2001

Cargo Organizer Project

Drivers of sport-utility vehicles, trucks, and many cars often have difficulty keeping their cargo organized because they have no dividers or containers to separate the space and accommodate packages. Consequently, groceries often spill out of bags, sports equipment rattles around, and many items are lost or damaged. To address this problem, this E-Team from Loyola Marymount University has created a multipurpose organizer for storing and transporting cargo safely. The Cargo Organizer is easy to use, carry, collapse, and store. In addition, it is expandable and can fold down, making it adaptable to many types of vehicles. Customers can also use the product in homes and offices to organize toys, clothes, office supplies, or tools.

The Cargo Organizer E-Team is confident that their product is better than anything currently on the market because of its versatility, maneuverability, and cost. Because of this they believe that this unique package is attractive to many different markets.

The Cargo Organizer E-Team is comprised of MBAs, graduate students in engineering and product management, and an undergraduate in mechanical engineering with an emphasis in design. Team advisors include a mechanical engineering professor, an entrepreneurship professor, and two mentors: the President of PML, Inc., who can address design and prototyping issues, and the President of Brubaker & Associates, an expert in accounting and marketing

IPRO 353 Sensor Systems in the Transportation Industry

Miami University-Oxford - $18150.00

This E-Team from the Illinois Institute of Technology has developed a safety device for railroad tank cars, many of which carry toxic and hazardous commodities. The cars would be equipped with a monitoring device that combines the most advanced tiny chemical sensors with modern telecommunications technology and the internet. This integration allows for advanced warning to loading or unloading sites, thus reducing the risk of a dangerous accident. The device can detect small leaks in the tank car valves and fittings, enabling maintenance before any hazard develops

Painless Injection Method and Device

University of Cincinnati, 2001 - $17,800

Over the next ten years, more than 73 million vaccinations will be given to children under the age of five. For most of these children, receiving an injection will be a traumatic experience due to the pain. This pain can be attributed to the size of the needle and the speed with which the medicine is injected. As a child receives additional vaccinations, they often develop a psychological aversion toward injections. Eventually, just the sight of a needle can elicit a fearful response from the child. The parents are often just as emotionally affected as their children.

The Painless Injection Device, or PID, is a revolutionary and innovative product that eliminates the trauma associated with vaccinations. With the PID, the needle is hidden from sight, its diameter is below the threshold for sensing its insertion, and the medication injection speed (one to five minutes) is below the threshold of pain. This E-Team from the University of Cincinnati believes the PID has enormous potential to positively alter the lives of millions of children and their parents.

Breast Augmentation Instrument - BME 590 Technical Entrepreneurship

Stanford University - $9800.00

This E-Team from the University of Miami has designed an instrument that eases the insertion of implants when using the transaxillary breast augmentation procedure. The device works by holding the implant in an upright position. The first prototype is being made out of stainless steel. Eventually, the team wishes to test that prototype in surgery and, depending on the results, take it to mass production.

The team plans to make the prototype out of plastic, allowing the instrument to be disposable. If the design is successful, the team can use a thermo jet machine (FDM) to mass-produce the tool in a plastic form using three-dimensional drawings. This tool could promote surgeons to switch over to this newer procedure, thus promoting a much safer and efficient breast augmentation surgery.

The Vayusa Team (Modiv Media)

Babson College, 2001 - $8,400

Seven years ago, the Babson College Vayusa E-Team created a mobile commerce solution that allows people to pay for products with their cell phones. At the checkout counter, the customer dials the company, enters a four-digit PIN, chooses a payment method (credit card, debit, etc.), and confirms purchase. The Vayusa platform also contains a loyalty card management system, allowing retailers to reward consumers for using certain payment methods. Vayusa's system is fast and safe, requires no additional equipment installed on either side of the transaction, and can be utilized with any existing cell phone.

After graduating from Babson the team went on to incorporate as MobileLime, completed a round of funding that brought in $2.2 million, and launched in Boston with twenty-one employees in March 2003. In 2007 the company merged with Cuesol to become Modiv Media, developer of a next generation retail media delivery platform.

