never been done before.
Although our goal is
to get RoboGoalie
into the hands of everyone, our
primary target at the moment is
soccer teams
until we gather enough resources
and research to continue
to the individual level.
After developing a
high-tech version of RoboGoalie,
we plan on selling it
to soccer teams
for around $3,000.
And since a pair of soccer goals
already cost $6,000 to $7,000,
RoboGoalie would be
an amazing addition to the team.
Since we weren´t sure if people
would actually buy this,
we went out to investigate.
So far, we have met with
three university soccer teams
to demo RoboGoalie to them
and have received
letters of commitment
from each of them
to purchase RoboGoalie
when it comes out on the market.
We have also gotten contact
information of over 100 people
who are eager to follow up
with RoboGoalie,
some of which are
in the audience right now.
Winning InVenture will help us
to transfer RoboGoalie
from something crude
to something more refined
to continue in our journey
of getting RoboGoalie
into the hands of users.
RoboGoalie is now on --
for sale for preorders
on our website
at robogoalie.net.
[ Laughter ]
So, let´s see RoboGoalie
toss out the game ball.
-Okay, you´ve got
about 20 seconds right now,
so this might be a cliffhanger.
You guys seriously have got
to watch out.
And you can´t catch it
with your hands
because this is soccer.
[ Laughter ]
And if you get a concussion,
we got Team Wobble
to help you out.
[ Laughter ]
Whoa! Nice!
[ Cheers and applause ]
All right.
Thank you, Team RoboGoalie.
By the way,
you called that machine crude,
and I think it´s adorable.
-Judges, what do you think?
-Well, I have one question --
What´s the market size,
and how much money
do you expect to make?
-So, currently,
there are 150,000 clubs
around the world,
and that´s not including
soccer teams for schools.
So, that is
an incredibly large market.
There are over 240 million
people playing soccer,
so if we plan on selling
this model for around $3,000,
then that equates
to around $450 million.
-Hm, John.
-Technology like this
can be great out of the box
for a couple of days,
but what happens week
or two weeks or three weeks
or a month --
Do you really see
that there´s carry effect
where people will continue
to use this?
-So one thing about soccer is
that soccer players continue
to practice.
It´s almost like
a life-long sport or exercise.
So, players would buy this.
And especially right now
we´re focussing on soccer teams
so teams just always keep
getting new players,
new members, and it´s always
a useful tool for them.
-I think the challenge
focusing on the team,
for me, though, is generally
the team means
you have lots of people,
and in a college environment
you have the J.V. that want
to go retrieve balls
and help you practice.
How does that really work
in a team environment
where you have lots of people
that are always around?
It´s not
a one-on-one necessarily.
-Yeah, so, for teams,
it is extremely useful for --
A lot of times teams have
a problem
where assistant coaches
and goalies are not being put
to use, so instead
they´re running
and picking up the ball.
So, in order
to maximize their training,
RoboGoalie could be used
to retrieve the balls
for the team and maybe send over
a ball for an assist or crosses.
-$3,000 --
I mean, it does sound --
Do you have ideas
on how you could lower the cost?
Do you have like
a clear road map?
Because that does seem like
a high purchase price, you know?
-So, the $3,000 is
more or less an average
of what we would sell to teams.
Right now, what you see here is
actually the base configuration
of what we would sell.
So, that would be a lot less,
maybe around $2,000.
So, we could add features
for teams to choose
much like picking toppings
for a pizza.
So...
[ Laughter ]
like remote control,
body tracking,
and programmable
practice patterns.
So, you can add
a lot of things with this,
and it could be --
The cost would obviously go up
a little bit.
-One other quick question --
How do these teams normally --
How are you going
to get to them?
I mean, you´ve got
three letters of "contempt,"
but how do you target them?
How are you going
to sell to them?
-Not "contempt" -- intent.
-Intent. Sorry. Intent.
[ Laughter ]
I´m an engineer.
What do you want?
-So, right now, we are doing it
on more or less
on a one-a-month basis,
so we´re going out to teams,
reaching out
to them personally...
-Yeah, but in the future --
-...and demoing
RoboGoalie to them,
and that´s how we get
the personal connection
until we gain enough marketing,
get our idea out there
to get it more widespread.
