Episode 6 My Genius Idea

Hello and welcome once again to My Genius Idea. We're looking for

the biggest, best, and brightest ideas from all of you.

In My Genius Idea, we're looking for the next generation of inventors.

We received ideas from all over the UK. Your Genius Ideas range from

how to look after your pets, robots to help around the home,

through to flying cars and eco-powered planes.

Only 18 ideas made it to the heats...

..and they'll now go head to head

to see who will be crowned the overall winner.

Our inventors will work with

experts to help their inventions come to life,

and go behind the scenes of some of our most successful organisations

to give them the inspiration to progress their inventions further.

I used it to inspire what I did.

Deciding if they can progress in the competition will be down to

expert inventor and judge, Tom Lawton.

Tom has always had a passion for inventing.

I love it. There are so many ideas all around us.

Under everybody's nose is a solution to be solved

or a problem to be addressed.

Tom started inventing when he was ten, and by the time he was 21

he developed his first product -

the world's first recordable alarm clock.

You always have ideas. And being an inventor is about actually

seeing them through into something that's real.

He's gone on to build a successful

career as an inventor, winning international awards for his work.

It's great doing a programme about young inventors

because young inventors have a very fresh perception of the world.

I hope to be inspired by some of these young minds.

Hoping to impress Tom today are...

And here they are. Welcome to the My Genius Idea nerve centre.

-How are you all feeling?

-Great.

-You're feeling great?

Lots of smiles, and feeling confident today?

-Yeah.

-No.

-Yeah.

-You're not...

I'm dying to hear all about your ideas and inventions

so I'm going to come to you, Stewart, first. Fill us in.

Well, my invention stops you overfilling your bath,

because of a sensor underneath this machine that goes over your bath.

Cycling fanatic Stewart has come up with a revolutionary idea

to ensure that baths will never overflow again, with his invention

the wireless bath communication device.

I thought of my idea when I was talking to my grandma

and remembered that she overfills the bath,

and so I decided that I was going to invent something to stop her

overfilling the bath - or anyone overfilling the bath.

Brilliant, I like that. OK, Pippa, I'm coming to you next.

Big smile from Pippa. What's your idea?

My idea is exercise boots, and erm...

if you've been still for too long, they'll vibrate.

Karate kid Pippa wants to take on couch potatoes and

get them off the sofa.

Her footwear exercise idea has built-in sensors,

to detect if someone's been inactive for too long.

If you haven't moved your feet

in half an hour, they will vibrate and then you need to

get up and do a series of exercises.

Brilliant. Well, good luck, Pippa.

Zoe, I'm going to come to you next. What's your idea?

My idea is the tracker bag.

High-flyer Zoe has come up with a boy's and girl's tracker bag

with built-in satellite technology.

It allows your parents to know where you are if you ever get lost.

If you're late home from school one day,

your parents can go on their phone or their laptop or whatever

gadget they've got, and they can find out where you are.

In the My Genius Idea HQ Pippa, Stewart, and Zoe

will each have one hour to develop their idea with a top expert.

Pippa's first out of the blocks.

She's teamed up with sports technologist Dan Toon.

So you're talking about a shoe that needs to vibrate

when you've not done enough exercise, am I right?

There are a number of ways of doing that.

But it all depends upon

how you think this idea might work. Have you thought about that?

It might have a sensor in the bottom of the shoe.

Yeah, it might have a sensor.

There are different types of sensors that you can use.

There are things like pressure sensors.

That would be something that went in your shoe,

and it would detect when you're wearing that shoe.

You see here how this light activates?

So that could say something like "Stop being lazy, do some exercise."

Or it could make a noise, or it could have a pedometer built into it

and every time you walk it counts your steps.

So, Pippa's put in a gadget called a pedometer,

which counts the steps you take.

And Stewart's off to a flying start too,

with his expert Kim Fisher, a products designer.

I've come up with two or three areas where I think I can help.

One is that

sensing of the water level, here, and then communicating that sensing

to whoever the person is who needs to know, and then to make sure

that they actually hear it, that they actually hear the alarm.