Updates:

Digital Lap Counter and Timer for Swimmers

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 2001 - $11,200

The Digital Lap Counter and Timer for Swimmers frees swimmers' minds of lap counts so that they can concentrate on their positioning and stroke dynamics. The device consists of an underwater pad placed directly over the wall at the end of a swimming lane. Inside are digital displays that show a swimmer's current lap count and either total swimming time or their current lap time. Also inside are pressure-activated switches that sense a swimmer's lap change when the swimmer presses the pad while pushing off the wall into the next lap. All of the computing, saving of data, and counting takes place just outside the pool in a small waterproof box connected to the underwater pad by a short cable. This box has a simple user interface and a standard DB9 serial port socket for connection to a personal computer. When the device is connected to a PC, the swimmer can download swim data, giving them the ability to chart their improvement between different training sessions.

Entrepreneurship Implementation: Internet-Based Business

University of Arkansas Main Campus - $19000.00

Entrepreneurship Implementation: Internet-based Business is a course for students interested in the start-up phases or management of a new Internet-related business or technology. This course is appropriate for students that have already taken a business plan development course and seek to form and implement their E-Team plans. The course has a "how to do it" practical emphasis. Students who complete the course will know how to implement a business plan, understand the technologies involved in Internet-based businesses, and how to proceed with the fundamental, underlying implementation tasks required to start an Internet-based business. Each E-Team student in the class selects a project, problem-solves, and completes the project with their team members, learning the critical tasks involved in a new venture implementation

Creative E-Teams Developing Global Products

Loyola Marymount University - $15200.00

LMU's College of Science & Engineering and College of Business Administration will develop and integrate three unique courses during one academic year: New Product Development, International Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

The project combines faculty from engineering, business, and applied psychology that have expertise in design, marketing/entrepreneurship, and team building, respectively. The goal is to form diverse E-Teams of engineering and business students who design creative products for international customers. The E-Teams perform product planning, market research, design, prototyping, and write a business plan. They focus on developing unique, high risk/high reward products leading to a factor of 10x improvement over existing products. The E-Teams conceive products that "improve the quality of life for people."

Six E-Teams, each composed of 5 students, will design their product around their customers' needs in different geographical areas. The E-Teams will address the different social/economic, environmental and cultural needs that affect their product's design. The students will interact both in collocated teams and in virtual teams. The virtual teams will collaborate over the Internet using ipTeamSuite software from Nexprise Inc. This project will integrate engineering, marketing and entrepreneurship for meeting the changing demands of the 21st century

IdentiChem, Inc.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2001 - $13,500

The IdentiChem E-Team formed in a course called "Technopreneurial Leadership" taught by Dr. Lee Martin at the University of Tennessee. While researching a proposal for the US Food and Drug Administration, the team determined that polyamines, istamine, putrescine, and cadaverine are all indicators of tissue breakdown and can be monitored using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. Their device provided near-time results for a problem that has been estimated to cause as many as 33,000 annual cases of illness from seafood in the US.

The E-Team consisted of four MBA students with backgrounds in engineering and medicine. They targeted sales to the seafood industry as a faster and more cost effective measurement tool.

Comfort Computing, Inc.

Comfort Computing Inc. (CCI) designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes computer accessory products that promote ergonomics, mobility, and productivity to mobile computer users. CCI plans to lead the market with the Portable Computer Laprest product, an accessory for users of portable computers in the home, office, or hotel. The product addresses an unarticulated market need from home workers, telecommuters and students that seek alternative computing environments. Laprest allows users to operate their computers from their laps comfortably and free from the dangers of repetitive stress injuries or excessive heat generated by the machine.

The team is comprised of two Babson College MBA students. One student has done brand development and the other has an MS in Engineering Design with significant work experience. Their advisors include two entrepreneurship professors and a physical therapist. The Babson College Incubator Program is providing office space and $5,000 for startup expenses. The E-Team's plan includes securing patents, creating prototypes, conducting further market research, writing a market plan, and making models for manufacturers.

Stanford University - $7400.00