And from there,
people just want to come to us.
And then, we´ll sell it online
and, like, on Amazon
or on our website.
-And my last question --
First of all,
I think it´s amazing
engineering,
so congratulations on that.
I mean,
I´m very impressed with that.
Durability -- Does it get caught
in the net?
Soccer fields have lumps,
and it´s got little wheels.
I´m sure it´s a prototype,
but how have you thought
about really making it
when it gets nailed with a shot
and it turns on the side?
How have you thought
about durability?
-So, if this thing gets nailed
[chuckles] with a shot,
it´s not going anywhere,
but for the actual design...
[ Laughter ]
for the actual design, yes,
worrying about robustness
to the net, to the weather,
all that would be taken
into consideration.
We´ll basically put RoboGoalie
inside a cute, little shell
so imagine a little
turtle Roomba for soccer
that gives it back to you.
So, that would be less
of a concern for the product.
-How long does it last
on a charge?
I assume you´re using
rechargeable batteries.
-You´ve got 10 seconds.
-Yes.
This model right now runs
for three hours continuously,
but in the actual product,
it would be a lot lighter,
so you can expect more
out of it.
-Does your --
-Thank you.
I´m sorry.
I got to be the referee, Lonnie.
I´m sorry.
I got to call time.
[ Laughter ]
Thank you, Team RoboGoalie.
And thank you, judges.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Now let´s check in again
with Bahareh.
Bahareh, whom do you have
with you from Team RoboGoalie?
-Faith, I´m here
with Timothy´s brother,
Titus Woo, from Team RoboGoalie.
So, is Tim
a great soccer player?
-He´s amazing at it.
-And you?
-Not so much.
I kind of suck, yeah.
-Like, you really suck,
or you´re just saying that?
-Really suck.
-Really? Okay.
Well, I mean,
at least he´s getting out there
and doing his thing.
So, tell me,
this robot seems dangerous.
Were there any mishaps
when, you know,
they were perfecting
this invention?
-[Laughs] It´s funny
that you should say that.
You know, the RoboGoalie is
a real catcher.
[ Laughs ]
We were out on a soccer field,
and there was
a busy road nearby.
And they were doing
their testing and everything.
All of a sudden, I noticed,
"Hey, the traffic is
a little bit congested.
What´s going on over there?"
So, they looked up,
and see kids looking
through the window like,
"Hey, look at that robot, Mom."
And it turns out people just
forgot about the stop light.
[ Both laugh ]
-Well, so, they are causing
mishaps then.
-You could say that, yes.
-And inspiring kids, I guess.
-Yeah, the kids really loved it.
Some people came down
and were like,
"Oh, could I play with it,"
you know,
"Could I see it in action?"
And they were just,
you know, having a blast.
-So, are you inspired
to become an inventor yourself?
-I am, you know, I´m here
making computer software,
and he´s here making robots,
so what can I say?
-InVenture next year?
-Maybe.
-Well, Tim -- Titus will be back
competing with Tim
at next year´s InVenture.
So, if you also think
that team RoboGoalie should win
the People´s Choice Award,
make sure to text RoboGoalie
to 22333.
Back to you, Faith.
-Okay, I believe
our final team is warmed up
and ready to take the stage.
So, let me introduce you
to Team FretWizard.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Hi. I´m Molly Ricks.
-And I´m Ali Abid.
-And we are Team FretWizard.
♫♫
-Countless people
around the world want to learn
how to play guitar, but there
are a lot of difficulties
and barriers that prevent them
from doing so.
♫♫
-If you´re a beginner musician,
someone who´s
never played guitar before,
and you want to learn a song,
you´re going to Google
how to play the song.
And what you´ll find is
a guitar-tab website.
And to someone
who´s never played the guitar,
guitar tabs are basically
just lines and numbers,
which is really hard
to decipher.
-Finding a private tutor is
difficult and expensive.
FretWizard solves this problem.
♫♫
-One of the biggest obstacles
we overcame
in the creation
of FretWizard was making
this extremely complicated
algorithm feel like
a personal guitar tutor.
♫♫
-Once we solved this problem,
we knew we had a product
that was ready for the world.
♫♫
-Okay.
I´m certainly ready
to hear more.
Please welcome Team FretWizard.