-What could go wrong?

-Whenever you put electricity and water together,

things go sparking, so waterproofing is very, very important in this.

You should never put anything electrical in water,

so Stewart needs to make sure his invention is safe.

Meanwhile Zoe wants to know how big the tracking technology would be,

with the help of her expert Tim Birkinshaw.

Could we make it small enough for a smiley face?

Oh, I suppose we could make the unit

as small as something like that. Look at the size of that one.

And then we could put that into a smiley face, anything that's really

hides it and makes it look a bit more inconspicuous than a tracking unit.

We need to really keep this as small as possible.

What we don't want to do is put a great big box in there,

fill the haversack and you won't have room for your sandwiches.

So, a good first session for Zoe.

She seems right on track with her idea.

While Pippa is getting to grips with the best place

to put the sensors in her exercise boots.

Where would be best to have this sensor so he feels it?

There.

OK. And why do you think we'll have it there?

Then you'll feel it on the bottom of your foot.

So if he put his foot in here,

his toes are here like that, aren't they - so he's going to feel it,

it's going to vibrate right in here.

So do you think a walking boot is the best option

or do you think there are other options?

Other options as well as walking boots.

What types of options? Like maybe plimsolls or trainers, or...?

Slippers.

Slippers? You don't do any exercise in slippers, though -

you just lounge around the house.

That's good, because then that's how they'll vibrate, isn't it?

Ah... OK.

So it's reminding them that they haven't done enough exercise

because they've been lazy round the house? Good one.

And have you thought about any other sort of scenarios or times

when you might need this type of sensor? Like for instance...

Erm, when you're on planes and on trains.

Very good. And why do you think you would need it then?

Because you're still for ages.

That's exactly right.

Pippa's invention could help long-distance travellers

as they too need to take regular exercise.

And Stewart is experimenting with sensor technology,

looking how to sound an alarm when the bath is full.

Pull it out... Put it in.

That's it. You can see on the indicator,

the water has touched the sensor.

What happens then, with that?

A wireless signal is sent to

a wireless device that clips onto you anywhere in the house.

Right. And what happens then?

-And then this'll happen.

-BEEPING

It'll start beeping, or you might make your own and go...

-VOICE:

-You've forgotten your bath.

And how do you turn the sensor off from bleeping?

Well, to stop it bleeping, you have to go up and get the bath.

And how are these signals being sent round?

They're being sent wirelessly through radio and things like that.

So as Stewart finds out the best way to send his full bath message alert,

Zoe's investigating how the receiver may work for her tracker bag idea.

One thing we haven't looked at is how are they going to see you,

what's somebody going to look at to see where you are?

We need to be looking really at some sort of software that we could look

on a computer, so your mum and dad can go and have a look

and see exactly where you are.

You could maybe customise your face,

and you could make, like, a person that looks like you.

So when Mum and Dad look at a computer,

instead of just seeing a dot of where you are,

they're actually going to see your smiling face.

I think that's a very good idea and that can easily be incorporated,

and it isn't going to have any effect on the size of our unit.

Having investigated the technologies to make her idea work,

Zoe puts the finishing touches to the look of the bag.

With only 20 minutes left, I'm off to see how the budding inventors

are coming along. It's Pippa first with her exercise boots.

Having a car boot sale here(?)

I'll give you 50p for that. What's going on?

We've been brainstorming your idea, Pip, haven't we really?

We've been thinking about this idea of this exercise shoe

and different sensors.

So as well as everyday use, we're talking about using these

on aeroplanes. How would it work?

It would remind them to get up and walk around on planes

so they don't sit down all the time.

-It's not very healthy if you're just sat still for a long time.

-Yeah.

-So it's got a medical use as well.

-It has.

Good luck. I'll leave you to it.

Stewart has sussed out all the components

he'll need to make his invention work.

It looks quite animated over here. Talk us through it.

This is the new type of sensor that's made to go in water

even though it's electric.

