SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Since time immemorial, humans have never ceased inventing. Today, it is no different. Silicon Valley’s second annual International Invention Festival was held in Santa Clara, California June 24-26.
It kicked off with an opening ceremony at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
This year, about 20 judges assessed over 170 inventions.
Stephen Key, an author and entrepreneur, was one of the judges.
“If you are an inventor, and you have this idea and you pull it out of your head, and the next thing you know, you make it, and you get to see it, you get to touch it. And then if it comes to market, people get to use it. That’s a wonderful feeling for inventors,” said Key.
Patricia Nolan-Brown, also a judge, came up with a rear-facing car seat mirror for infants.
“I seem to find little problems and I can’t stop doing it. I think it’s in my blood,” said Nolan-Brown.
The judges are looking for three things: if the invention has a patent, how close it is to being commercialized, and whether or not it is marketable.
People who don’t have the resources to start their own business can consider renting the idea.
“What I’m trying to teach everybody: there is another method, it’s called licensing,” said Key. “You come up with a great idea, you show it to a company that’s already in business, so they can take that idea to market for you.”
“You can have a great idea, but if you cannot get it commercialized, it’s not a good idea,” said Nolan-Brown.
Participating companies came from around the world to share their latest inventions. Most focused on improving one’s lifestyle.
Ideas ranged from beauty care to transportation conveniences. One company created a solar-powered bus stop to purify air while passengers wait for their ride.
“We actually recycle the air. So the clean air that we actually bring in, we bring it back into our system. And then we just continue to use it,” Jimmy Tong, Co-Founder of CAPS II with Sino Group.
Other ideas are a little out of this world. One inventor has been researching cosmic waves from space to cure certain illnesses.
“Your neurons will get stimulated to repair themselves,” Saeid Saatchi, CEO of ZERT, LLC.
Regardless of the method, these inventors share a common wish to create.
