Chilly winds were working hard to put a damper on activities last night, but nothing could affect the high energy levels associated with some of Colorado’s hot new products at the DaVinci Institute’s Colorado Inventor Showcase. A crowd of over 400 set the Cable Center abuzz with excitement as they checked out the wide array of eclectic inventions ranging from toys to bio technology.
Steve Spangler from 9 News kicked off the event around 4:30 pm and things never really slowed down the rest of the day. The event was sponsored by 9 News and the patent firm, Townsend & Townsend & Crew.
A total of 42 celebrity judges carefully made their evaluations of the three dozen inventions, assessing such things as design, aesthetic, and usability characteristics, along with the invention’s "cool factor" to come up with a final score.
At the end of the evening the exhibitors and attendees were asked to assemble in the Center Theater and prizes were announced. The following are the companies that walked away with the top awards:
- PRIZE: “Colorado Invention of the Year”
WINNER: Hopscotch Technologies, 1936 14th Street, Boulder, CO
PRODUCT: A tool that puts you in control—a tool that lets you set the amount of time your children spend watching TV, playing video games, or surfing the Internet.
PRINCIPALS: Brian Baker & Tom Gallop – Co-Founders
WEBSITE: www.hopscotchtechnology.com
- PRIZE: “Commercial Product of the Year”
WINNER: Surginetics, 4900 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO
PRODUCT: AdvantageBlade – A medical device used in electrosurgery
PRINCIPAL: Warren Heim
WEBSITE: www.surginetics.com
- PRIZE: “Consumer Product of the Year”
WINNER: WABA Fun, LLC, P.O. Box 74, Erie, CO
PRODUCT: Superstructs are rod and connector style construction toys designed to let a child’s imagination come to life.
PRINCIPAL: David McCloskey
WEBSITE: www.superstructs.com - PRIZE: “Software Product of the Year”
WINNER: MoBoogie.net, 1700 Lawrence Street, Denver, CO
PRODUCT: A social network for the good people who dig live music
PRINCIPAL: H. Andrew Ryan
WEBSITE: www.MoBoogie.net - PRIZE: “Young Innovators of the Year”
WINNER: Hayutin Heartfelt Creations, Parker, CO
PRODUCT: Award winning art work
PRINCIPALS: Dillon Hayutin (age 11) and Ilana Hayutin (age 9)
WEBSITE: http://ilanart.hayutin.org - PRIZE: “Honorable Mention”
WINNER: RevFire Corporation, Boulder, CO
PRODUCT: Baseball device for measuring pitch speed and spin
PRINCIPAL: Dave Marinelli
WEBSITE: www.revfire.com - PRIZE: “Honorable Mention”
WINNER: ACI Surgery, 10940 S. Parker Road, Parker, CO
PRODUCT: Replacement for Botox – Minimally invasive surgical techniques for plastic and facial plastic surgical procedures
PRINCIPAL: Mike Janssen
WEBSITE: www.acisurgery.com - PRIZE: “Honorable Mention”
WINNER: Revo Power, Denver, CO
PRODUCT: Bicycle Wheel with built-in internal combustion engine designed to turn any bicycle into a powered vehicle
PRINCIPAL: Steve Katsaros
WEBSITE: www.revopower.com
Our hats go off to all of the participants at this event. The inventive spirit is definitely alive and well in America.
