The Future of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the 2017 Seoul International Invention Fair (SIIF 2017) is over. The SIIF 2017 held in Seoul at COEX Hall A from November 30 to December 3.
SIIF 2017, which celebrates its 13th anniversary this year, is an international event supported by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the International Federation of Inventors' Associations (IFIA).
This year, a total of 633 inventions were exhibited by 30 countries including the United States, China, and Germany. It experienced a great turnout with more than 50,000 visitors attended that's according to PR Newswire on December 7.
35 experts from different industries, academia, and research selected the winners on-site. A total of 10 inventions, such as FRESH2JOY, created by 3-member team including N. Muangsin, won the grand prize. FRESH2JOY is a capsule that inhibits fungal and bacterial growth, the main cause of decomposition in fruit distribution.
Inventions aiding in the convenience of daily life drew significant attention this year.
- One Thai invention, the ABLE (Automatic Balance Level Easy) Walker, helps those who use crutches and wheelchairs go up and down stairs more easily (S. Hemrungrojn and 6 others)
- An IoT-based Smart Diaper Management System from Gramedis Co., Ltd. In Korea took the grand prize.
A lot of inventions that assist in everyday safety made a debut among the gold winners.
- The Trapped In Vehicle Alert System (Korea, Noah Electronic, Chung Joon-young), detects the movement of children in school vehicles and sends a rescue message outside.
- From Taiwan, there was the Automatically Guided Safety Crutches with User Location, Body Information Transmission, and Alarms at Risk (Tsai Yao-Pin and 3 others).
In addition, 7 other teams received the grand prize:
- 'Mist Net' by HUANG YA-YU and 6 others (Taiwan)
- IMPROVED CORSET STRUCTURE by CHUANG PI YU and 1 other (Taiwan)
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Capture using the Downflow Gas Contractor (DGC) Reactor by Midhat Nabil bin Ahmad Salimi and 1 other (Malaysia)
- Fire Sprinkler by Firebuster Co.,Ltd. (Korea)
- Self-adhesive Sheet of Packing by Sunghyun Trading (Korea)
- A method of adjusting the automatic sensitivity of the input sensor and the paper shredder using it by Taejin Kostal Co., Ltd. (Korea)
- 'NURIEYE-5800' by Seodong Medical (Korea).
SIIF is not only an invention exhibition, but it is quite extensive as it involves international organizations and a variety of patent information and technology transfer agencies. It provides opportunities for inventors in new markets opening to explore various technologies ranging from technology transfer to purchasing and investment consultation.
Additionally, the Overall Assistance for Start-up Immigration System (OASIS), a part of SIIF, exhibited 20 inventions from foreigners residing in Korea seeking to acquire domestic patents and start-up opportunities in Korea.
Dr. Joon-seok Lee, the president of Korea Invention Promotion Association, stated, "SIIF 2017 will give participants the opportunity to gain a quick understanding on global technological development trends and performance," and also added, "We will support not only publicizing the latest inventions, but also establishing a close cooperation system with related international institutions and organizations in order to open up new markets for inventions.
