0:00:16 > 0:00:20Hi, and welcome to My Genius Idea, the series looking for the biggest,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23best and brightest ideas from all of you.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30In My Genius Idea, we're looking for the next generation of inventors.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33We received ideas from all over the UK.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Your genius ideas ranged from how to look after your pets,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39robots to help around the home,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42through to flying cars and eco-powered planes.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Only 18 ideas made it to the heats.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49And they'll now go head-to-head to see who'll be crowned
0:00:49 > 0:00:51the overall winner.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Our budding inventors will work with experts
0:00:55 > 0:00:57to help their inventions come to life,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00and they'll go to of some of the UK's most successful organisations
0:01:00 > 0:01:04to give them the inspiration to progress their inventions further.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06It's not easy to inspire what I did.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11Deciding if they can progress in the competition will be down to expert
0:01:11 > 0:01:15inventor and judge, Tom Lawton.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Tom has always had a passion for inventing.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21I love it. There are so many ideas all around us.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Under everybody's nose there's a solution that needs to be solved
0:01:24 > 0:01:26or a problem that hasn't been addressed.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Tom started inventing when he was ten,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and by the time he was 21, he developed his first product,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35the world's first recordable alarm clock.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39You always have ideas, and being an inventor's about actually
0:01:39 > 0:01:42seeing those ideas through into something that's real.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45He's gone on to build a successful career as an inventor,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47winning international awards for his work.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50It's great doing a programme about young inventors,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54because young inventors have a very fresh perception of the world,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57and so I hope to be inspired by some of these young minds.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Hoping to impress Tom with their ideas today are Ben,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Jordan,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05and Emily.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12And here they are now. Welcome to the My Genius Idea Nerve Centre.
0:02:12 > 0:02:13How are you all feeling? Nervous?
0:02:13 > 0:02:15- Kind of.- Kind of.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Ben, I'm going to come to you first. What's the genius idea?
0:02:18 > 0:02:21To put magnetic repulsion in the bumpers of cars and hopefully,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24when they go to crash, it'll stop them crashing.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Sports-mad Ben is on the ball.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32He wants to make the road safer by fitting magnets to cars
0:02:32 > 0:02:34to stop them crashing into each other.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36How's that for a genius idea?
0:02:36 > 0:02:41I like cars and stuff, and it was just one of the subjects I like,
0:02:41 > 0:02:42so that's how I came up with it.
0:02:42 > 0:02:49I think my idea's special cos it can save a lot of people's lives,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53and it's not just helping someone to do chores or something.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57So, Ben, do you think you've come up with the solution to car crashes?
0:02:57 > 0:02:58No more car crashes, ever?
0:02:58 > 0:03:00- Yeah.- I like it.- Hopefully.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Jordan, you next. Got competition in the hair stakes today.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Tell me about your idea.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09My invention is an energy-saving road light.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Coach-crazy Jordan's idea is for eco-friendly street lights
0:03:13 > 0:03:15that would automatically switch on and off
0:03:15 > 0:03:18as cars and buses drive by them.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23I think my idea's special because it'll help out the environment,
0:03:23 > 0:03:28and it won't waste so much electricity as normal lampposts do.
0:03:28 > 0:03:29So you want to go green?
0:03:29 > 0:03:31- Yeah.- Brilliant. I like it.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Emily, what's the genius idea?
0:03:33 > 0:03:37My idea stops whales and dolphins swimming into dangerous waters.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41So animal-loving Emily's idea is a device that will play the distress
0:03:41 > 0:03:45call of a whale or dolphin to stop them swimming into dangerous waters.
0:03:45 > 0:03:51I saw news reports on TV about the whales who swam into the oil slicks
0:03:51 > 0:03:54and these ones in the River Thames,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58and I thought that it needed to stop and we needed to help them.
0:03:58 > 0:04:04In the My Genius Idea HQ, Ben, Jordan and Emily will each have
0:04:04 > 0:04:07one hour to develop their idea with a top expert.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Ben's working on his idea
0:04:09 > 0:04:12of magnetic car bumpers with Melanie Windridge.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14What do you want to find out about today?
