Every year the Innovatech Show brings together the best Walloon inventors. Now established for several years at La Louvière, Innovatech offers the chance to discover 100% made-in-Wallonia items from fields as varied as everyday utensils, high-tech applications, games and food products. Walloons are broadly talented and here are some examples.
First example: this cuddly toy designed in Nil-Saint-Vincent, in the heart of Walloon Brabant. Because this is no ordinary cuddly toy. It makes it possible to reassure anxious babies, lighting up for ten minutes when they start crying, so it gently calms their fears with a comforting ray of light. This unique Walloon cuddly toy, recharged via a USB, has already won three awards for innovation in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Another example: Calla, the lamp that waters herbs. Herbs are great. Very often, though, we forget to water them and they do not get enough light. The Calla lamp thinks of all that for you. Designed by a couple of young people from Liège, helped by LED lighting specialists who are experts in horticulture, Calla is a nice, decorative lamp that provides light for herbs and waters them at the same time. And that means the herbs keep for longer.
Designed in Charleroi, the carpet bag is a useful invention for the swimming pool. After a swim, your feet are often still wet when it’s time to put your socks back on... After searching in vain in the shops for an item like this, the designers decided to create it themselves. Machine-washable, with a modern look, this micro-fibre mat can be used quickly and then put away in a waterproof pocket of the bag. Provided with two small mats, this bag means you can keep your feet dry.
Finally, the Home Based system is another example of Walloon talent. This unique invention from Namur is a voice-controlled system for running your home. The system is operated by a virtual character called Soline. Do you want to open a door, surf the Internet, switch on a light or give someone a ring? Soline takes care of it. This system is mainly aimed at people with physical disabilities, allowing them to recover a degree of independence. The system is initially quite expensive but a good part of the cost can be reclaimed in cases of serious disability.
As these examples show, Wallonia really is a land of innovative talent!
Source: RTBF.be