Who Will Win the InVenture Prize?

On Wednesday night, Georgia Tech will crown the winner of the 2016 InVenture Prize.

The annual contest encourages and supports interest in innovation and entrepreneurship by rewarding students with cash prizes for inventions that have the potential to solve the world’s problems.

The six teams competing in the 2016 InVenture Prize finale are:

FireHUD: A real-time monitoring system and Head Up Display that provides biometric and environmental data to firefighters and officials outside a structure. The goal is to decrease the level of uncertainty firefighters face.

Inventors: Zachary Braun, computer engineering; and Tyler Sisk, electrical engineering.

FretWizard: A virtual guitar teacher for students at varying levels. This artificial intelligence system learns how to play guitar songs and teaches users what it’s learned.

Inventors: Ali Abid, computer science; and Molly Ricks, international affairs.

RoboGoalie: An automatic retrieval device that collects a soccer ball and launches it back to the player. This device gives soccer players the flexibility of practicing alone.

Inventors (all mechanical engineering majors): Siu Lun Chan, Ming Him Ko, Zhifeng Su, and Timothy Woo.

TEQ Charging: A power management system for electric vehicle chargers. The technology and design reduces cost, increases efficiency and provides greater accessibility for charging electric vehicles.

Inventors: Dorrier Coleman, computer engineering; Mitchell Kelman, computer science; Joshua Lieberman, mechanical engineering; and Isaac Wittenstein, mechanical engineering.

TruePani: A passive antimicrobial cup and storage water device that kills harmful microbes in drinking water. This invention was designed for rural India, but could be used worldwide.

Inventors: Samantha Becker, civil engineering; Sarah Lynn Bowen, business administration; Naomi Ergun, business administration; and Shannon Evanchec, environmental engineering.

Wobble: This device tests a person’s balance and will be used to improve concussion recovery assessments for athletes.

Inventors: Hailey Brown, mechanical engineering; Matthew Devlin, biomedical engineering; Ana Gomez del Campo, biomedical engineering; and Garrett Wallace, biomedical engineering.

The winning team scores $20,000 and the second-place team receives $10,000.

Both first- and second-place finishers will receive free U.S. patent filings by Georgia Tech’s Office of Technology Licensing and a spot in Georgia Tech’s startup accelerator program, Flashpoint.

A $5,000 People’s Choice Award will go to the fans’ favorite invention. Voting will be by text messaging during the finale.

The finale will take place in the Ferst Center for the Arts, and free tickets can be requested here. The competition will also air live on Georgia Public Broadcasting starting at 7:30 p.m.

The winner of the InVenture Prize will represent Georgia Tech at the inaugural ACC InVenture Prize competition.

Teams of students representing each of the ACC’s 15 universities will pitch their inventions or startups before a live audience and a panel of judges. This contest will be held on campus April 6.

Learn more about the ACC InVenture Prize here.