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Well, hopefully learn a bit more about magnetics.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21OK. Great. Well, today we've got some experiments that we're going to do
0:04:21 > 0:04:25so we can learn a little bit about the forces between the magnets,
0:04:25 > 0:04:26the polarity that we need,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29maybe where you need to position them on the cars,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32and we'll also have a look at electromagnetism.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Do you know much about the polarity of magnets?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37- Look, this side, they're sticking, aren't they?- Yeah.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39What if we turn them round the other way?
0:04:41 > 0:04:43So which way round do we want them?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- That way, so they don't.- We want them so they're repelling.- Yeah.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49So with Ben knowing which way round the magnets should be,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51he gets stuck into his next challenge,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54working out where they need to be fitted on a car.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Meanwhile, could Jordan also be on the road to success
0:04:57 > 0:05:01with his idea for energy saving road lights with David Gent,
0:05:01 > 0:05:02a civil engineer?
0:05:02 > 0:05:04OK. So do you want to tell me how this works?
0:05:04 > 0:05:06As the vehicle goes past the sensor,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08it'll turn on these lights,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11and there'll be another sensor up the road,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14and it'll turn the next set of lights on,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- and turn these off. - OK. That's a really good idea.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19There's technology that we use already
0:05:19 > 0:05:21for controlling things like traffic lights.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Sometimes we have a sensor attached to the light,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26which we could attach to the street light.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30We could have things like a pressure pad here which turns the lights on.
0:05:30 > 0:05:31And then another one here
0:05:31 > 0:05:34which then turns these off and turns on the next set.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Another thing we could use is GPS. Do you know about GPS?
0:05:38 > 0:05:41OK. So we have that in phones and things.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46So if we have a satellite up in space telling the lights where the car is,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49we can make sure there's lights on when a car goes past.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53There are three possible ways to make Jordan's idea light up,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55but which one will he choose?
0:05:55 > 0:05:59And Emily's already hard at work explaining her idea
0:05:59 > 0:06:01to marine biologist Jonathan Gordon.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04My idea is a sonar device that
0:06:04 > 0:06:07could help save the lives of dolphins and whales.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Right. So keeping them out of places where there might be danger,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13is that the idea? I think that's a really good idea,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and there's a lot of really practical applications for that at the moment.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Yes, what we could do is just listen to some sounds.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23We'll start with some of the sounds of the activities
0:06:23 > 0:06:25which we think might be harmful to these animals
0:06:25 > 0:06:28that your device could help to protect them from.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30And one of those is pile drivers.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33We're talking about big steel piles which are hammered into the ground
0:06:33 > 0:06:35for things like wind turbines,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38and this is what one of those sounds like when it's being hammered.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40BANGING
0:06:40 > 0:06:44And those bangs go on for an hour or two, and they're so loud
0:06:44 > 0:06:47that they could actually damage the hearing of animals.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49So there are these places,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51if we could just keep them away for a short period of time,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54then it would be really practically useful.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58So, a good start for Emily. Straight away, she's found out
0:06:58 > 0:07:00that there's a real need for her invention.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03All our inventors have made a great start.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07However, Ben's idea to put magnets on car bumpers
0:07:07 > 0:07:09has hit a potential problem.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13What if there were other metal things on the road, like, I don't know,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17bicycles or watering cans or, I don't know, something on the road,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20and your car's driving past, what's going to happen?
0:07:20 > 0:07:24- It's going to gather it all up. - It's picking it all up, isn't it?
0:07:24 > 0:07:26So what could we do about this?
0:07:26 > 0:07:30You could have a sensor turning it on or off.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32So do you know of any magnets that we can turn on and off?