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Acoustic guitar plays ]
[ Scattered cheers
and applause ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Hi.
I´m Molly Ricks.
I´m Molly Ricks.
-And I´m Ali Abid.
-And we´re transforming
the way you learn guitar.
Now, I know Nick
just inspired all of you
to pick up your guitar
and play
the Georgia Tech fight song,
but some of you don´t know
how to play the guitar,
so you go on your search engine,
and you type in
"how to play the Georgia Tech
fight song on guitar."
And here´s what you´ll find --
guitar tabs,
the musical notation of a song.
But you´ve
never played guitar before,
and you don´t know how to read
these lines and numbers.
And the tabs themselves
don´t tell you
where to put your fingers
on the guitar.
So, do you struggle
to decipher these,
or do you give up?
Well, we´re giving you
a better option -- FretWizard.
FretWizard is a program
that takes
your indecipherable guitar tabs
and teaches you exactly
how to play a song.
You can play the video.
♫♫
FretWizard can even talk to you.
-Use your index finger to bar
from the third string
to the first string
on second fret.
Place your middle finger
on the second string
at the third fret.
-When playing guitar,
the most important thing is
to know where you´re supposed
to put your fingers.
As a guitar teacher,
I would often find
my students struggling
for this exact reason.
Tabs don´t tell you
where to place your fingers,
so I´d find my students
giving up on reading tabs
because they don´t have
this information,
and this was a problem.
Well, FretWizard is
our solution.
FretWizard uses
artificial intelligence
to study a tab and figure out
all the finger positions needed
to play a song.
We´re the only guitar app
that does this.
Once FretWizard has
this information,
it displays it
in a very intuitive interface
so that anyone can pick up
a guitar and follow along.
With FretWizard,
I saw a huge improvement
in the playing abilities
of my students,
and you can see this improvement
for yourself right now
because FretWizard is live
at fretwizard.com.
Currently, we´re negotiating
with one of the largest
music publishers
in the United States
for access
to tens of thousands of songs,
and we need your help
to seal this deal.
-Help us teach to world how
to play guitar with FretWizard,
the professional guitar teacher
right at your fingertips.
-Nice.
Thank you, FretWizard.
[ Cheers and applause ]
The best part is
you guys totally got
Keith Richards
to do the Wizard voice.
I love that.
All right, judges,
I´d love to hear your questions,
and please form them as a song.
Please, sing,
sing your questions.
-No way.
[ Laughter ]
Well, I tried to learn
how to play the guitar,
and I was not successful,
so I do understand the problem.
Tell me a little bit
about the competition.
There are apps out there.
I mean, you talked a little bit,
but help me to understand
how this was different.
´Cause there´s
a pretty big ecosystem.
-So, the main resources
that are available are
guitar tabs
and YouTube tutorials.
The thing with guitar tabs is
that they don´t tell you
where to put your fingers
on the guitar.
And FretWizard really takes
the guesswork out of that.
I mean, a tab website gets
about 15 million views a day.
And it is just lines
and numbers,
so this is basically
a huge step up from that.
-Okay, have you sold
any yet commercially?
-So, we´re going
with a freemium model
where anyone can go online
and use it.
And we have premium features.
So, currently,
we´re building up our user base,
and we´re not worrying
about the money
until we have that user base
´cause we´re confident people
will start paying for it.
-How many active users?
-Right, the main thing is
that what we need is
the access to all those songs,
and that´s what we need
InVenture Prize for is
to get access to using
all those songs.
And after we have those songs,
then users will come basically.
-So, how do you adapt this
to a new song?
-So, the way it works is
there´s going to be
a bank of tabs on the site.
Anyone can submit a tab,
and it´s available
for anyone else to use.
When someone submits a tab,
the artificial intelligence
analyzes it and figures out
the finger placements.
Then, it´s an active tutorial
for everyone to be able to use.
-Guitar Center is
a client of mine.
It would be interesting
to talk to them, you know?
I mean, they probably,
from a distribution --
How about have you thought
about other instruments?
Is it applicable to piano?
I mean, I´m just curious.
-That´s our next step.
We wanted to really nail
the guitar
and then move on
to other instruments.
But we´re really confident
this could be expanded,
especially with the enthusiasm
that we´ve gotten
from the people that have been
using our app.