It tests how much water there is.

What's important is to do it wirelessly,

and if we have one of these it will connect to...

-well, this is a sort of thing like a handset...

-Yeah.

..and it'll set off when

this is attached to that.

BEEPING

What happens then is...

-VOICE:

-Hello, it's bath time.

Ha-ha. That's absolutely brilliant.

So what you're saying is that when your bath's overflowing,

your bath will in effect call you?

Yeah.

And that just leaves Zoe to catch up with.

I want to know about your design.

You can get a boy's schoolbag and a girl's schoolbag,

and on the girl's schoolbag there would be love hearts and flowers,

and on the boy's bag there would be footballs and skulls.

It's all well and good having

a tracking device in a bag, but what about the person on the other end -

how are THEY going to know where you are?

This is the software we'd be using

when we're tracking Zoe around,

so we can actually see a little person on a map on there.

Happy with your progress?

-Yeah.

-Brilliant. I'll leave you to it.

Brilliant.

So what does expert inventor and judge Tom make of the ideas so far?

I'm impressed, as ever, and the quality of the originality of

the ideas sings through, doesn't it? That's what invention's all about,

it's about thinking in a different way.

I'm particularly impressed that a couple of them are thinking about

applications for other people, not just themselves.

It's wonderful to think of other people's problems

and how you would solve them,

rather than thinking central to yourself.

Well, Tom, I don't want to keep you any longer. Have another look.

Tom will be judging all their ideas later on.

He'll want to know how well Pippa, Stewart and Zoe have understood the

technology behind their ideas, and how well they can sell them to him.

It looks fascinating...

Only one of today's inventors can win a place in the semifinals.

To make the most of your time

it's essential to learn as much as you can.

There's still loads left to be done to make these ideas work

and as the old saying goes, a good idea never goes out of fashion.

So we thought it would be cool to send this lot off

to meet a world-famous designer

to see how the world of fashion comes up with new ideas.

Wale Adeyemi is one of the UK's most successful fashion designers

and a celebrity stylist.

Famous clients include Sugababes, Estelle, Example, and Alicia Keys.

Describing his style as somewhere between the kerb and the boutique,

Wale gets his inspiration from the streets of London.

It would be great for the kids if I can get across to them

how you don't really have to look so far to be inspired,

you just have to appreciate those things that are around you.

I'm excited because and going to meet a fashion designer

who designs lots of clothes for lots of famous people.

I hope to get some more inspiration

for my invention and hopefully help me win this competition.

Today I'm going to show you how we work and how we're inspired

by all the amazing things that are around us.

We're going out with a camera and I'll show you how I get ideas

and the things I see along the street which inspire me.

Basically all this artwork on the walls here and all these taggers,

this is called graffiti.

My first collection, this inspired what I did.

-What's the main featured colour here that we can see?

-Green.

-Yes.

-What other colours can you see that you like?

-Purple.

-White.

-White, purple.

What does this piece say to you?

It says pizzazz.

Pizzazz, oh, that's a good word.

-Why pizzazz?

-Colourful, and it's like the guy is coming out of the wall.

There's loads of different sunglasses, shapes and colours.

If you squint your eyes, it's a really nice coloured pattern.

I'm going to give you the camera, and I want you to go around

and take some shots and then we'll go back to my studio,

get it printed onto a T-shirt, and put it onto a model.

When you're thinking of great ideas, you've got to know who'll use them.

In fashion, you need to know who'll wear your clothes

-before you design them.

-I like all the different patterns.

I took this photo because the sunglasses look hypnotising.

White and black are two great colours to mix together.

There's plenty to see, so back at base it's time to share their photos

and the inspiration behind them with Wale.

I think they've taken some great photos, I'm quite impressed.

Hopefully they've kept in mind the person they're designing for.

I like the pictures, I'm very impressed.

-Did you enjoy doing it?

-Yes.

That's a great shot. What did you have in mind?

The colours blend together

and the yin and yang are black and white so it gives it more.

That's good, that's great.

