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Published on January 31, 2008

"Hooks where gold necklaces are hung will retract immediately after you press a button and those necklaces will then move along a pipe when they fall down from the hooks. It takes just a few seconds to take your gold off the shelves in your shop," Teera Deelerd, 18, said yesterday as he demonstrated the process.

This is just one of the inventions created by students that will be on show at a competition for national vocational inventions. There will be 179 entries to select the outstanding inventions.

The event to be held from February 7-10 at the MCC Hall in The Mall Bang Kapi will also explore the potential of the prototypes for business applications.

"Many entrepreneurs have shown interest in 70-80 per cent of the vocational students' inventions. We hope that the private sector will be interested in commercialising them. That will be a nice motivation for students to try to become inventors," said Veerasak Wongsombut, secretary-general of the Vocational Education Commission.

"Anybody interested in these inventions can buy their patents to improve them and produce them for sale," he told a press conference.

The four categories in the contest are improving the quality of life, sustaining life, producing food and enhancing energy efficiency.

Her Royal Highness Princess Somsavali will graciously present plaques of honour to the winners.

So far 576 inventions have been awarded patents and some 800 are in the pipeline.

The commission has worked with the Intellectual Property Department to register patents since 2003, said Chiang Wongswatsuriya, director of the commission's research and development bureau.

Visitors will see other amazing innovations, such as a device warning of leaking LPG in cars, an automatic fishbowl, an ice-cream maker, a biodiesel maker, a fruit-preserving device and a dog-doo scooper.

Wannapa Phetdee

The Nation