-Right, this is expandable to so
many different instruments,
and actually the narration
feature you saw is bilingual,
so we can adapt
any language to that feature.
So, it really is
a global product.
-How can you
really compare results?
It did look a little complicated
when it was telling me
where to put fingers.
And how do you compare results
of this versus another tool?
-So, the one thing
that separates us
from any other thing --
No other app out there tells you
where to place your fingers.
Nothing else does that.
That´s what separates us.
So, you can slow down
the pace of it narrating
and everything.
And from that,
no matter what skill level,
you can just find your song,
and it will tell you
how to play the song.
-The one concern
I have sometimes
with technology is obsolescence.
And do you feel like,
in two years´ time,
something with a lightweight
artificial intelligence
and augmented reality combined
will really make that obsolete
to a certain extent?
-I don´t see that as a concern.
We do have a provisional patent
on the application
of our "A" Star
artificial intelligence
algorithm applied in the --
-But I think
of an augmented reality
where I could almost
virtually see fingers
and where to put it on a guitar.
I´m just thinking
if you´re thinking
along those lines in the future.
-Since we are
the only app out there
that tells you
where to place your fingers,
I think we´ll be the first
to step into that domain,
as well, since we have
that head start.
-So, you´re on the internet.
You have users now.
You´re generating traffic.
-Yes.
-And your business model is
to -- What do you do with that?
-The first step is to get access
to all those songs
that people want to learn.
I mean, right now,
we have public-domain songs,
so, like, "Canon" in "D" major,
but not a lot of people want
to play that song on the guitar.
After that, we´ve been
in discussion
with Guitar Center
and places like that,
so really getting
endorsements --
-Do you need a license
to adapt those songs to your --
-Right.
-Yes.
-And that´s why we need
to win the InVenture Prize
to get access
to those licensing.
-So, have you thought
about licensing your technology
since it seems like
it´s develop--
-When we´re referring
to licensing,
we´re referring to access
to host those sites
on our tabs ´cause
those are copyrighted materials.
-All right, Team FretWizard,
we´re gonna have
to play you off.
Thank you very, very much.
And thank you, judges.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I do not envy your task.
Now is the time I have to invite
you to disappear backstage
and answer the toughest question
of the evening --
Who is going home
with tonight´s top prize --
Godspeed --
not to mention second place.
So, we´ll let you begin
your deliberations.
But our judges aren´t
the only ones
with a difficult decision
to make.
Remember,
our People´s Choice Award is
also up for grabs tonight.
So, keep your phones handy
and your ears open
so you know when to vote,
because it´s almost time.
[ Crowd murmuring ]
-But before you do that --
The crowd is buzzing.
Oh, that´s a bad pun
to make at Georgia Tech.
I didn´t even see that coming.
Sorry.
[ Laughter ]
Before you do that,
I´ll send it once more
to Bahareh,
who´s standing by
with a special guest
from Team FretWizard.
Bahareh, whom do you have?
-Faith, I´m here
with Molly´s brother Ryan,
who is here obviously.
No fretting tonight, right?
-No fretting tonight.
-Okay, so, a big supporter
of Molly?
-Big supporter of Molly and Ali.
We´re very proud of them.
-So, where do you think
she got her inspiration from?
-I think just
to do things like this,
do big things,
she had to stand out
´cause she´s one of 11.
-11?
-Yeah, 11 siblings, so --
-11 siblings?
-Yep, so we needed her
to make a big splash
to get attention,
and that´s what she is doing.
-Well, your parents
must have been really busy
with 11 siblings.
I mean, are you all inventors?
Some of you?
-No, we´re not all inventors.
We´re closer
to the von Trapps --
a lot of musical people.
You know, big into Legos,
things like that.
So, we´ll see what happens
with the rest of them.
-So you can sing like
"Sound of Music"?
-Oh, yeah, we do that a lot.
-Oh, my God, we´ll have
to do that during the break.
So, definitely --
They should win tonight though.
-Absolutely.
Let´s go.
-We´ll have to try out
your voice, as well.
So, if you agree here
with Ryan and you think
that FretWizard should win,
the keyword is FretWizard
to 22333.
