r/Inventions

In my school, we have a knowledge fair every year, and this year I'm in the class of scientific initiation. We have to present a project, and it doesn't have to be a subject like biology; it just has to be something scientific. I don't know what to do, cuz all the ideas that I had weren't so good. They were: Bioremediation/phytoremediation in the local river (this didn't work out because it was more of a study than a project ready for presentation; plus, dealing with heavy metals isn't very safe). A repellent perfume (most of the group was making products like lip balm or moisturiser, and we wanted to avoid the cliché, but the perfume would have required constant reapplication since it was made from essential oils with poor staying power). Emergency water biofilter (there isn't much new here, aside from the fact that we can't be certain the water is potable). And the best Idea was a mycelium foam and a biodigester, but the second was made last year. Any tips, ideas?

So, there is a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to track insulin resistance. Why can we not have something like this to continuously measure progesterone, estradiol, AMH, etc? When my bank account recovers, I thought about trying Oova. But seriously, it would be so awesome to just have one device and it’s a one time purchase, saving money and material resources.

Hi everyone,

I'm an engineer, but over the years I've realized something interesting.

Engineering isn't just about machines, formulas, or manufacturing.

It's a way of thinking.

The ability to break down complex problems, think in systems, question assumptions, and build practical solutions isn't useful only at work—it's useful in careers, business, money, leadership, and everyday life.

That's why I started The Thoughtful Engineer.

My goal isn't to become another productivity or motivation creator.

I want to build a place where engineers and curious minds can learn how to think better, solve better, and build better.

Over the coming months, I'll be sharing ideas on:

• Engineering & manufacturing
• Career growth
• Systems thinking
• Productivity
• Entrepreneurship
• Lessons from books and real-world experience

I'd genuinely love your feedback.

Think deeper. Build smarter.

As the title states, i may have the next million dollar idea: can the same technology applied to locating a lost cellphone be applied to locating a lost TV remote

?

I'm playing with the idea of creating a fully enclosed gaming pod using a full sized derelict light aircraft such as a Cessna 172 with a completely gutted out interior, restoring it minus the wings, tail, and wheels. It would be used for the same things as that of a traditional gaming setup, office area, DJ booth, and more. Reclined seating for one, ventilation, sound proofing, drinks and nibbles dispenser, and a ton more features that I ha e detailed in a list. It would also be converted to a sectional frame so it can be disassembled for ease of moving house. Crazy? Or crazy enough to be a successful and unique mammoth project? Edit: thank you for your responses. Please try to keep responses candid, conversationally step by step, and answer at face value, appreciated. Please avoid data dumping.

Umbrellas consistently fail at the exact same weak points. A single bent rib, snapped connector, jammed slider, or torn corner usually ruins the whole thing, even if 90% of it is perfectly fine, because the broken parts are hard to access and impossible to replace.
While reading about CoCreate Pitch, I started sketching out a modular umbrella designed so anyone can swap out high-failure parts without special tools.
The concept features:
* Ribs that snap directly into a central hub
* Replaceable stretchers and canopy tips
* A canopy secured with reusable tabs rather than permanent stitching
* A universal handle compatible with different canopy sizes
* Small repair kits containing individual replacement parts
The main drawback is that adding these modular connection points could make the umbrella heavier, more expensive, and potentially weaker in strong winds.
Does this concept actually make sense, or are umbrellas just too cheap for people to bother repairing? And from an engineering standpoint, which component would be the hardest to make both easily replaceable and highly durable?

I am designing a product which could make things cold in minutes compared to a freezer which take 40 plus minutes a least it can make anything cold from chips and phones to ice cream and beverages my main concern is demand of people would buy because I did my research and it seems like people would buy it but I thought might aswell ask here.
Would you buy this product and if not could you please mention why.

I saw a product that blows air through a tube under your blanket/sheet to keep you cool while you sleep.

Why not have airflow tubes in the bedframe that blow a stream of air down the frame's legs to blow off any bed bugs trying to climb up from the carpet. Also a stream of air coming out of the sides of the mattress so any bed bugs climbing up the side from the box spring will get blown off.

I had to look up why it's called a box spring. I have never seen a spring in one. There's so much space inside of a box spring that it can house the machinery for my idea easily.

I don't understand why they waste time and resources entirely encasing the box spring in fabric.

If it was not so encased I would have discovered my bed bug problem weeks ago. Also I would have been able to discover that I have 3 broken pieces of wood in there and I'd have been able to easily mend them.

In my youth I remember the bottom of box springs would always be left open.

I had a lot of cats as a child. They liked to hang out under the open box spring. Not a problem. Later with a closed box spring the cats would tear a hole to get inside and they would pee and poop and have kittens in there and the kittens pooped in there. It made sense to just tear the bottom of the box spring off. No more problems.

So my invention is a very bright UV light and a small fan motor in the box spring with tubes to carry airflow to channels in the wall of the box spring and the mattress. Nothing intense, just enough to blow away any small bed bugs trying to climb up the sides.