0:07:32 > 0:07:36- Electric magnets?- Electromagnets. OK. So you've heard of them?- Yeah.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38If you have a coil of wire like this,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40and you put electricity through the coil of wire,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44you actually get a magnetic field right through the middle,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47so you can make magnetism by using electricity.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Jordan is now testing out one of the three ways
0:07:51 > 0:07:54he could get his energy saving lights to work.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58His first option is using pressure pads in the road.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01OK. So the car comes down the road, hits the first sensor.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03And turns a street light on.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07And then as it continues down the road, hits the second sensor
0:08:07 > 0:08:11and turns the light off, and will turn the next series of lights on.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Is there any alternative ways we could think about doing this?
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Yeah. The alternative is we could put a sensor on the lamppost
0:08:18 > 0:08:21instead of pressure pads,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25because they can get worn out easy because of trucks and buses
0:08:25 > 0:08:27and lots of cars going by every day.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30So if you use sensors on top of lampposts,
0:08:30 > 0:08:35it will be cheaper and they wouldn't get vandalised and worn out.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37That's a really good idea.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Emily's idea for an underwater warning device
0:08:41 > 0:08:44to keep sea mammals away from danger is taking shape.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48She's now getting to grips with the best types of sounds to use.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Originally, her idea was to play sea mammal distress calls.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Distress calls might not be the best call,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59because animals may come to try and help, or they may be curious.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Would it work if it was like a predator?
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- That's a great idea.- So you have a predator-like sound.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08One of the biggest predators for marine mammals are killer whales,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11so that would be a very good noise to start with.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Some of them eat fish and some of them eat marine mammals,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16and they make quite different calls.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19So this is the fish-eating whale.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22WHALE CALL
0:09:25 > 0:09:28And this is what the seal-eating ones sound like.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32LOUDER WHALE CALL
0:09:32 > 0:09:35They're quite different. To me, the second ones sound more frightening.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Yeah. More high-pitched.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39And that would frighten me, too.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41With only 20 minutes left,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43I'm off to see how they're getting on.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46First up, Ben and his unique road safety idea.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48- How's it going?- All right.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Are there any problems that we've found out?
0:09:50 > 0:09:54- They'll pick up stuff if it's a permanent magnet.- Of course.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56So we'd get knives and forks flying out of windows,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00and stuff being attached to the car which you don't want at all, do you?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02So Ben still needs a way of controlling the magnets
0:10:02 > 0:10:05if he's any chance of staying in the competition.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08What problems, if any, has Jordan identified?
0:10:08 > 0:10:10These are pressure pads,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13but we can't use them cos they'll get worn out too easily.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15So what are you going to use instead?
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Sensors by the side of the road.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Brilliant. Dave, can this work?
0:10:19 > 0:10:20Yeah. It can certainly work.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23We've got technology like this in other applications,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27and it's just taking that technology and applying it to this idea.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29How does that sound, Jordan,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32to hear somebody who knows tell you that your idea might actually
0:10:32 > 0:10:35- be able to be made into a reality? - It feels good.- Wicked.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39And what has Emily discovered that could help with her invention?
0:10:39 > 0:10:42You're working with some hi-tech ideas here.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45You know, have you brought it further along?
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Well, we realised that the cry of distress probably wouldn't work,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52so we'd have to do something like the predator's noise,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55so they think there's a predator, but there's actually not.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57If they think they're going to get eaten,
0:10:57 > 0:10:59they're definitely not going in that area.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I think what's very clever about Emily's idea
0:11:01 > 0:11:04is it's going to be a sound that animals already know about.
0:11:04 > 0:11:05It means something to them.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10- Yeah.- So whether it was a distress call or a predator call,
0:11:10 > 0:11:12it's something that they're going to respond to.
0:11:12 > 0:11:18So, what does expert inventor and judge Tom make of the ideas so far?
