A vibrating steering wheel designed to help a temporarily blinded driver navigate could help to reduce the amount of accidents caused by glare. The steering wheel will use GPS sensors and lane-monitoring cameras to map out the road ahead while it will monitor for potential glare situations. If the sensors notice the car is beginning to veer out of its late, the wheel will vibrate on the corresponding side to warn the driver of the drift. Once the driver has corrected the veer, the...

The solar energy bucket concept will add extra functionality to the common bucket, transforming it into an energy-gathering source to heat water or provide light. The bottom of the bucket will be equipped with a small solar panel that, when the bucket is flipped over, will gather solar energy during the day. The bottom will be angled slightly for more efficient capture of the sun's rays, and the stored energy can then be used to power the built-in LED lights or slowly heat the...

The idea is to develop a way to create battery anodes from old tires, which could help cut down on the amount of waste tires in landfills while also providing an efficient energy storage material. The method will involve first subjecting the tires to a proprietary pretreatment and then using pyrolysis to recover the carbon black material. This man-made carbon black material is not only quite similar to graphite, it also resulted in a more efficient battery. When the material proved...

Drones may become a kinder, more peaceful way for rescuing drowning victims. The robot will carry three life preservers and will be equipped with artificial intelligence, autopilot search and rescue and a wide range of sensors, including a heat-sensing camera to locate victims at night. The victim will be able to call out to the drone once they have been located, triggering it to respond by dropping a life preserver.

A wrist-worn device will be made of polished stainless steel and will be comfortable and lightweight. It will encourage the body to produce melatonin - the hormone that encourages good sleep.

The new leashes and collars will be equipped with ultra-bright LEDs to help make nighttime walks a bit safer for both dogs and their owners. Designed with busy, city-dwelling pet owners in mind, who often only have time for walks in the dim light of the morning or evening, these leashes and collars will illuminate to help prevent collisions or tangles with cars, bikers and pedestrians. Each leash and collar will feature a pair of LEDs that will be programmed for static mode as well...

Designed for the visually impaired, the portable Access Lens system will use vision-based tracking to enable people to access paper documents with gestures. The system will feature a camera that will scan the documents and software that can identify text and track gestures. A computerized grid will be laid over the document, which the user can move their finger over in order to hear the content read aloud or receive directional commands. The system will cross-check the text against...

New sunglasses will do more than protect your eyes from UV rays - they will also harness power from the sun to top off mobile gadgets. The sunglasses will be made from a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses that have been fitted with photovoltaic cells on the plastic ear pieces. The cells will collect solar rays to charge a battery embedded in the frame, and the ear pieces can be removed to reveal a microUSB or Lightening connector that can be used to charge an iPhone.

The idea is to create a sign language translator able to read sign language gestures and translate them into audible words for the hearing. The device will include a microphone, speaker, soundboard, video camera, and monitor. When set upon a stable surface, the device's system will read the hand gestures of the deaf speaker and process them into sounds that the hearing person can understand. It could also translate a spoken message into sign language displayed on the monitor,...

The idea is to develop a way to turn ordinary paper into conductive graphite. This will open the door to a new generation of electronic components house in inexpensive, everyday objects. It is possible to change the cellulose of the paper into conductive graphite using an ordinary inkjet printer loaded with a cartridge of an iron nitrate catalyst. The designs will be printed on regular paper, which will then be heated to 1,472°F in an oxygen-free environment. This extreme heat will...