Solar grills and rock ‘n roll riffs: Big Ideas flow into Cincinnati Innovates contest
Nearly 50 Cincinnati area innovators have jumped to the challenge of creating Cincinnati’s next big product. Something they believe could join the ranks of Ivory Soap, Pringles, Swiffer or Benadryl as a household product with nationwide recognition. The ideas, which include consumer products, green technologies and media services and products have been entered in the first-ever Cincinnati Innovates competition, sponsored by area investors, which kicked off May 1st. If you have a great idea you still have until Sept. 1 to enter. “So far, we've seen a lot of web, consumer products, and media entries, but we've also had a handful of entries that touch on anything from a green source of electricity, to a new electronic display technology that could replace LCD, to surgical room automation software. Green technologies have already made a good showing and I think we'll see even more over the summer. Also, with UC's research hospital, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and Ethicon Endo Surgery here in town, we're expecting to see a lot more entries in the medical field,” said Elizabeth Edwards, venture capital investor at Neyer Holdings, a contest sponsor. The competition, open to a15-county area of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana, has a broad reach and can include innovative products, devices, business processes and more. Area investors sponsoring the contest including Neyer, CincyTech, HYPE Cincinnati, BIOSTART, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Kentucky ezone. Soapbox is also contributing by featuring the most popular video entry each week throughout the contest. There are no age restrictions to entering. Winners of a total of eight prizes – including a community choice award picked by online voters – will be announced Sept. 18 at the Contemporary Arts Center downtown. Entries will be judged by investors and other industry experts from a wide variety of backgrounds. Here’s a sample of some of the entered innovations: Heritage Garden:Clear plastic molds from busts of historic Americans that clamp over eggplants or squashes so the vegetables look like the individual. Rock -n- Roll Riffs:Flash based application that allows novice guitar and bass players to learn how to play riffs. Electrofluidic Displays: Electrofluidic e-books allow for the first time electronic switching of pigments with the same brilliance as printed media. BabysitEase:Babysitter placement service: Unique childcare offering that provides flexible, part-time childcare by matching families & babysitters in the area. SolarGrill:The SolarGrill is a solar-powered BBQ grill that can grill foods just as well as a conventional charcoal or gas grill. Electricity from a Bacterial Reactor:A microbial fuel cell reactor with proprietary bacteria that create electricity and hydrogen gas from sewage. “I feel great about the quality of the entries so far. They're all over the board, but that's the nature of innovation: it's unexpected. My hope is that entrants will continue to add more media to their entries over the summer - video and other visuals are absolutely essential to explaining new innovations,” Edwards said. To enter the contest, go to: www.cincinnatiinnovates.com. There you’ll enter a short description of your idea and upload pictures, video, or sketches to help explain and showcase it. The following awards are up for grabs: CincyTech Commercialization Awards: $20,000, $10,000 and $5,000 Taft Patent Awards: $10,000, $2,500 and $1,000* Community Choice Award: $2,000 Student Innovator Award: $1,000 Writer: Feoshia HendersonSources: Cincinnati Innovates, Elizabeth Edwards, Neyer Holdings