0:11:20 > 0:11:23There's some great original thinking, which is brilliant,
0:11:23 > 0:11:24and a diverse set of ideas.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26I do wonder about the practicality of some of them,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and obviously they're going to have to learn a lot from the experts
0:11:29 > 0:11:33to work through whether these have got application in the real world.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37One of the most ambitious inventions is Ben's idea.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Yeah. And of course, it's an obvious problem.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43Anything we can do to improve road safety has to be worked towards,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46so I'm going to have a look and have a chat to them,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48and see how feasible it really is.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Tom will be judging all their ideas later on.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54He'll want to know how well Ben, Jordan and Emily
0:11:54 > 0:11:57have understood the technology behind their ideas,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59and how well they can sell them to him.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Only one of today's inventors can win a place in the semi-finals.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04..a hydrophone.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06What are these devices here?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08This looks like an interesting experiment going on.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10I'm intrigued to know what your idea is.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12I look forward to learning later. Thanks.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14The guys are hard at work behind me
0:12:14 > 0:12:17trying to understand some of the science and technology
0:12:17 > 0:12:19it'll take to make their ideas happen,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21and the great thing about science and technology
0:12:21 > 0:12:25is that it's all around us in our everyday lives, even at play,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28so we sent this lot off to visit one of the UK's leading theme parks.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Building bigger and faster roller coasters
0:12:35 > 0:12:38needs cutting edge science and technology
0:12:38 > 0:12:39to keep the ride on the track
0:12:39 > 0:12:42and to keep the passengers safe at high speeds.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Keith Workman has just helped build one of the UK's newest rides.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51My job is to pull the whole team together in designing the ride,
0:12:51 > 0:12:56installing the ride, commissioning it, ready for the guest to go on.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59The children today, I hope they'll get from seeing the rides
0:12:59 > 0:13:03the collaboration between the creatives and the engineers
0:13:03 > 0:13:05delivers these sort of magical experiences,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08and the technology often makes that possible.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12Jordan, Emily and Ben are on a VIP visit to go behind the scenes
0:13:12 > 0:13:14to see how it all works.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16It's a good place to learn about science
0:13:16 > 0:13:19cos there's lots of things to learn about,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21about all the rides, and it's a really fun place too.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Today I really want to learn how roller coasters work,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28and experience what it's like on the roller coasters.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31It's all, like, motor stuff,
0:13:31 > 0:13:35and so I could learn a lot, and hopefully apply it to my invention.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42People always want to go faster, more G-forces, more speed,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45but the body can only take so much force,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47so we have to be careful how we design things.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52So, typical ride behind us here, there's about 4 to 4.5 G.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54ROLLER COASTER ZOOMS PAST
0:13:54 > 0:13:58So the way the coaster works, it's gone up the hill,
0:13:58 > 0:13:59there's no engine on the train itself,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01it's just driven to the top of the hill,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04and from the top of the hill, it will change that potential energy,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06which is the weight of the train,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09into kinetic energy, the energy it needs to drive it around the track.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13So the higher the hill is, or the heavier the train is,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16those two combinations will make it go faster and further,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19so if you've got a very high hill and a very heavy train,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22you can have a nice long track, lots of run, and it will keep going.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27When you look at the park, it looks, not science at all,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29but when you actually learn about it,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31you realise there's loads of science in it.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33The art of building roller coasters
0:14:33 > 0:14:37is done using computer software to simulate the ride.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38Let's have a look at the first one.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42So Jordan, Emily and Ben have been set a challenge,
0:14:42 > 0:14:46to fix a design fault using the information Keith's just given them.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51OK. Tell me what you think the problem is with that particular ride.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56Is it because it hasn't got enough power so it can't go up the ramp?
0:14:56 > 0:14:58It keeps coming down and back.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Good. We need enough energy from the lift hill
0:15:01 > 0:15:04to get us around the rest of the track,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08and as you rightly pointed out, the hill wasn't tall enough,
0:15:08 > 0:15:09didn't have enough energy,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12and therefore it couldn't get up the second hill.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Wouldn't be a very good ride. Wouldn't get many people,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17and they'd all be stuck waiting to get off.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22So their reward for getting it right, a ride on the real thing.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25It's a really exciting new ride, really popular,
0:15:25 > 0:15:2870 kilometres an hour, and it's really pushing technology
0:15:28 > 0:15:32in how we use the technology to give a great ride experience.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Whoa!
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Oh, my God!
