Three primary school kids under the age of 12 have just won a once in a lifetime trip to NASA after coming up with inventions that could change the world for the better.
The winning ideas include an easier way to help people out of wheelchairs without carers injuring their backs; sustainable, sugarcane plastic toys; and a robotic dog that supports people with autism. We're majorly inspired right now.
The entries were part of Origin's littleBIGideas competition, which had more than 1,000 entries. The winners in each age group will now be jetting off to NASA for a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
"Our three national winners have come up with clever, inventive ideas to help people with disabilities and address the issue of pollution and wastage," said one of the judges Jordan Nguyen.
"These winners and all of our finalists are inspiring and show that the future of innovation in Australia is in good hands."
ScienceAlert CEO Fiona MacDonald was one of the judges and said the entries gave her hope for the future of Australian science.
"The simple yet life-changing ideas that came out of the littleBIGidea competition blew me away. Not only the creativity, but the amount of thought that had been put into prototyping and testing the feasibility of the winning inventions," said MacDonald.
"Now let's hope someone decides to put them into production."
Here's what the future of Australian innovation looks like:
Winner Year 3 and 4: Amelia Fox
Eight-year-old Amelia Fox has invented a portable wheelchair hoist to help carers lift people in and out of their wheelchair.
The hoist has hooks so it can be operated without falling or other potential injuries.
As you can see in the video below, Amelia says that she designed the hoist for her brother, who had to have hip surgery a few years ago, and had to use a hoist to help him get in and out of the chair.
You can see more in the video below:
Winner Year 5 and 6: Bella Winfield
Bella is an 11-year-old who wants to create more sustainable toys.
Her winning invention is toys made from sugarcane plastic. This material would be cleaner and more environmentally friendly than regular plastics, plus it can be recycled.
Sugarcane has the added benefit of absorbing carbon dioxide as it grows.
You can see more about Bella's big idea below:
Winner Year 7 and 8: Jasmine Eldridge
12-year-old Jasmine's idea is a robot aid to help children with autism with a range of features called Dog of Technology or DOT.
DOT would be able to provide medication alerts and reminders, help with calming and breathing strategies, and have an interactive play mode.
She's even coded the prototype herself! Check out more in the video below:
All in all, this year's LittleBIGideas have been pretty spectacular, and we hope all the finalists enjoy hanging out at NASA.
Finally, a big congratulations to everyone who entered, we're so impressed with the outcome!
If you're interested in getting your ideas heard next year, register your interest here .
This post was sponsored by Origin. The littleBIGidea competition is for Australian kids to show off their inventions, and even make them a reality.