Taiwan claimed the No. 1 spot among exhibiting nations and took home the most awards at the 38th World Genius Convention and Education Expo in Tokyo.
Of the 63 entries Taiwan submitted, 29 won gold medals, 23 won silver medals and six were given special awards.
This year’s expo, held on Thursday and Friday, had more than 120 entries from 12 countries, including Taiwan, Canada, China, South Korea, Thailand and the US, Chinese Innovation and Invention Society chairman Wu Chih-yao (吳智堯) said yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Innovation and Invention Society
The “Double zip compressed bin” invented by three eighth graders — Chao Tso-fu (趙作芙) and her twin brother, Chao Tso-hang (趙作迒), from Taipei Municipal Zhongzheng Junior High School and Chen Chia-chun (陳家鈞) from Taipei Municipal Ren Ai Junior High School — won a gold medal and a teen special award.
It was inspired by the often overflowing bins in schools or public bathrooms, Chao Tso-hang said, adding that no one wants to push the trash down as it might spill out.
Their bin can be opened using a foot pedal and automatically presses the garbage down when the lid closes, preventing garbage from falling out easily and enabling the bin to hold more, he said.
From finding the right material to choosing the best shape, the process of developing the bin took half a year, Chao Tso-fu said.
A team comprising six junior-high students from Kuang Jen Catholic High School — Tsai Yu-ma (蔡昱瑪), Yang Cheng-en (楊承恩), Chang Chih-chun (張植鈞), Wu Sung-tse (吳松澤), Lin Wan-chun (林宛寯) and Liu Hsuan-chen (劉軒辰) — invented a bike helmet that was awarded a gold medal and a teen special award.
The helmet enables the cyclist to signal the direction they plan on turning by winking one eye, using an infrared sensor installed near the wearer’s eyelids, team instructor Wang Yu-wen (王妤文) said.
When the cyclist blinks both eyes at the same time, the red light on the helmet lights up, indicating that they are going to slow down, she said.
A team of teachers and students at National Formosa University won a gold medal with their “coffee ground lubricant.”
They used a microwave to extract green lubricating oil from coffee grounds.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
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CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old