Hannah Erickson ’23 and James Ruhlman ’22, industrial and interaction design majors in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Design, took second prize ($3,000) at Invent@SU, the University’s six-week invention accelerator program, with a unique drawing tool that allows the user to make music and art at the same time. They call their invention “Mystic Marker.”
“As you press down on the marker tip, it is spring-loaded, so that interacts with the pressure sensor inside and so the harder you press, the higher pitch the notes get,” says Erickson. “Then when you squeeze on the grip, the notes slow down, and if you are not squeezing at all, the notes are really, really fast.”
Erickson and Ruhlman say special education teachers were interested in the marker’s potential as a creative tool for children with autism.
“Every time we would bring up the idea to someone, their face would light up,” says Erickson.
All Syracuse University undergraduates can apply to Invent@SU sessions on Main Campus and at the Fisher Center in New York City. The team of Erickson and Ruhlman was one of ten to participate in the Invent@SU campus session. Each week the teams presented their work to guest evaluators during seven-minute presentations, and at the end of the program, a panel of judges voted on the top inventions.
During Invent@SU, students receive assistance from faculty with the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the School of Design. Several of the teams plan to work with Blackstone Launchpad to move forward as small businesses.
“Even if you don’t know how to code or you don’t know how to engineer, you can learn all of those skills because at the end of the day you know how to make something and this program is about making a prototype,” said Erickson.
Visit invent.syr.edu for more information on Invent@SU and past student inventions.