Taiwanese inventors win big at Silicon Valley festival

San Francisco, Aug. 16 (CNA) Taiwanese inventors won big at this year's Silicon Valley International Inventions Festival (SVIIF) in California, taking the event's top prize, 24 gold medals and other special awards.

The festival featured entries from more than 30 countries in two categories -- general inventors and youths aged 7-18 -- and the awards included SVIIF's first and second prizes as well as special awards from partner organizations.

Taiwanese students who jointly designed "AllerDetect GO" won the top prize in the Youth Talent Competition category, drawing cheers from the audience when the team went onstage to receive the honor on Sunday, the three-day festival's final day.

The "AllerDetect GO" app is an active health protection system designed for children, older adults and people prone to allergies.

Combining detection, alert, record-keeping, and smart home response functions, it helps users identify potential allergen risks earlier, reduces accidental exposure, and builds a safer day-to-day health protection system, the inventors said.

The second prize went to a team from the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University.

In the general inventors category, Baichao Greenergy Tech Co. won the special award from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

IFIA Best Invention Award

Kang Chiao International School's 10-year-old Hsu Ting-wei (許庭維), who won a gold medal Saturday at SWIIF for his "Novel Artificial Electronic Nose," also went on to receive the International Federation of Inventors' Associations (IFIA) best invention award.

The invention is an intelligent, non-contact security screening platform that combines a real-time air sampling system, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and AI-based odor recognition technology. It can be installed behind X-ray baggage screening equipment at locations such as airports.

Jury chairman Amin Ghafooripour told CNA that Hsu did not receive the award simply as encouragement because of his age, but because the jury genuinely recognized his efforts and believed his invention had practical value and left a deep impression on the judges.

Earlier on Saturday, Hsu expressed hope that his invention could help prevent pork products that may carry African swine fever from entering countries, as well as help the United States stop drugs such as fentanyl at its border.

Record medal haul for Taiwan

Besides presenting special international awards, SVIIF handed out medals and certificates to participating inventors on Saturday, with entries receiving gold, silver or bronze medals.

Taiwanese inventors won a record 24 gold medals this year, along with eight silver and one bronze from 35 entries across the general inventors and youth categories.

Matt Nuccio, a SVIIF board committee member, praised the young Taiwanese participants.

"Taiwan had quite a few great innovations," Nuccio said, noting that he was particularly impressed by the quality of their inventions given their young age.

Ghafooripour told CNA that Taiwanese inventors tended to focus on applying new technologies to develop practical solutions that could make everyday life easier for people.

Nearly every Taiwanese team won an award, while the gold medal count was the highest for Taiwan since it first participated in the Silicon Valley International Inventions Festival in 2018.

The festival was held in the Santa Clara Convention Center in California from Friday to Sunday.