0:15:43 > 0:15:46'I never really realised that there was so much fun behind science
0:15:46 > 0:15:48'and science behind fun.'
0:15:51 > 0:15:54My invention is to stop cars crashing,
0:15:54 > 0:15:59and this does help me progress that idea in my head.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05We're back in the My Genius Idea HQ, and with only ten minutes left,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Ben, Jordan and Emily
0:16:08 > 0:16:10will have to make the most of their remaining time.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Ben's idea hit a slight problem earlier on,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16but he's found a way round this by using an electromagnet.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19This is our electromagnet, and when I turn it on it should be magnetised.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24So do you want to hold this for me? Just hold it near to one of the ends.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27It's not magnetic at the moment, is it? It's not sticking.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Right. Try and hold it still.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Shall we see what happens if I turn it on?
0:16:32 > 0:16:36Can you see that? Can you pull it off now?
0:16:36 > 0:16:38- It's stuck, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Now if I turn it off. There we go.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44So hold it nearby again. Let's see if it can attract from there.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49OK. So when do you think you'd want to turn it on and off?
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Maybe you could turn it on when you've got up to a certain speed,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56or maybe once you've got up to a certain distance.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01- And it would stop you picking up stray objects along the road.- Yeah.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05In the earlier part of his session, Jordan decided against
0:17:05 > 0:17:08using pressure pads in the roads as they would wear out.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11He's now chosen to make his energy-saving street lights
0:17:11 > 0:17:12work with movement sensors,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and he's come up with an eco-friendly way to power them.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17We'll use solar panels.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22Will soak up all the energy and store it during the day,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26and when it's at night and the vehicle drives past the sensor,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30it'll turn on the lights, and when it gets to the second sensor,
0:17:30 > 0:17:35it'll turn the six before off, and it'll turn on the next six.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37So we only have lights on when we need them,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41and all the energy comes from the sun, so we're not paying for it.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Emily's progressed her idea too.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47She's found out it'll work with lots of sea mammals,
0:17:47 > 0:17:48not just dolphins and whales.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52It'll also need to play predator rather than distress calls
0:17:52 > 0:17:54to keep sea mammals away from danger.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56In the last part of the development session,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00she needs to find out a way to play the sounds.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03How do you get the sound in the device in the sea
0:18:03 > 0:18:05and keep it in the same place?
0:18:05 > 0:18:08What we need is something like an underwater speaker,
0:18:08 > 0:18:10in fact an underwater loudspeaker,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12and this is exactly one of those.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14It's waterproof, it can go into the sea,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16and it can be driven by an amplifier.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Well, the good thing is that sound
0:18:18 > 0:18:20transmits really well through the water,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23and that's why marine mammals use sound so much.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Marine mammals have very good hearing underwater,
0:18:26 > 0:18:30so we'd certainly expect them to be able to hear the right sort of sound
0:18:30 > 0:18:31at ranges of several miles,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34and that's quite far enough for this to be effective.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38With time up, Emily has established the sound she needs
0:18:38 > 0:18:41to keep sea mammals away from danger,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Ben has found out the correct magnets to use,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46and Jordan has decided to use sensor technology
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and solar power to make his lampposts work.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51But who will impress Tom most
0:18:51 > 0:18:54and win a place in the next stage of the competition?
0:18:57 > 0:19:01All three of our budding inventors now have to pitch to Tom.
0:19:01 > 0:19:02First up is Ben.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Tom is waiting for you in the presentation den,
0:19:05 > 0:19:06so off you go. Good luck.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Ben's idea is to use magnets in car bumpers to reduce accidents.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Will Tom send him through to the next round,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20or crashing out of the competition?
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Hi, Ben. I'm really looking forward to learning
0:19:22 > 0:19:25about your magnetic car bumpers. Can you explain the idea to me?
0:19:25 > 0:19:30We have an electric magnet ring around the car
0:19:30 > 0:19:32making a magnetic field
0:19:32 > 0:19:35that can be turned on and off with sensors,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37and manually when you're parking.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- OK.- So when it goes to crash,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43hopefully, the magnets will stop it crashing.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46What do you think might happen if cars were travelling
0:19:46 > 0:19:48at quite high speed?
