A masterclass in inventive activities was held at the V.G. Korolenko KhSSL for Budy general education school (Kharkiv Region) grade 8-9 students who are interested in the history of inventions and their application.
The lecture was given by Inventa's patent agent Stogniy Ye.S. who spoke about famous inventors of ancient times – the builders of Egypt's pyramids. He discussed the engineering techniques and hypotheses related to building the Pyramid of Cheops. Thus far, it boggles the mind of living people by its grandeur, and it is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Next, the speaker dwelled on some known inventive activities methods for tackling engineering problems. One such method is looking for the regularities of realising a process. In particular, an example of process of arranging new books in a library stack was offered. It turns out that, by finding the regularity of arranging books in a library stack, the needed book can be found without using catalogue and the services of a duty librarian.
Another inventive activity technique is changing the phase state of a substance. For instance, to cross a river without wetting one's feet, the water should freeze to form ice.
Other examples of solving inventive problems with other methods were also given. They were taken from different areas in agriculture, medicine, construction and transport. For example, the problem of increasing automotive transport safety was solved by inventing an unmanned automobile control system. It is controlled with advanced automatic navigation devices. Presently, such a system is used in some cities in the USA. Motor taxis equipped with such a system have run a total mileage of over 1 mln.
The students were also offered engineering problems as homework for further deliberation.
In conclusion, the speaker wished the students creative success and persistence in pursuing their goals.