A system to help cinema-goers find empty seats in the dark has won a young inventors’ award for a group of primary school pupils from Co Wicklow.
The Patents Office Junior Inventor Awards 2011, which is aimed at encouraging primary school pupils to be innovative, creative and resourceful in their problem solving, was won by a group of sixth class students from Scoil Naomh Iosaf, Baltinglass.
Andrew Doran, Roisin Connolly, Kate Dowling and Abbie Byrne invented a lighting system for cinemas making it easier to find a seat in the dark.
When the seat is not in use and is upright the light turns green to indicate it is free. If the seat is in use and the occupant temporarily leaves, the light will turn red for a period of ten minutes. If the occupant does not return within this time limit, the light will turn green again, indicating the seat is available.
The winning invention was announced by Minister for Research and Innovation Séan Sherlock in Kilkenny today.
Other winners included Eimhin O’Neill from St Anne’s NS, Straffan, Co Kildare, who won the 1st to 3rd class category with his invention, a smoke alarm built into a mobile phone.
Second place in the category went to Andrew Shields, Primrose Hill NS, Celbridge, Co Kildare for a toothbrush which plays music for three minutes, the recommended time a child should spend brushing their teeth.
Third place went to Francesca Scott of Bray School Project in Co Wicklow for ‘The Sink Stopper’, a computer built into a sink or bath to regulate water use.
The winner of the 4th to 6th class category was Aaron Farrell from Fermoyle NS, Lanesboro, Co Longford, who designed a chip incorporated into disabled parking stickers and spaces informing drivers whether or not they are permitted to park.
Second place was awarded to Jennifer Murray, Scoil Iosagain, Blarney, Co Cork with a system to help people locate their cars in multi-storey car parks and third place went to James Gavigan, also of Fermoyle NS in Lanesboro for a device that measures the levels of toxins in slurry.
The awards, which are now in their fourth year, attracted over 2,500 entries from 234 schools in 25 different counties.