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Would there be enough energy in the magnetic bumpers
0:19:51 > 0:19:53to stop them from crashing?
0:19:53 > 0:19:58Definitely, but they might stop it but then it might go back as well,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00and start going backwards.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05But depending on how the idea develops, when they go to crash,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07you could just use the magnets to literally stop it,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10and then you can turn them off immediately,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14and then have the brakes set automatically
0:20:14 > 0:20:17so they stop the car so they don't go backwards.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20So the magnetic bumpers are connected
0:20:20 > 0:20:23with the actual brake system, so it actually slows the car down.
0:20:23 > 0:20:29- Yeah.- So this idea would rely on everybody having the same technology.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31- Yeah.- Right. OK.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36- That's how... Just like air bags, so you have it in every car.- OK.
0:20:36 > 0:20:37You spent time with an expert.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Can you tell me what you learnt from your time with them?
0:20:40 > 0:20:44I learnt it'll be better to use electric magnets
0:20:44 > 0:20:46so you can turn it on and off,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49instead of having, like, permanent magnets,
0:20:49 > 0:20:54cos you might pick up bits of metal and stuff going down the road.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Well, I can see the problem you're trying to solve,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59and you've certainly thought about a lot of the areas
0:20:59 > 0:21:03that you've got to deal with in terms of the technology,
0:21:03 > 0:21:04so thank you very much.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07I wasn't really that nervous.
0:21:07 > 0:21:08I feel it went great.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Emily's next to pitch, with her marine mammal protection system.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Will Tom be convinced
0:21:21 > 0:21:24that she should go through to the semi-finals?
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Hi, Emily. I'm really looking forward to learning about your idea.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33Can you explain the idea to me?
0:21:33 > 0:21:37It transmits a sound that a predator would make,
0:21:37 > 0:21:42by transmitting it to tell and persuade the marine mammals
0:21:42 > 0:21:44to turn around to safer waters.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46And it's anchored down to the ground,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49and it can be disguised as a pebble or shell or seaweed.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Where might you use this device, and why might you use it?
0:21:52 > 0:21:56You could use it in places like just off the American coast,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58where we've had the oil disaster.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02- OK. In order to discourage the marine life from going there?- Yeah.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- OK.- And avoid them getting tangled up in, like, fishing nets.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Has the idea improved in any way
0:22:07 > 0:22:09since you spent time with your expert?
0:22:09 > 0:22:12I learnt that a distress cry wouldn't work.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15You were originally going to use as the alarm sound,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18you were going to use a distress cry from those particular animals. OK.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20But after talking with Jonathan,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23we decided to go for the killer whale's normal call.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25And why the killer whale's normal call?
0:22:25 > 0:22:27That's their main predator,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- and they're never going to like a predator.- OK.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32- They're going to take a dislike to them.- OK.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36If you get a regular sound, just a really random one,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- they won't know what it means or anything.- Yeah.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41But if you get one that actually means something to them,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45- then they will respond to it. - Yes. I think that's really clever.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?
0:22:48 > 0:22:51- It was originally for dolphins and whales.- Yeah.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54But as dolphins and whales, there's two types of killer whales.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56There's t he fish-eating killer whale,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59- and there's the marine mammal killer whale.- Yeah. OK.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04So we decided that we could expand the choice to all marine mammals
0:23:04 > 0:23:09- instead of just for the dolphins and whales.- OK. OK.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13I think you've done a brilliant presentation. Thank you very much.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Thank you.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18With Emily's pitch over, it will be Jordan's turn next,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22but which one of our budding inventors will be going through
0:23:22 > 0:23:24to the all-important semi-finals?
0:23:25 > 0:23:29Remember, Tom's not looking for a completely finished idea today.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32He's looking for an idea that has the most potential.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35He'll be judging them on the technologies they've mastered,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38and how well they can sell their ideas.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41I'm really looking forward to learning about your lampposts.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42Could you explain the idea to me?