Wikipedia says they like to nest on vertical surfaces in the dark, so inside on the sides of the box spring is where you'll find them most often early in an infestation. They then climb up the sides of the mattress or crawl from a wall over to the mattress to get to the sleeper.

The UV light deters them from starting a nest in the box spring and it makes them and their droppings easily visible so you'll know sooner if you have them.

I also think It's time to stop making box springs out of wood. One of the largest and most important pieces of wood in my box spring looks like a rotten piece of shit. There are probably bugs and eggs somewhere inside of that thing that have not been affected by the ton of bug spray I used. The wood is so fucking cheap and sloppily assembled and easily cracked/broken that it might as well be made of cheap plastic. That will reduce the possibility of bed bugs finding a nice knotty piece of wood to set up an immortal nest in.

The fan motor can double as a white noise machine and you can attach 1 more hose to put under your bed sheet to help keep you cool just like that expensive device I saw (BedJet BedFan bFan). You could maybe even attach a heating element to the hose that goes under the sheet if you want to be warmer in the winter.

I have a mattress protector and a box spring protector. The screws in certain spots on the metal bed frame wore through the protector over time. We've had these for slightly longer than 10 years. We got the beds used from an Aaron's. They had been sanitized and placed in high quality protectors. There is still absolutely zero sign of bed bugs on the mattress probably because the protector is still perfectly intact. Perhaps the bed bugs were already in the box spring when we got it but the protective cover kept them trapped in there. We had the beds in storage for 2 months while we were moving. When i noticed the box spring cover had several tears my instinct told me to just rip the whole thing open (remember my experience with cats) and saturate it with bug spray (we were coming from a place that had camel spiders and i did not want any of those things following us to a new home)

Ask me anything

Hey everyone, I've noticed that a lot of big companies are only focused on what makes the most money, rather than what people really want. I think there are a lot of everyday problems, or things we only need occasionally, that could be solved with affordable, well-made tech. I'm looking for any pain points you have that you think could be addressed with electronics or a mobile app.

Hi everyone,

I’ve recently launched a small free website created to give visibility to independent creators and their projects.

For this community, I’m especially interested in inventions, prototypes, useful devices, technical experiments, product ideas, early-stage builds, assistive tools, mechanical concepts, 3D printed solutions, electronics projects, and other original things people are trying to design or build.

The idea comes from a problem many independent creators run into: you can spend a lot of time building something interesting, but it can be difficult to show it to people without it being seen as self-promotion or spam. Social media is algorithm-driven, ads usually don’t make sense for early-stage projects, and many communities understandably limit promotional posts.

So I wanted to create a small discovery space where independent projects can have a proper page with a description, images, videos, links and useful context about what the project is, what problem it solves, and what stage it is in.

There is no hidden catch, no paid promotion, no store, no publisher angle, and no secret commercial interest behind this. Right now the goal is simply to give more visibility to independent projects and build a small space where creators can also discover and support each other.

One important idea behind the site is reciprocity. I don’t want it to become a dead gallery where everyone only posts their own thing and leaves. The goal is that creators who appear on the site also take a little time to look at other projects, leave feedback, show interest, or support other creators.

If you’re working on an invention, prototype or original build and would be interested in possibly appearing on the website, feel free to comment with:

• The name of your project, if it has one
• What problem it tries to solve
• What type of invention or prototype it is
• The current stage: idea, sketch, prototype, testing, finished, patent pending, launched, etc.
• Whether you’d be open to being contacted for more details

You don’t need to post full materials here. If your project seems like a good fit, I’ll contact you and let you know where you can send the full information.

I’m especially interested in original, useful, unusual or early-stage projects. It doesn’t have to be polished or commercial. Rough prototypes, experimental builds and small personal inventions are welcome too.

Mouse and keyboard, joysticks, console controllers, and even Wii remotes have existed for decades. There have been very little advancements in input options since then. Most of the new stuff is either for VR or for disabled people. There isn’t anything new that’s actually practical for the regular consumer.

It would essentially control the cursor/crosshair so you can move stuff around on your screen or aim the camera in a video game.

I’m sure there are haptic gloves out there for VR purposes but I wonder if anyone has made something that completely replace a mouse yet isn’t just a VR thing. It should be able to plug in like normal without any extra steps.

You would control different functions by moving your fingers in different ways. Like waving your thumb finger could be left click, waving your pinkie could be right click. Maybe for shooting games, curling your index finger as if you were pulling a gun trigger would be the shoot function. You could use two fingers at once (index and middle finger) to hold and drag stuff. Maybe on web browsers and whatnot, waving your middle finger could be “back”, and waving your ring finger is “forward.”

I know that there are gloves that translate sign language into text, so the technology is 100% possible. I just don’t know if anyone’s made it specifically for normal, able-bodied computer uses.