My idea is to combine a lawn mower with a sprayer. There should be a gallon tank at the front or side of mower with a pump to spray fertilizer, bug spray, water, etc. while you're mowing the lawn.

A glass data storage device can easily be read with a common microscope, allowing to be accessed regardless of future technologies. The storage device, a square sliver of quartz glass, will be printed with a binary series of dots. Designed to prevent the possibility of losing information as technology evolves, the binary code can be read by an optical microscope and any computer capable of understanding binary code. The storage device will also be nearly indestructible, able to...

The watch will work with your smartphone to ensure you'll never miss a call, message, or appointment again. The watch will feature backlit icons that will appear to alert the user in incoming phone call, texts, low battery, and more of the many smartphone alerts that can't be seen when the phone is tucked away in a pocket. It can even sound an alarm if you are about to leave the house without your phone. The alerts will be customized with an Android or iOS app.

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...

A new method of instantly identifying passing insects could lead to a way of reducing pesticide use by allowing researchers to develop better targeted attacks. The device will feature a laser-thin beam of light that will shine onto an array of phototransistors able to translate light fluctuations into sounds. As an insect flies through the laser beam, the beating of its wings will cause the signal to fluctuate. The signal will then be recorded as an MP3 file and analyzed by a...

Made for shift workers and jet-setters, the glasses use a soft green light to help combat jet lag and reset the body's internal clock. The glasses work by using light to stimulate the part of the brain that regulates our internal, 24-hour clock. The glasses are the only wearable device that emits green light, which studies indicate is the most effective wavelength for adjusting the body clock. The device can be worn over reading glasses, so it can be worn while working or going...

By building wind turbine towers from concrete instead of steel, the top height of a turbine column could be increased by 20 meters. To determine if concrete would be a viable replacement for steel, hydraulic equipment was used to test the load-bearing capabilities of three column-and-panel segments connected in different ways. All three versions were able to withstand 150,000 pounds of lateral load, with is 20 percent more than the maximum load of current turbine columns of the...