0:23:42 > 0:23:48As a car goes past a sensor, it will turn on six lights,
0:23:48 > 0:23:53and it will turn off the six road lights past.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58And on the top of the lampposts, there'll be solar panels,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01- and they will soak up energy during the day.- Yeah.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04And we're going to use LED lights,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07which will save more energy than normal light bulbs.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12OK. So these are a self-sufficient, renewable energy-powered
0:24:12 > 0:24:16street lights that are activated when the car passes,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18in little kind of waves,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21and they turn off when there are no cars around.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24- Yeah.- So is this something that you'd see on all roads?
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Mostly on motorways and country lanes,
0:24:27 > 0:24:32because if it was on a normal street and there's pedestrians walking by,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35it'll be pitch black for them and they won't be able to see.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37OK. Has the idea improved in any way
0:24:37 > 0:24:39since you spent time with your expert?
0:24:39 > 0:24:41What we learnt is we shouldn't use pressure pads,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45because they can get worn out too easily by buses and trucks
0:24:45 > 0:24:49and cars going over them every night, and they can get worn out.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53- We're going to put the sensors on top of the lampposts like that.- OK.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56How confident are you that the technology exists
0:24:56 > 0:24:58to make this idea actually work?
0:24:58 > 0:25:02I'm quite confident because they use sensors on traffic lights,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05cos if there's nothing there the traffic lights will go red,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08and then pedestrians can cross.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11When a vehicle comes, they'll automatically turn green,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13and the vehicle can keep going.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17OK. So we've got the solar technology to power them,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19we've got the LED technology for the lights,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21we've got the sensor technology already.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25So it's just really a clever combination of all of those factors,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28and this idea could work. You've done a brilliant presentation,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31and thank you very much, Jordan.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34I thought it'd be a little bit tricky,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37but it was easier than I thought.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40So with the pitches over,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44who's booked themselves a place in the next round?
0:25:44 > 0:25:49Will it be Ben with his idea for magnetic car bumpers?
0:25:49 > 0:25:54Emily and her device to protect marine mammals?
0:25:54 > 0:25:58Or Jordan and his eco-friendly street lights?
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Tom, three really different ideas today, but all with a good heart.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04Oh, yeah. They're inspiring ideas.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08We're looking at marine conservation, we're looking at saving energy,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10and road traffic safety. So how can you not be impressed?
0:26:10 > 0:26:12OK. Well, have you made a decision?
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Yeah. It's been difficult, but I have.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Well, if you'd like to take a seat, I'll get our young inventors in.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23It's crunch time. They've all spent time developing their ideas
0:26:23 > 0:26:25and have pitched them to Tom,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28but who has won that place in the semi-finals?
0:26:30 > 0:26:31Come in, guys.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35You've all done really well to get this far, but as you know,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39only one person can go through to the next round, the semi-finals.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Tom HAS made a decision. So Tom, it's over to you.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Yeah. Three inspiring ideas.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Ben, I think it's great you're trying to improve road traffic safety,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52but I'm struggling to see how the idea could work practically.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Emily, I think that you've had a great idea that's moved on very well
0:26:56 > 0:26:58since you spent time with your expert,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01but I feel there would be a lot of testing to make this work.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Jordan, you've presented a very feasible idea,
0:27:03 > 0:27:09but I too am concerned about implementing this in the real world.
0:27:09 > 0:27:10But I have made a decision,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13and the inventor that I'm going to send through
0:27:13 > 0:27:17to the semi-finals of My Genius Idea is...
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Emily.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29So, Emily wins with her marine mammal protection system.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31You made it. How do you feel?
0:27:31 > 0:27:33- Really good. - Are you happy about that?- Yeah.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37And she's still in with a chance of winning My Genius Idea.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Next week, the last three budding inventors
0:27:39 > 0:27:43will try and win the one remaining semi-final place.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Can any of them be as impressive as the ones we've seen today?
0:27:46 > 0:27:48We'll find out next time on My Genius Idea.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:27:51 > 0:27:54E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk