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Rhino's RAPID Response...

Rhino's RAPID Response...

A British invention, the Real-Time Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device (RAPID), hopes to help halt the dreadful predation of rhinoceroses by poachers. To satisfy the deluded belief that there is some magical medicinal power to be found in rhino horn (made of keratin, like my fingernails) it is estimated that an African rhino is killed every six hours. At current rates they will be extinct by 2035. Madness! Rhino horn is literally worth its weight in gold – hence the high inci

It’s a Tricorder Jim, but not as we know it..!

It’s a Tricorder Jim, but not as we know it..!

A spin-off company from Tel Aviv University, Unispectral Technologies, promises to unveil their prototype ‘Tricorder’ this month. They claim to have developed very powerful optical lens and image processing software that can transform a smartphone into a hyperspectral sensor. The system works by vastly improving the resolution, not only to give better images but also allowing the camera to break down the chemical composition of objects – from a distance! As well as the head

Call for Nominations...

Call for Nominations...

The British Female Inventor and Innovator the Year (BFIIN) is now in its 13th year. Entry is now open and nominations are sought. Closing date for entries is 1st July. These prestigious awards will be presented at a glitzy ceremony in London on 14th October 2015. This is an open competition bringing together and putting the spotlight on incredible top inventive and innovative women from across Britain. The emphasis is on exceptionally creative items, inventions and innovat

Genius Inventor Receives Posthumous Honour

Genius Inventor Receives Posthumous Honour

Alan Dower Blumlein was one of the great inventors you may well have never heard of. His inventive genius was compared to that of both Edison and Faraday and in his tragically short career he amassed 128 patents. These included the first stereophonic recordings, microphones, television and radar. His expertise as an electronics engineer was un-paralleled and, to honour his many achievements, a commemorative 'Milestone Plaque' is to be unveiled in his honour. On April 1st,

WHO endorses invention

WHO endorses invention

Over the years I’ve met many inventors who have proudly shown me their safety inventions and then uttered the dread words: “All we have to do is get the law changed!” It is the earnest belief of such inventors that their invention is so important that it must become compulsory for all others to use it. I’m not suggesting for one moment that there is also the scent of commercial advantage in the air – heaven forfend – but legislation, as a route to market, is a long and exce

How we got to now (and re-visit what we missed!)

How we got to now (and re-visit what we missed!)

If you, like me, are fascinated by the stories of inventors and their wonderful inventions then you're in for a treat on BBC2 (and BBC iPlayer) at present. 'How We Got to Now' is airing on BBC2, Saturday evenings, 7.35pm. Conceived and presented by innovation expert and best-selling author, Steven Johnson, this series of six programmes explores and explains how inventions have shaped and changed our world - sometimes in the most unexpected of ways. Johnson is an amiable and

Innovation is the New Status Quo

My hat’s off to the European Patent Office for managing to do ‘cool’! Who would have thought that a fusty old Patent Office had it in them? - "Where do we stand today when "change is the new status quo”? One of today's most appreciated and Emmy-nominated futurists, Jason Silva, shares his view on innovation and change" says the EPO blurb about this film. This piece particularly resonated with me as twenty years ago I wrote my first editorial for Inventor’s World Magazine. I

QEPrize delivers just the right medicine

QEPrize delivers just the right medicine

“One of the reasons that the QEPrize was founded was to make clear the contribution of engineering to everybody’s lives… He[Dr Robert Langer], as an engineer, developed an engineering solution to a medical problem.” So says Professor Brian Cox who was one of the judges for the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Chemical Engineer, Dr Robert Langer, of MIT, USA, has changed the lives of millions by inventing methods of drug delivery on a molecular scale. His pioneering wo

That's the way to Braigo!

That's the way to Braigo!

A thirteen year old California schoolboy has invented a low cost braille printer using components sourced from his toybox. Shubham Banerjee learned that current braille printers were not only cumbersome – weighing in at a hefty 9kg – but also cost some £1,300. Armed with this knowledge he adopted the classic inventor’s mindset – “There’s got to be a better way to do that!” As part of a school science project he set about designing a low cost solution and utilised his 'Lego

Last call for entrants to the Gadget Show British Inventors' Project

Last call for entrants to the Gadget Show British Inventors' Project

Are you the next Dyson? Do you have the next invention to set the world on fire? The Gadget Show Live, now in its 7th year, is seeking entries for the British Inventors’ Project. The brief reads as follows: “We are looking for 20 of the very best inventions and innovations to be included in the specially created Gadget Show Live British Inventors’ at the 2015 show. So, if you design devices that are set to shape our future or have innovative technological solutions to som

Inventing for Santa!

Inventing for Santa!

