Oregon’s only statewide invention competition — announced 22 finalist teams that will represent their schools at the final competition. Each team will receive a $2,000 grant that they will spend over the next few weeks to refine their prototypes for the final event on June 28 at Portland State University.
After a weekend of honing their pitches and learning about everything from filing a patent to building a team, semifinal teams made their pitches to a panel of judges and the 22 finalist teams were selected based on their scores.
The finalists teams and inventions include:
Thermochargers, a charging system that uses body heat, from Clackamas Community College
Solar Water, a solar powered water filtration system, from Clackamas Community College
Dream, a backpack with a heating unit for cooking food and warming tents, from Eastern Oregon University
Access to Microfluidics, an education kit for teaching students about microfluids, from George Fox University
Hindsight, a rearview mirror for people with disabilities, from George Fox University
Klamath Agricultural Solutions, a radio-frequency identification powered system for tracking livestock, from Klamath Community College
Z-Tracker, a safety system for tracking firefighters in burning buildings, from Lewis & Clark College
Gridiron Glove, a glove to make it safe for non-athletes to catch high-velocity footballs, from Linfield College
SHIFT, an artificial intelligence-powered technology for detecting cancer, from Oregon Health and Science University
Medivac, a technology for storing, cooling, and transporting insulin, from Oregon State University
The Reclaimers, a system for turning waste plastic into crude oil, from Oregon Institute of Technology
SODACC, a carbon capture technology for use in greenhouse systems, from Oregon Institute of Technology
Vend Renter, a vending machine for sports equipment and other outdoor gear, from Portland Community College
Lite Devices, a sensor technology for early detection of forest fires, from Portland State University
Turner Automotive, a converter kit to turn regular cars into hydrogen-powered vehicles, from Portland State University
Pet Prosthetics, a system for making inexpensive prosthetics for pets using 3-D printing, from Rogue Community College
Stars, a self-tying shoe designed for use by the elderly or disabled, from Southwest Oregon Community College
Squishy Time, a specialized insert for mountain bike tires, from University of Oregon
Night Guard, a system for detecting large animals or humans at a campsite, from University of Portland
TrailHungry, a multipurpose tool for campers, from University of Portland
Euphoria, an upcycled backpack with solar panels, from Warner Pacific University
Team Wolf, a biometric batting glove, from Western Oregon University
InventOR’s semifinal round, a three-day invention boot camp called Lab2Market, took place May 17 – 19 at the Portland State Business Accelerator at Portland State University and culminated with 29 teams pitching for a chance to advance to the final, which will be held June 28 at Portland State’s Viking Pavilion. Teams representing each of the 17 participating schools were selected, along with five wild card teams. The InventOR winner will receive a total of $25,000 in prizes.
InventOR, a program run by the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship, has grown from just a handful of schools participating in 2017 to a truly statewide event. It is made possible with the help of sponsors including Lemelson Foundation, Business Oregon, Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Lottery, JAMA Software, Stoel Rives, and Wells Fargo.