And then...

this one, which is great.

What was your idea behind that and what kind of person did you think?

I was thinking about the street person

that likes to stand out from the crowd.

Oh, good, OK. And then the last one,

this one. So what was your idea behind that,

-who was the person you thought of?

-My little sister.

Your little sister? Cool,

and it's quite simple, that would be nice on a T-shirt.

Give yourself a clap, then.

We're going to get them printed and we'll get a model to wear them.

The key message I want you to leave with

is always remember who you're designing for,

always, always, always. And always be inspired by the outside world.

I think Wale's right about being inspired by the world

because it's just beautiful to look at.

He said to think about who you're doing it for,

and I think that's going to help me to make my invention better.

We're back in the My Genius Idea HQ

and with only ten minutes of the development session left,

Pippa, Stewart, and Zoe will see if their ideas can actually work.

The pressure is on.

We've been talking about the different sensors.

I'd like to show you some science behind it, OK? Follow me.

Pippa's been looking into the sensors

that could make her exercise boots work.

She'll see the technology which could bring her invention to life.

So if you could stand on these sensors,

that's it, and if you look on the screen, you can see your pressure.

Move backwards and forwards,

just sway your body backwards and forwards,

your pressure is picked up on-screen.

What would happen if you stayed still?

We need these people to be moving, that's the whole idea.

We talked about it vibrating,

or flashing, or making a noise. Which one do you prefer?

Making a noise.

So like a loud beep? Or playing some music?

Something like that.

Stewart has really thought about who'll use his invention

as he goes through some preparation for his pitch to Tom.

A wireless signal will be sent to a wireless device

that clips onto you anywhere in the house,

and then this will happen.

-It will start beeping.

-Why do we have this colour display here?

The flashing one is for people who are deaf,

who can't hear the beeping.

Right.

And the sound is for people who are blind,

and the vibrating is for people who are both blind and deaf.

-But they may need a bit more help.

-Yes.

Zoe has decided on the design for her invention,

but will she be able to find the right technology

to make her tracker bag become a reality?

If she is successful, it could put her ahead in the competition.

Each of these pinpoints was actually tracking me

to the studio this morning, so if that was you walking around school,

we actually see where you'd been, which classrooms you'd been to,

and we could've tracked absolutely everything you were doing.

Any other uses do you think we could put this technology to?

People who are walking their dog or they're elderly,

in case they get lost,

and mountain climbers, in case they get lost up the hills.

Time's up and Pippa has decided which sensors to use

on her exercise boots, Stewart has made his invention waterproof

and worked out how he might alert different users,

and Zoe has found other uses for her tracker bag invention.

But who will impress Tom to win the place in the semifinals?

All three of our budding inventors now have to pitch to Tom.

First up to see him is Zoe.

Make your way to the presentation den.

Tom's waiting for you there. Good luck.

Will Zoe be able to impress Tom with her tracker bag idea,

and can she persuade him to put her through to the next round?

-Hi, Zoe, how are you?

-Fine.

-Good.

I'm looking forward to learning about your tracker bag.

Can you explain the idea to me?

The tracker bag is all about safety

because the little chips,

they are a GPS tracking device.

If you were on the other side of the world,

that would tell your mum and dad, or whoever is looking for you,

where you are.

I guess it's not just for schoolchildren,

it could work for anybody?

It's for mountain climbers in case they get lost

-up in the mountains or the hills.

-Yes, OK.

And it's for elderly people, in case they get lost,

and it's for adults as well.

OK, I love your designs, the graphic that you've done here.

They look brilliantly colourful and well designed

for people of perhaps your age.

So it could be designed

in a different way for different people?

Yes.

Have you learned much from the time that you've spent with the expert?

He taught me about GPS and how far it can go around the world.

Well, I'm very impressed.

It seems like you've thought your idea through,

so thank you very much. I think that was a really good presentation.

I think it went really well.

I spoke really clearly and Tom was smiling at me.

Next to see Tom is Stewart. Has he done enough development

on his wireless bath communication device

to convince Tom that his idea has the most potential?