In all fields of human endeavour and interest there are patents to reflect inventive thinking – Christmas is no exception! There are thousands to choose from – Christmas trees attract a lot of interest with inventions that include: holders; watering devices; revolvers; suspenders; etc. With ‘Health & Safety’ in mind, there are also lots of fire safety devices with extinguishers either being concealed in baubles or by nozzles strategically placed under/within the tree. One of

The impossible we can do at once...

The impossible we can do at once...

But miracles take a little longer! So goes the oft-seen harassed office workers notice. Perhaps this is a good description of the Longitude Prize 2014. The challenge: to create a cheap, accurate, rapid and easy-to-use point of care test kit for bacterial infections. No small ask, but let me crystallise your thought processes, there’s a TEN MILLION POUND prize at stake! Why the Longitude Prize? Well, the name echoes the original £20,000 (in its day - 1714 – a fortune) ch

Did you have that Wall-E moment too?

Did you have that Wall-E moment too?

I don’t usually like to anthropomorphise but I couldn’t help but be moved by this image of a lone, washing machine sized robot, floating in space some 350 million miles away from earth. OK, I know it’s not Wall-E, trundling around cleaning up a dystopian earth, but Philae has literally been bouncing around a comet. Wow! With all the ups-and-downs of the last few days I can’t help but find myself rooting for the little guy. Will his batteries fail? Will he be able to dril

Inflatable Incubator wins the James Dyson Award

Inflatable Incubator wins the James Dyson Award

James Roberts, a design and technology graduate, has scooped the coveted 2014 James Dyson Award for his incubator 'MOM'. The winning design provides a collapsible incubator unit for use in troubled areas of our world. Incubators with similar capabilities cost some £30,000 - James's unit can be manufactured and shipped for £250! James Dyson (who was the ultimate judge) said: "James' invention shows the impact design engineering can have on people's lives. The western world t

Inventing for the disabled? Your chance to win support - with a top prize of £50,000!

Inventing for the disabled? Your chance to win support - with a top prize of £50,000!

It’s not often that I can recommend an initiative from Nesta – the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. I was one of the first trustees of Nesta and it breaks my heart to see how far away from its original aims and objectives it has moved, but that’s another story. In this case, the newly announced Inclusive Technology Prize can’t be sniffed at. Inventing for the disabled poses many challenges. Not least of which is the problem of seeing any sort of com

James Dyson Award - Finalists Announced...

James Dyson Award - Finalists Announced...

With only a few weeks to go before the winners are announced, the James Dyson Foundation have released a list of the twenty finalists who will go forward to be judged by Sir James himself. The finalists are an eclectic mix of talented design students from around the world who have produced some really interesting and useful work. Their entries positively "fizz" with ingenuity and inventiveness. Finalists include: MOM, a portable incubator system for refugee camps; Bruise -

Wake up and smell the cellulite! - David Wardell

Wake up and smell the cellulite! - David Wardell

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Advertising Standards Authority who were rubbishing the anti-radiation protective claims of Wireless Armour and their underpants - (It's Pants says advertising watchdog - August 15th) - claims so persuasive that even Sir Richard Branson was taken in. Step forward our friends 'across the pond' - the Federal Trade Commission - who have fined two companies for making ludicrous claims about their so-called fat-busting underwear. “The FTC’s compl

Is it the Nobel thing to do? - David Wardell

Is it the Nobel thing to do? - David Wardell

Three cheers and congratulations to the inventors of the Blue LED light. Isamu Akasaki (Japan), Hiroshi Amano (USA) and Shuji Nakamura (Japan) have won the coveted prize for physics. Developed in the 1990's, the invention of the Blue LED was absolutely crucial because it is the essential missing-link, between existing Red and Green LED's, to enable low cost and efficient White light. However, this award is not without controversy. Seeing red (if you'll excuse the pun) is P

The Institute of Patentees & Inventors Ventures North! - David Wardell

The Institute of Patentees & Inventors Ventures North! - David Wardell

The Institute of Patentees & Inventors (of which I am a Director) is the UK's oldest inventor organisation - our centenary is only a few years away - and is set to achieve a long held goal. For many years, members have bemoaned the fact that IPI is a bit London-centric. Most of our meetings, and indeed our annual 'bash', are held in the capital. This is all set to change with the opening of a new office in Salford (Nr. Manchester). This new branch of the IPI will ceremonial

StarStream 'Cleans Up' at the Awards! - David Wardell

StarStream 'Cleans Up' at the Awards! - David Wardell

Boffins from the University of Southampton (my home city - yay!) have won yet another prestigious award for their invention 'StarStream' - a portable cleaning system that, by using ultrasound and micro-bubble 'smart scrubbers', negates the use of harmful detergents and is effective with just cold water. This latest prestigious award, the S-Lab 'Best New Product of 2014', makes for a hat-trick, having previously won the Brian Mercer Award for Innovation in 2011, and the 2012

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Unless otherwise stated, all blog posts are my fault! David Wardell