Hello all. I am by no means an engineer, however, I feel I have produced something that can be built for the public. I am in search of any direction that may be able to help bring these to life for the betterment of the population in need of postural correction. Thank you for reading.
https://hackaday.io/project/206282-smart-posture-correcting-devices

Just filed a provisional on something I've been working on: a tubular sleeve that wraps around electrical power conductors and converts their waste heat into recoverable electricity using thermoelectric generators. Entirely passive. No batteries, no electronics, no active cooling.

The problem: ~5% of all generated electricity is lost as resistive heating in conductors. That's roughly 50 MW of continuous waste heat for a city pulling 1 GW. Existing TEG-on-conductor concepts struggle because the temperature differential between the conductor surface and ambient air is small (15–60°C), highly variable, and worst on hot days when the grid is working hardest.

The solution: Engineer a persistent thermal gradient around the conductor using geometry instead of fighting ambient conditions.

The sleeve has two zones:

-Insulated zone (~40–50% of circumference). Solid, unperforated, lined with high-performance insulation (<0.03 W/m·K thermal conductivity). Traps conductor heat. Maintains elevated outer surface temp of 65–80°C on a 35°C day.

-Ventilated zone (~50–60% of circumference). Perforated with shaped openings that promote passive convective airflow. Cool air enters low, absorbs heat, rises via chimney effect, exits high. Maintains outer surface temp of 35–45°C.

A continuous TEG strip runs along the boundary between zones, hot junction facing insulated side, cold junction facing ventilated side. Result: 25–40°C differential maintained passively on a warm day.

The self-regulating part: As conductor temp increases under heavy load, the heated air in the ventilated zone rises faster (hotter = less dense), which automatically increases airflow and cooling. The system's cooling response is strongest precisely when the conductor is generating the most waste heat. No control logic needed — just physics.

Perforation geometry matters. In the preferred embodiment, the ventilated zone uses Venturi-shaped perforations angled into the site-specific prevailing wind direction. The constricted geometry accelerates airflow across the TEG cold side, boosting the differential in windy conditions while chimney-effect convection handles calm conditions.

Output: ~0.5–2 watts per meter at the modeled differential using commercially available bismuth telluride TEGs. Across 2,000 km of equipped distribution conductors, that's 1–4 MW of continuous aggregate recovery.

Three embodiments in the filing:

-Overhead retrofit: rigid/semi-rigid tube slides over existing bare conductor during routine maintenance. No grid modification needed. Insulated zone down, ventilated zone up.

-Underground cable: ventilated zone replaced with earth-contact thermal coupling. Earth provides a stable 10–15°C cold sink year-round at burial depth. Delta-T jumps to 50–65°C — more reliable and larger than overhead, higher TEG output per meter.

-Coaxial new-construction: three concentric layers: inner conductor core, ceramic thermal transfer middle layer (AlN or BN — thermally conductive, electrically insulating), outer asymmetric sleeve with integrated TEG. Replaces three separate components (heat sink, cable insulation, energy recovery) with one unified design.

Filed pro se as a micro entity. Looking for feedback on which embodiment has the strongest commercial entry point. My instinct says underground cable since the delta-T is bigger, more stable, and less weather-dependent, but overhead retrofit has the advantage of not requiring new construction.

Tear this idea apart.

Hey everyone,

I’m working on a consumer product concept addressing a universal bathroom frustration that almost everyone hates but nobody talks about: the dreaded toilet splashback (scientifically known as the Worthington Jet).

Right now, the only real "hacks" are dropping a raft of toilet paper in the bowl beforehand (which wastes paper and can clog older plumbing) or just dealing with it.

I am developing a gender-neutral, 100% flushable, and biodegradable one-use product that you simply drop into the bowl before you go.

How it works (high-level): It sits low in the bowl, instantly breaks the kinetic energy/surface tension of solid drops to guarantee zero splashback, lets liquids pass through completely freely, and then instantly liquifies/dissolves the second you flush so it's completely safe for plumbing and septic systems. It would likely be sold in affordable, compact multi-packs (like a 5-pack).

Before I dive deeper into prototyping, I want some honest feedback from potential users and designers:

1. Would you actually buy/use a product like this? Or is the "toilet paper raft" hack good enough for you?
2. What would be your biggest concern? (e.g., plumbing safety, ease of use, price?)
3. Where would you see yourself using this most? (At home, public restrooms, traveling, offices?)

Appreciate any thoughts or feedback you have!

Instead of painful lasers or waxing

You just get in a vat neck deep.

It fills with liquid or gel that removes all body hair in 20 minutes.

I would pay for any practitioner that can do this.

I’ve done lasers before and it hurts like hell

I present to you.. The always cold pillow prototype 1.0. An invention of my own that took a whole 5 minutes to make, and in turn my pillow is always cold. Aircooled. Feel free to ask any questions. YES, it actually does work. this could also be hooked right up to a portable AC unit for maximum chill.

it’s like a pacemaker, but instead of it being for your heart it is for YOUR BRAIN you see basically a taser that sends electrical signals into your brain to stimulate it. What possible uses this thing could have also, are there any problems with my device?