I´m happy to say that our last
team has made their presentation
and it´s time
to open up the voting
for the People´s Choice Award.
To vote,
text the keyword associated
with your favorite team
to 22333.
And remember, the winner
of the People´s Choice Award
will take $5,000 and
some serious bragging rights.
So, choose wisely.
Here are those keywords again
in case you forgot.
To vote for Team Wobble
to win the award,
text Wobble to 22333.
For the TEQ Charging team,
text TEQCharging --
T-E-Q-Charging, no spaces --
to 22333.
If you think that Team TruePani
is the team to win it,
make sure
to text T-R-U-E-P-A-N-I
to the same number.
If you feel
it´s really hot in here
and FireHUD is
your favorite team,
then make sure
to text FireHUD --
F-I-R-E-H-U-D --
to 22333.
If you got a kick
out of Team RoboGoalie,
text "RoboGoalie"
to that same number.
And if you think that FretWizard
should win the award,
then make sure to text
"FretWizard,"
F-R-E-T-Wizard,
to 22333.
Remember, you can also vote
online at pollev.com/inventure.
Watch out for autocorrect
when you´re typing in
those keywords.
The names must appear
exactly as they do on the screen
or your vote will not register.
And remember, you can only vote
once per device.
Voting is open now.
Not for long.
So get out
those cellphones, laptops.
Give your favorite team
a chance to win
the People´s Choice Award
this year,
And we´ll have
the results shortly.
Faith?
-Thanks, Bahareh.
Just to be sure,
TruePani is P-A-N-I,
not P-A-N-Y at the end.
You guys, this is 2016.
Your vote matters this year.
We need to make
the InVenture Prize great again.
[ Laughter ]
You know, the InVenture Prize
isn´t only
about the students
at Georgia Tech.
It´s also about inspiring
a new generation of inventors.
So Georgia Tech´s
K-12 InVenture Challenge
was created to reach out
to kindergarten
through 12th graders
and ask them
to think critically.
And I believe Bahareh has done
an amazingly quick turnaround
and is now standing by
with some people
who have even more to say
about that.
Bahareh?
-That´s right, Faith.
I´m here with two participants
of the K-12 InVenture Challenge,
educator Nancy Ernstes
and Brianna, a participant.
So Nancy, as an educator,
you have
the youngest participants --
I mean,
elementary school students.
So what´s that like
for you as an educator?
-Well, you know, the kids
are in charge
of their learning
from the get-go with InVenture,
so they use their curiosity
to identify the problem
and then their creativity
to develop the device.
And in the end,
they´re just so passionate
about the outcome
because it´s their baby
from the get-go,
so very exciting.
-Yeah, I can only imagine.
What do you think the kids take
home from this experience?
-There´s a lot of lessons,
but I think the biggest one is
learning to work as a team,
that collaboration piece,
because there´s so many
requirements and deadlines
with InVenture
that they really have to tap
into each other´s strengths
to get everything done on time.
So that art of collaboration
is just a lifelong skill
that I think
they´ll take with them.
-I mean, they´re learning things
that they´ll use
for the rest of their lives,
and it´s really important.
And now we go full circle
to Brianna,
who´s actually a participant.
What was your invention?
-Me and my partner made an app
that´s a student-learning tool
so students can learn
in and outside the classroom
while still having teachers
get feedback from them.
-And so do they use it?
I mean, has your app
been used in your schools
or other schools?
-Well, currently,
we went through all our teachers
to see if they would
use the app anyway,
and we already have teachers
willing to take students out
to try our app in the classroom.
-That´s fantastic.
I mean, you should be
really proud of yourself.
As a senior, you´re solving
real-world problems.
I mean, don´t you feel
really proud about this?
-Well,
I feel really special for it
because I know how much
technology is turning --
how much our society
is turning to technology,
so the fact
that I get to be a part
of the technology and the change
makes me feel like
I´m really contributing
to my future
and the future of others.
-You´re making
an enormous impact --
both of you are -- as an
educator, as a participant.
This is a really,
really good initiative.
Congratulations to you both.
I think InVenture is inspiring
us all, you know,
and Faith, I can´t tell you
how --
I just feel proud just standing
next to the two of you.
And I´m going to send it
back to you now.
-Thanks, Bahareh.