I'm very intrigued to learn about your bath idea.

Can you explain it to me?

It's a device that is capable of stopping you

-from overfilling the bath.

-OK.

When the water rises and touches the sensor underneath the box

that slides up and down,

it will send out a wireless signal

to the WBCD, which is clipped to you.

It will then beep, flash, and vibrate

all at once to say your bath is done.

It's interesting idea, that's for sure. What's your inspiration?

Well, I based it on people with memory problems,

the disabled, the elderly.

And people with teenagers who forget the bath.

-And do you know of any of those?

-Many.

So it's a problem amongst teenagers

as well as those people who are forgetful.

Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?

-It's environmentally friendly.

-In what way?

Because if you don't overfill the bath, you're using less water,

less fuel to heat the hot water.

-Yes, OK.

-And you're not wasting water by letting it flow down the drain.

In the same way, that saves money.

I think you really seem to know your invention inside out,

and you've taken on a huge amount of knowledge

from your expert.

So thank you very much for presenting to me

-because I thought it was brilliant.

-Thank you.

With his pitch over, all Stewart can do is wait.

Finally, it's time for Pippa to pitch to Tom.

Tom's not looking for a finished idea today, he's looking

for an idea that has the most potential.

He'll judge them on the technologies they've mastered

and how well they can explain their idea to him.

Hello, Pippa. Can you explain what exercise boots are to me, please?

Well, they keep you healthy and they have a pedometer which is connected

to a pressure sensor in the back of the shoe.

That's connected to this,

which will give you a message according to how many steps

you've done. They're good for people on an aeroplane or train,

injured or ill people, elderly people

and office workers because they keep still.

If you don't exercise when it says you need to,

-it will make a really annoying alarm.

-Right, OK.

So other people would know that you're lazy?

And you mentioned earlier that perhaps people who...

did you say had injuries or physiotherapy needs?

People who are injured or ill, because if you're ill

you lie in bed and you don't move around.

It's a great idea and you've done a brilliant presentation,

so thank you very much, Pippa.

So for two budding inventors, the competition will be over shortly,

but who has won a place in the next round?

Will it be Zoe's idea for a tracker bag which can find you

wherever you are?

Stewart's wireless bath communication device

which stops you over-filling your bath?

Or will it be Pippa's exercise boots that vibrate to get you moving?

Three great ideas there, Tom, but what were the presentations like?

Really strong. Each of them are starting to become experts

in their own inventions, which is what it's about.

They presented those ideas well?

They presented them brilliantly.

This has been the closest of all of the heats.

Wow, so a difficult decision, then?

Very difficult, but I've made my decision.

If you'd like to take a seat, Tom,

it's time to get the young inventors in.

It's crunch time. They've all spent time developing their ideas

and have pitched them to Tom,

but who has won that last place in the semifinals?

Pippa, Stewart, Zoe,

it's decision time. How are you feeling?

-Nervous.

-Tom has come to a decision. It's time to find out

who is going through to the next round.

-Tom, it's over to you.

-I'm impressed as ever.

This one has been really close to call.

Zoe, you had a great understanding of the technology,

but I'm concerned that the idea relies on having

the bag with you all the time.

Stewart, your idea's developed really well since the beginning

and you've taken on a lot from what your expert said,

but I am concerned the technology might be difficult

for the user to use.

Pippa, you've got a fabulous idea and I find it inspiring

that you want to make everybody active,

but I do wonder, because those people are lazy,

they just might kick those shoes off and it won't work.

But I have come to a conclusion

and the young inventor who I am going to send through

to the semifinal of My Genius Idea...

..is Stewart.

Congratulations, Stewart.

So Stewart wins with his invention,

the wireless bath communication device

and he's still in with a chance of winning My Genius Idea.

It was tough, but now we've chosen all of our semifinalists.

Next time it's the big one, it's the semifinals

and it's going to be exciting.

Don't forget what's at stake, a place in the final. Until next time.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]