Inventor Prize
What was the Inventor Prize?
Funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the £50k Inventor Prize was launched as part of the government’s industrial strategy with the aim of supporting local innovation, business creation, and improving access to finance and management skills.
Why did we do this?
The prize supported individuals, teams and companies with ideas for products that would help improve people’s daily lives and to access resources and support. The Inventor Prize sought to:
- Support the development of selected products
- Build the capacity of prize participants (inventors)
- Champion and raise the profile of the lone or small-scale inventor
What happened?
The Inventor Prize was athematic, open to products that relate to any issue as long as that product helps to make people’s lives better. To be eligible, entrants had to have a working model and be able to show their invention would help to tackle an important social challenge.
- Over 180 applications
- 10 finalists all received a £5,000 grant towards their prototype development, business planning and user testing. They were also given non-financial support by Barclays Eagle Labs
- The winner was awarded £50,000 for business and product support
- Two runner-up prizes of £5,000 and £15,000 were also given for other promising products
Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know about future challenges
The Challenge was funded and delivered in partnership with
Impact of the Prize
- All finalists thought the experience of participating in the Inventor Prize was either good or very good
- Over 80% were able to secure additional funding, partnerships, clients and/or attract new investments for their solutions through the prize process
- 88% of finalists felt they were either ready or almost ready to go to market in less than 12 months
- All finalists were very likely to continue working on their solution, regardless on winning the prize money
- All finalists noted that the prize offered them credibility as an individual/team, but also validation of their solution
- Over 60% of finalists agreed/strongly agreed that they had improved their capabilities through the prize. This includes motivation, public profile, prototype development, business planning, marketing and communications, user-testing and impact and partnerships
The winners
Gameball Platform
The winner, Gameball Platform, by Guillem Singla Buxarrais of Neurofenix Limited is a gamification of stroke rehabilitation with the invention of an easy-to-use hand-controller or Gameball. It allows users to play entertaining games, either solely or against other users, in the comfort of their own homes, with all games developed around motor learning research.
NuCath
NuCath by Nawar Al-Zebari of Urologic Ltd is a new catheter that uses smart technology and a simple design, cheaper and allows for better drainage. Aimed at lowering the 500,000 urinary tract infections contracted per year in the UK, and their estimated £2.7 billion cost to the NHS annually. They won a £15k Recognition Award.
Canute
Canute by Ed Rogers and Bristol Braille is a technology which loads text files by SD card or USB, whereupon it acts as a stand-alone ebook reader, much like a Kindle. Canute has been designed in close co-operation with a community of Braille users by microbusiness Bristol Braille. They won a £5k Recognition Award.
The Inventor Prize aimed to support local innovation, business creation, and improve access to finance and management skills
The finalists
-
Aergo – Responsive Postural Support
Aergo by Hsin-Hua Yu (Sheana) is the world’s first responsive postural support seating for young wheelchair users.
This product uses pressure sensitive inflatable supports to reinforce posture, reacting dynamically to how users are positioned, which allows for hands-off support throughout the day, radically increasing independence.
-
Ambionic Arm
Ambionic Arm by Ben Ryan of Ambionics is a 3D printable, body-powered hydraulic arm suitable to train children under 3 years of age so that they can accept more complex prosthetics later on and avoid becoming one of the 60% who reject prosthetics altogether.
-
New Medical device
New Medical device by Dr Tsong Kwong of GWMV Ltd is an alternative approach in the field of medicine to benefit practitioners and healthcare systems.
-
Smart Carbon Monoxide Detector
Smart Carbon Monoxide Detector, by Billy Mitchell and Scott Wallace of Smart Compliance uses mobile phone technology to self-test (weekly) and report (per individual postal address) to a web portal ensuring that landlords comply with their legal obligations.
-
Smart Gum Shield
Smart Gum Shield by Rob Paterson of ORB Innovations is a smart gum shield that monitors head movement of individual athletes, rugby and hockey players.
It alerts the coach of potential head injuries and prompts sport-specific protocol. The inventor suffered a misdiagnosed head injury after playing rugby at school.
-
Spacelink
Spacelink, Mark Singleton of Startlink Systems Ltd is a truss system that allows fibreglass to be joined together as a usable building material to outperform steel both in terms of weight and environmental impact.
-
The Unity Door Handle
The Unity Door Handle, by Connor Peter Musoke-Jones is an inclusive door handle that has been developed with sufferers of various hand and arm disabilities to be as intuitive as it is beautiful.
Who were the Challenge Judges?
- Alex Papanikolaou, founder of Freedom One Life
- Ana Avaliani, Head of the Enterprise Hub at the Royal Academy of Engineering
- Claire Mitchell, founder and inventor of Chillipeeps
- David Wardell, director of the Institute of Patentees and Inventors
- Dr Ian Brotherston, Head of Government Engagement at Innovate UK
- Sarah Drinkwater, director of Tech and Society Solutions Lab at Omidyar Network
- Tom Tobia, founder of Makerversity
- Tris Dyson, Managing Director of Challenge Works
ABOUT THE PRIZE
Over 80% of finalists
were able to secure additional funding, partnerships, clients and/or attract new investments for their solutions through the prize process
88% of finalists
felt they were either ready or almost ready to go to market in less than 12 months from the close of the prize
All finalists
were very likely to continue working on their solution, regardless of winning the prize money and noted that the prize offered them credibility as an individual/team