We still have some time
before our judges crown
a winner,
Which means
we have six teams backstage
desperately wishing they could
invent a way to see the future.
And while we can´t do that,
we can check in
on the progress of some of our
InVenture Prize finalists
from the past
in a piece we call,
"Where Are They Now?"
♫♫
-For 8 years,
the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize
has supported student inventors
as they turn
their revolutionary ideas
from concepts into reality.
-Team Sanivation!
-Our invention,
the SafiChoo toilet,
won the 2014 Georgia Tech
InVenture Prize competition.
And I have since been able
to move to Zambia
to pilot our second iteration
to continue bringing innovation
to sanitation.
-Several contestants
are bringing
their inventions to market
right here in Georgia,
like 2013 finalist
Erika Tyburski,
who formed a company based
on her AnemoCheck invention.
AnemoCheck has since undergone
testing around the world,
had results published
in leading medical journals,
and is in the process
of negotiating a global license.
Other participants
have found their way
to the national spotlight,
like 2014 finalist
Partha Unnava,
who took his team´s invention
to the highest stage
in the country.
-We got invited
to the White House
to present the Better Walk
crutch to President Obama.
-The common theme
for all of these inventors
is that the Georgia Tech
InVenture Prize
has played a large role
in setting them on their road
to success,
like 2009 finalist
Joy Buolamwini.
-The most valuable thing
InVenture Prize gave me
was confidence
to make my ideas a reality.
♫♫
[ Indistinct chatter ]
-And the seeds that the Georgia
Tech InVenture Prize has sown
in schools across Georgia
with its K-12 InVenture
Challenge Program
are bearing fruit.
Freshmen Nick Rupert
and Carlton Winstead
competed in the challenge
in high school
and now attend Georgia Tech.
-Last year, Carlton and I
were seniors on the team
at North Oconee High School
that won
the K-12 InVenture Challenge.
-And that experience
only solidified
our dream of coming
to Georgia Tech.
-And with the momentum sparked
by the Georgia Tech
InVenture Prize,
the future of innovation
across Georgia
has never looked better.
-My name is Jessica Gordon,
and last year, I competed
in the K through 12
InVenture competition
when I was in 5th grade
at Cheatham Hill
Elementary School
with my invention of
the Shrinky Binky.
And I won first place.
When I graduate high school,
I want to go to Georgia Tech,
and win the Georgia Tech
InVenture Prize.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I think we might have seen
a couple of past K-12 winners
right there.
Our judges
are still deliberating,
which means
our polls are still open
for you to vote on this year´s
People´s Choice Award.
So if you haven´t voted already,
please do so now
before it´s too late.
And Bahareh is now backstage
with our finalists --
Man, she moves fast --
so let´s check in with her
and find out
how the teams are doing.
How are they holding up,
Bahareh?
-Thanks, Faith.
They´re holding up, I guess,
pretty well.
I mean, there´s all smiles
here all around.
I´m hot and tired
and wobbling, too,
so all together.
But I have to say I want to ask
them some questions.
so tell me, what was it like
in front of the judges?
-Nerve-racking for sure.
[ Chuckles ]
-And if you win,
what are you gonna do
with the money?
-Hang out with our new friends.
[ Laughter ]
-So you´re going to share
the winnings?
-Maybe just dinner.
I don´t know. [ Laughs ]
-Well, at least
it´s something, right?
What about me?
You should invite me, too.
-You can come.
-Yeah? Okay. Cool.
I feel loved.
Besides your own invention,
what other invention did you
think was really cool tonight?
-You know what?
Not only were all these
inventions really cool,
everyone has the potential
to become a real business.
And Georgia Tech has a lot
to be proud of tonight.
-Did you rehearse that answer?
-Perhaps.
[ Laughter ]
-Well, that was a good answer.
Very diplomatic.
Very diplomatic.
And you, kiddos,
are you guys having fun?
-Yes.
-Yeah?
So you participated in
the K-12 InVenture Challenge?
-Yes, ma´am.
-Yeah.
Well, I´m really proud
of you guys.
So does it make you feel
kind of --
You know, the competition
starts young now.
So are you proud of InVenture
starting at such a young age?
-Oh, I definitely am.
I think it´s a great opportunity
for the K through 12 students
to be able to compete.
