Brothers honored for `cell jacket' invention

Two young brothers from Chiayi won awards at the International Exhibition of Inventions held recently in Geneva, Switzerland.

Eleven-year-old Wu Chen-yu (吳宸宇) won a bronze medal and his 10-year-old brother Wu Chen-lin (吳季霖) won a special sponsors' award for their invention, the "cell jacket."

The Wu brothers became the youngest Taiwanese prize winners at the expo, which was held from April 9 to 13.

Chiayi County Magistrate Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) bestowed two more medals on the Wu brothers yesterday at a ceremony at the Chiayi County Hall, in recognition of their grand achievement at so young an age.

The brothers were escorted by their father Wu Chen-sen (吳振森) and their tutor, Chen Sui-hsiang (陳穗祥), who is chairman of the Inventors' Association in Chiayi City.

Wu Chen-sen said his sons have shown a serious interest in science and technology-related goods, particularly robots, since a very young age.

According to Chen-yu, the idea of inventing the cell jacket came to him a few years ago when he discovered his mother could not swim and was afraid of drowning.

He mentioned the idea to his tutor, who in turn started giving him and his younger brother lessons, enabling them to create the "cell jacket" on their own.

Chen also encouraged them to take the product to the Geneva fair.

The cell jacket, according to Chen-yu, is an ordinary jacket when it is not filled with air.

Micro cells are used in the inner layer of the jacket. When the cells are filled with air, the jacket becomes a life jacket which can be used in water or can be worn in chilly weather as a "down-filled" jacket.

More than 500 people took part in the Geneva expo to show off 1,000 new inventions, ranging from anti-mine shoes and a device to detect and monitor concealed objects and bodies, to a robotic golf cart and a device that reminds men to put the toilet seat down after use.

A 68-member jury selected the best invention and awarded prizes in 35 different categories.