Live Blog and Recap of ABC's American Inventor: Episode 206 (Season 2 Episode 6)

Hope he didn't pass out from hearing the "Love Test" from the first contestant.

What was that? Does she really think she'll be able to find a "lover" now that she's appeared on national TV with that "song"?

Seth is fine.  He just had something come up that prevented him from posting today.   I will let him give details if he chooses when he gets back.

Again, sorry for this... 

Christopher is unto to a great excellent invention. He talked about being able to use a voice recongition system for hearing and deaf people to communicate without a translator. there is also something called the "babbler" in Second Life game (www.secondlife.com) that translates the written word into several different languages, which would enable his device to be used for him to be able to talk to many different people as well!

In Houston, the top finalist came down to:

Joe & Mike Miller - wrap away dispenser

Chris Khanoyan - voice inside 

Sandy Wall - wallbanger 

 In Tampa, the top finalists came down to:

George & Denise Tucker -  ezt4u

Carlos Reid  - Reid building blocks

Furney Eubanks  - easy mower

And the winner of Houston and Tampa are ... 

The Tampa winner are George & Denise Tucker with the EZT4U

The Houston winners  Joe & Mike Miller with the wrap away dispenser. 

is the easy away dispenser.  I think its so practical.  It's a product that could end up in  everyone's house (and I don't drink tea).

I loved Chris' invention. He should have won. I also thought he was really cute and if we lived near eachother may be we could go out sometime. I'm not some stalker I am 22, around his age and just loved his invention. What an awesome person he is and an inspiration to everyone. I wish him the best of luck in the future with his invention.

Voice Inside - How is this an invention? "I want to take a computer with voice recognition and shrink it down so it's handheld." Nothing novel and definitely not patentable. If he really wants to be a bit more connected with the world, he should learn to read lips. Now <em>there's</em> an idea. Develop a device that can read lips for you.

The steak toaster - They waited how long for this? 40 minutes? How many other people could they have seen in that time? What a waste. Besides, this is so easy to get around. Temperature probes for ovens have been around for ages. George could put one in his next grill and do the same thing this thing does.

The Wallbanger - Didn't they make it clear in the contract that this is supposed to be a <em>consumer</em> product that can be sold in stores where anybody can buy it? Where are they going to sell this? SWAT 'r Us? I'm sure police chiefs around the country would love for average Joes to be buying this.

I cant believe the Wrapaway Dispenser advanced. Have any of the judges ever used plastic wrap? You often don't use it in the same place. People take them to different places around the kitchen to wrap different things. That's impossible with the Wrapaway because you've tossed all the boxes with the cutting edges and all you can do is tear them off at the dispenser.

I suspect Seth was affected by the huge steam explosion in NYC. Even if he didn't live near that, he wouldn't have been able to watch all of AI anyway. WABC hates this show and interrupts whenever possible. (Notice the interruptions for the capture of a cop killer last week and a weather bulletin the week before that.) They kept butting in with more reports about the explosion. No new information, but they just like to let NYers know they're still on the job.

How can I get a hold of Chris?

My full review of each invention from a DRTV (Infomercial and Home Shopping) can be found here:

http://martyfahncke.wordpress.com/2007/07/18/american-inventor-review-of-inventions-episode-6/

Does anyone know how I can get ahold of Chris? Did anyone catch where he is from?

A 45-year-old "career inventor" from Utah who spent $3000 so far came out dressed like an aged and crazed Pippi Longstocking, carrying a Boom Box.  Although her invention purportedly reduces stress, she looked like the overgrown poster child for stress.

If looks couldn't kill, her "Love Test" song [i.e., "invention"] probably could aid and abet suicide.

The boom box music is turned on and Pippi--I mean Rose--sings ("off-key", thanks to the experts at Closed Captioning, in case you couldn't hear for yourself) the "Love Test":

"I dare you to take the love test (laughs in the song);

 Ask him to do the dishes;

Ask him to back you up;

 See how much he loves you

....when he helps you clean up

Is he kind to your pet

...from the day you met

Hold on tight...

..He's Mr. Right.

This is your love test;

Take it while you can;

This is your love test;

...pass it if you can

This is your love test;

There's no penalty

If you pass it, uh huh,

You can be with me  [Would that not be a penalty???]

