People who are blind or visually impaired often cannot identify the products that surround them, whether they are shopping in supermarkets or moving around in their homes.

• The Suffolk County Technical School InvenTeam focused on the refinement of a dog-treat dispenser that stemmed from a previous student project.
• The InvenTeam aligned with Paws With A Cause®, the largest service-dog trainer in the United States, for guidance on the creation of a dispenser to enable disabled people to reward their dogs.
• The InvenTeam received a 2009 Continuation Grant.

• After surveying teachers in their school, students learned of several problems that teachers experienced with the blackboards including difficulty cleaning them and dust inhalation from chalk.
• The InvenTeam’s solution was an automatic portable blackboard eraser, referred to as P.A.B.E.
• The P.A.B.E. is composed of three parts: a top bearing, automatic eraser, and motor base, which were designed to move horizontally across the board.

• Cell phones are a critical communication link between students and parents, especially to ensure safety of the students who attend Benjamin Banneker High School, which is located in an urban area.
• The cell-phone locker, named the Cell-Mate, was designed by the InvenTeam to overcome the ban on bringing cell phones to school, which had been established to mitigate class disruptions and cheating.

• The idea for a SCUBA breathing and pressure monitor sprung from Robert Nelson, an avid scuba diver and student.
• In its initial research, the InvenTeam confirmed with the Professional Association for Dive Instruction (PADI) that no technology was available to monitor a partner’s breathing levels. Bubbles often serve as the main indicator, but a better sign was needed.
• The InvenTeam’s first Eureka! moment occurred when it tried a DC (direct current) motor in lieu of a generator to light an LED indicator.

• Called the Touch-Graph, the device uses a motor that physically pushes individuals pins to the surface, which create a tactile image.
• One of the InvenTeam members was inspired to create the invention from a pin-screen toy.
• The InvenTeam hopes to make the device portable and develop it further, so the visually impaired can use it without assistance.

• Henry Evans, a quadriplegic and former colleague of InvenTeam mentor Chris Tacklind, inspired development of the InvenTeam's "Laser Finger."
• Attached to the user's hat or glasses by magnets, the remote control operates through a solar cell, which recognizes the pulsing laser and feeds information into a tiny computer, allowing the user to turn on a light or the television.
• The InvenTeam was able to develop the Laser Finger with the support of the Tech Shop, OK International, Microchip, and SolidWorks.

• The device is equipped with an accelerometer, which senses when the wheelchair tips at a 45-degree angle.
• Currently, the device communicates with a computer, but the InvenTeam is researching development of a Bluetooth component, which would send the GPS location of the wheelchair to an emergency contact via text message.
• The InvenTeam is pursuing a patent for some of the aspects of the device.
• Other applications for the device are rollover detection for cars and capsizing alerts for boats.

• As part of its research, the InvenTeam distributed a series of surveys about dry-erase markers to teachers at its high school.
• The InvenTeam used SolidWorks software to design its prototype.
• The InvenTeam used polyester-fibrous material to hold ink rather than absorb it.
• Since the InvenTeam's prototype was not created to scale, it plans to build a plastic mold similar to the size of a standard Expo marker.