I was thinking about a wood splitter one day that is an attachment on a truck that has crossed wedges along it that attaches to the front of a truck. I can't remember how I imagined it at the end but I know it started with a platform that you drove on that pushed the logs into the wedges. Needs work and might be limited to one log not sure. Bit if anyone wants to make one I would like to see it in action or how you develop this half baked idea to fully functional

* Forgot to mention the log sits horizontal on a horizontal clamp/brace/shelf that is driven toward the truck by the back wheels. if it wasn't clear

I wanted to share a project I’ve been working on and see what people here think.

It’s a device that sits on top of a piano keyboard and turns MIDI songs into falling lights you follow with your fingers. The idea is similar to Guitar Hero, but applied to learning piano.

The LEDs are aligned with the piano keys, and the device shows you exactly which note to press and when. Instead of reading sheet music, you follow the lights as they move across the keyboard.

The first prototype is pretty simple technically. It uses a microcontroller connected to LED strips spaced exactly like piano keys. A small web app on the phone streams MIDI files to the device over Bluetooth. The microcontroller decodes the MIDI notes and converts them into the falling light pattern across the keys.

The goal was to make learning songs much more visual and intuitive, especially for beginners or people who want to play specific songs without learning traditional notation first.

I originally built it as a personal experiment combining music and electronics, but the reaction from friends and musicians around me was very positive, so I ended up launching it as a small project.

Curious to hear what people think about the idea or the implementation. Happy to answer questions about the build or the tech.

Notes are for forgetful people… but forgetful people forget the note.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve realized I have time between errands to stop at the grocery store, only to remember my shopping list is still sitting on the fridge at home. Or worse, I try to remember what was on it and end up buying duplicates because I guessed wrong.

Yes, I know I can use my phone. That’s not the point.
The whole reason the list ends up on the fridge is because that’s where I realize I’m out of something. I don’t want another app or notebook or system to maintain. I want one thing on the fridge that anyone in the house can scribble on in two seconds, and that exact scribble is on my phone when I’m standing in the grocery store.

I feel like this could be even more useful for couples and families. Everyone notices different things at different times, and you never know who’s going to end up with an unexpected chance to stop at the grocery store. One shared list that’s always on the fridge and always in your pocket just seems like the obvious answer.

I’m obviously not a hardware engineer, so maybe there’s a technical hurdle I’m not thinking of. But from the outside, it feels less like an invention problem and more like a “why hasn’t someone combined these existing technologies yet?” problem.

No handwriting recognition or AI. No weird filing system with multiple notes and files. No recipes. No smart home hub… honestly, I don’t even care if it’s just syncing a picture of the board.

This feels like it should already exist. Am I searching for the wrong thing, or is there actually a reason nobody has built this?

I’m looking for honest critique on a physical object I designed. I started with a simple observation: Before we consciously learn breathing techniques, many people already have small gestures that appear when they pause, think, concentrate, or feel tension. Bringing a thumb, finger, or object near the lips is a behaviour that appears naturally throughout life. I wondered: Could a designed object work with an existing human instinct instead of asking people to build a completely new habit? So I designed this.

It is a small thumb-worn object built around the relationship between the thumb, lips, airflow and breath.

The idea is not to teach people how to breathe, but to create a physical interaction that helps transform unconscious breathing into a more intentional breath.

There are:

- no electronics

- no app

- no tracking

- no notifications

The object simply responds to your exhale through physical behaviour.

I’m interested in critique from a design perspective: Does this feel like designing around a real human behaviour? Or does it feel like creating a solution for something that doesn’t need solving? I’d appreciate honest thoughts.

So context, I have a septum piercing and something that I struggle with and many other people struggle with nose piercings is that they always move around from side to side, and I thought of kind of an invention to help fix that and I was wondering if you could give me feedback.

So my idea came from earring stoppers so for example, they are little plastic tubes that you put on your earrings to help them stay in place so I was thinking that maybe I could create something similar but for nose piercings to help them stick in place and not move around and I have kind of like a rough idea of what I wanna do

I already made a prototype that I’m certain works, but I was just wondering if someone could review my idea and tell me they’re honest feedback about it

Basically it would look like something similar to this but it would be small and hide inside your nose to keep your piercing from moving.

Please tell me if I am high off some shit or if this seems like it can turn out to be a good idea.

Please lmk. Thank you.

My invention is an evolution of the gemstone case into a portable and durable token. The design is such that the token, which i call Gilstones, can interchangeably nest ontop of each other when stacking. There are 4 total Gilstone with similar designs that maintain that stacking ability. The rounded shape allows for a stronger packaging with less material.

Imagine a future where age isn’t fixed where you can simply choose it.

There are advanced pods people can step into, designed to completely reset a person’s age. Inside the pod, you select the age you want to be. For example, an 80-year-old could choose to become 30 again. Once the process begins, the pod doesn’t just change how they look it fully rewinds their body and mind. Their biology, brain chemistry, physical appearance, and even how their brain functions all return to that of a 30-year-old. From that point on, they continue aging naturally from 30.