-Yeah,
I wish I had that opportunity.
I used to play with Barbies,
and that´s pretty much it.
I used to cut their hair off
and hope that
an invention could come up
that their hair
would grow again.
Anyway, I think
we´re almost ready
to see who won not only
the People´s Choice Award,
but first and second prize,
so, Faith, take us home.
-Thank you, Bahareh.
Okay.
Our judges
have rejoined us onstage,
which means the final decision
is ready to be rendered.
Wendi, when you sat down,
you went, "Phew!"
But you guys,
you look confident,
you look peaceful.
Can you tell me what was
the hardest part
about making your decision
tonight?
Wendi?
-I mean, they all did
such a great job, right,
and I think weighing
the inventiveness
versus
the commercial sides, right,
´cause trying to decide
it´s an incredible invention,
but how commercially viable
is it, is tough.
-What about you, John?
-I think this year,
amazing products
that could have huge impact
and several of the products can
have a very significant impact,
and that was really difficult
for us.
-Lonnie,
the man of a hundred patents,
what do you say?
What was hard for you?
-I think they could all
be very successful,
and it really is up
to the inventors to persevere
and make sure they bring
their dreams to reality.
-Did you guys have to argue
a lot?
-A little.
-Yeah, a little bit.
-A little.
-That´s good.
That means it´s a good
competition, right?
Any arm wrestling?
No?
-No, it didn´t get to that.
[ Chuckles ]
-All right.
Let´s get to the moment
our students have been
waiting for since September.
Finalists, you can come
join us onstage, please.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Our envelopes this year...
[ Cheers and applause continue ]
You have a lot of fans.
Our envelopes this year
are being presented
by students
of Pickett´s Mill Elementary,
who finished at the top in this
year´s K-12 InVenture Challenge.
Congratulations.
All right.
So, are we ready?
Is everybody ready?
May I have the People´s Choice
envelope, please?
Is that you?
Thank you.
[ Velcro rips ]
Velcro -- patented in 1955.
Okay.
The winner of the 2016
Georgia Tech InVenture Prize
People´s Choice Award
and a check for $5,000 is...
Team TruePani.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Congratulations, Team TruePani.
And now -- Thank you.
And now, it´s time to announce
our second place winner.
The recipient of this award
will not only get assistance
in securing a patent,
but will also take home $10,000
to help take their invention
to the next level.
And the runner up
for the 2016 Georgia Tech
InVenture Prize is...
Team Wobble!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Congratulations.
Congratulations.
Okay.
And now, the moment we have
all been waiting for.
I love getting to say this.
The envelope, please.
Thank you.
Can you hold this for me?
Thank you.
The winner of the 2016
Georgia Tech InVenture Prize
is...
FireHUD.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Congratulations, you guys.
-Thank you.
-Okay, so tell me.
Who would you like to thank
the most?
Who do you want to thank?
-Definitely our mentor,
for inspiring us to keep going
with our project.
-And whom would you like
to thank the most?
-I´d probably like
to thank my family first.
You guys have been
really supportive
throughout the whole thing.
And then our friends we´ve been
practicing pitching in front of.
They´ve been really helpful
the whole time, so yeah.
-Congratulations, you guys.
That wraps it up
for the 2016 Georgia Tech
InVenture Prize.
Congratulations
to Team TruePani,
Team Wobble, and Team FireHUD
as well as all
of tonight´s finalists.
Thank you Bahareh, our judges,
our sponsors,
and the wonderful people
at Georgia Tech
who put this competition
together every year
and, of course,
thanks to everyone who watched
and voted at home.
I´m Faith Salie,
and that´s our show.
Don´t forget
the ACC InVenture Prize
is exactly three weeks away --
Wednesday, April 6th
at 8:00 P.M.
right here on GPB.
All 15 ACC schools will compete.
You don´t want to miss it.
And remember, necessity may be
the mother of invention,
but Georgia Tech is your daddy.
Good night.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♫♫
♫♫
♫♫
-At Georgia Tech, we know the
road to innovation isn´t easy.
We know that finding
the next solution,
the next cure, the next answer
takes persistence,
hard work,
tenacity,
and a little help
from your friends.
♫♫
[ Film reel clicking ]
♫♫