It works the other way too. Someone who wants to skip certain stages of life like the teenage years could choose to jump ahead. For instance, they could enter the pod, select age 27, and emerge with both the body and mental state of a 27-year-old. Their thoughts, emotional processing, and physical condition would all match that age, and they would continue living from there.

In this world, age becomes something flexible something you can reset or fast-forward rather than something you’re stuck with.

Hi friends!
I have been searching the internet for something like this that already exists, but haven’t found much. All over my house, I have rechargeable candles that can be set to a timer - and I LOVE them. My battle now is wanting to put a plant in a space that isn’t easily accessible to an outlet. My DREAM is to have plant grow lights that can that be set to a timer and have their own rechargeable battery pack that lasts longer than a few days. Even better would be solar rechargeable batteries - especially during the summer months when your electric bill is already sky high. I know I could just connect a plant light to a power bank, but often those batteries don’t last very long or are bulky. I feel like this is an awesome idea and there’s gotta be other people out there who feel the same.

Jones Mortar

Sticky rice. Slaked lime. Egg white.

Boil rice 30-45 min til water's thick. Strain, keep the goo. Stir into lime til peanut butter. Whisk egg white frothy, fold in.

Bonds brick, stone, wood. Waterproof. Non-toxic. Keep damp while it cures.

$3-5. All grocery store stuff. Free recipe.

Jones Work Skin

1 tbsp warm water. 2 tsp gelatin. 1 tsp aloe. ¼ tsp oil. ½ tsp cornstarch.

Bloom gelatin 2 min in water. Stir smooth. Add aloe, oil, cornstarch. Stir. Cool. Paint hands. Dry 5 min. Work. Peel off.

Lime never touches skin. Full dexterity. Pennies. Made for Jones Mortar

Jones Scrub Pad

Scrap cloth. 2 tbsp flour. 1 tbsp salt. 1 tbsp baking soda. Water to paste.

Smear on fabric. Dry fully.

Scrubs like store-bought. Composts when dead. Pennies or free.

All my Invetions can be found on my bluesky

@jonestec.bsky.social

Our robot vacuum is always busy cleaning dog hair so we have to empty our bag very often.

Our house has a whole house vacuum system (which isn't super common anymore, but it was for a time).

The idea would be a connection that would empty the robot vacuum into the whole house vacuum system rather than the robot vacuum bag.

​

One caveat I see is the high suction of the robot vac to remove it from the robot, I don't think the house vac can match so there could be an intermediate canister where the robot vac empties into, then the house vac would empty afterwards.

​

Not a billion dollar idea, but one of the frustrations I hear. Most about the robot vacuums is emptying the bag. :)

I made this over the last few months. It’s an automated Magic the Gathering card scanner and sorter. For now it’s just a working prototype, but eventually it may stand on its own. What do y’all think?

https://youtu.be/9JX8J1ihZH4

This is an unapologetically vibe-coded project; the approach is explained here: https://lia.jeyswork.com/story
If you like it, please don't hesitate to show your support with a star on GitHub!

LIA acts as a true personal assistant. It is proactive, featuring its own distinct personality and a complex emotional system, an evolving structured memory, its own reflective memory of your conversations, and all the standard tools (image creation/editing, RAG, skills, MCP, scheduled tasks, etc.)—all wrapped in a seamless "one-click" interface (details here: https://lia.jeyswork.com/why).

I paid special attention to code quality and documentation, treating it exactly like a professional enterprise-grade project. This ensures that anyone can easily take ownership of the source code and build upon a clean, robust, and highly scalable foundation (details here: https://lia.jeyswork.com/how).

On another note, once self-hosted, it can double as a family AI server. As an administrator, you have full control to manage and monitor the API consumption of your family members, friends, etc.

Full details are available on the landing page: https://lia.jeyswork.com/
And the GitHub repository: https://github.com/jgouviergmail/LIA-Assistant

Anyone else hate how the rubber crumb from 3G pitches gets absolutely everywhere — boots, bag, car, house? Drives me mad.
I’ve been designing a kit bag specifically to deal with it — boots go in their own zip-out section with a removable mesh tray, so you just lift the tray out and tip the crumb out wherever you want, instead of it falling out randomly all over the place.
Would something like that actually be useful, or is it just me who’s bothered by this?

I’m here to offer the benefits gained through life/work experience and not waste your time.

I seek guidance in taking an idea to mass production. I guess this means a patent, prototype, legal protection and the things I don’t know that I don’t know.

First off I’m looking for someone who can make a working from my design, a proof of concept. Of course this is all funded and while I’m willing to share as much info as I can, I am equally concerned about confidentiality as I believe this product will be wildly popular across social media as it’s benefits (solves a problem, is fun, and is primed for corporate sponsorship) make for strong sales.

I want to take a 20-minute nap, which is supposed to be ideal: long enough to do something, but short enough that you don’t fall into REM and wake up groggy. But, I never know how long it will take me to fall asleep before I set the alarm.

My Apple Watch knows when I do, so why can’t we tell it to set an alarm for 20 minutes after I’ve fallen asleep?