Peter, being his usual observant and rational self, responds that "this show is called the 'American Inventor'" and adds that he thinks she has come to the wrong audition!!!  What, exactly, he meant by that is debatable, but I doubt he was hinting that she belonged on "American Idol". 

Can you believe that she got four "No's" when she thought she "has what it takes to get three 'yeses'"???

If you are disappointed in the outcome, there's no need to fret:  Before departing, Rose said she was "going to keep singing and help people out"....or relationships with her????

Rose Feller became, well, a big A.I. Failer.

Chris is from the Austin area, I think.

Did I hear the show correctly? That out of the five people in his immediate family, only his mother bothered to learn sign language? Please, someone correct me.

And, Chris is also registered on the forums. He's the one with the creepy foot picture.

If anyone is watching and can do a small summary of the section in the comments  they are viewing for those who do not get access to the show, we'd appreciate it.

It wouldn't be a "real" episode of "American Inventor" without at least one chomode-like invention, so the "Smarty Potty" made its debut when, undoubtedly, more worhy inventions were overlooked.  [There was also a chomode shown when the cameras were showing the long line of contestants who were waiting to audition.]

Shirley invested 14 years and $2000 thus far on the "Smarty Potty", which features lights and songs.  It is designed to get a child to "sit and make a deposit" by being rewarded with flashing lights after making a "deposit", followed by one of 12 musical salutes (like "London Bridge Is Falling Down") when s/he flushes.  Yeah, right.

Well, the music sound was very poor, but I could see a child making "deposits"--of little toys, balls, toothbrushes, etc.--to see the lights go off and/or merely flushing to hear a "salute".

Peter said Shirley didn't have any one of the four criteria, and was very "Blount" when he added that the invention is "ridiculous".  AAAAH, four "NO" votes.

My final salute:  "Shitty, Shitty, Bang, Bang"!!

does anyone know the name of the song that was played at the end of Chris' presentation?

Every year or so, I might buy one 5-pack of emery boards for less than $1.

Kevin thought it was finally time to "unveil" his 20+ year-old invention, which he has spent $4000 on and has used its prototype for the past 9 years.  Repeat:  $4000 spent thus far on a HUGE contraption, AKA "Electric Fingernail Tool".

When he raised the massive tool onto the table and demonstrated, the judges said things like "WHOA",  "It looks like a wood saw", "the machine will make you go deaf", "That's for sanding things", and "Don't you think that contraption might be overkill to cut your nails?"  Kevin was right when he said that there's "nothing on the market like it"--at least not for trimming fingernails!  (And there won't be.)

I don't know its dimensions (bigger than a bread box?!), but it was huge for a fingernail trimmer and, contrary to his assertion ("in all homes"), I couldn't see it finding its way into ONE home.  It did resemble a table saw with a coin (fingernail) slot and belongs exactly where he has kept it:  in his own garage (or a dumpster).

He received four "NO" votes (surprise!), plus a "You gotta get out of here, man" from Pat.

 I'd rather bite off my nails or chop off my fingers before going near that thing.

Verdict:  Kevin Over-gilg

How ridiculous that these people became $50,000 finalists!

I've been brewing tea in my coffee maker for years, all you need is loose tea and a coffee filter (or tea bags without a filter). Ridiculous, and I'd never purchase something so inane, when I already have the ingredients in my house to do the job.

This 51-year-old Houston P.D. "SWAT" team retiree wants to take his "Wallbanger" to the next level and save police officers' lives.

In appearance, the "Wallbanger" [interestingly, invented by a "Wall"] resembles--for lack of a better image--a pogo stick.  It is designed for police to "blow off doors" using a "brand new technology"--a "blast chamber"--that enables the device to put all the force on the door, quickly/easily blowing it off and thereby reducing the chances of the officer being injured/killed in the process.

Despite Sandy's desire to see the Wallbanger available to all police departments, SWAT teams, etc. and further improved to fit into a patrol car trunk, Peter rightfully stated that it was a "great invention", but got a "NO" because it lacked mass market capability.  The other judges awarded the necessary "YES" votes to make Sandy a Houston finalist, with Pat even stating, "I love that thing...."

This is probably a useful product that--if/when manufactured--will never realize its true potential due to underfunded police departments and budget constraints.  It would get classified as "nice to have, but not necessary " UNLESS it could be purchased for less money than the existing "doorblasting" devices.

It was a bench grinder. You find them in machine shops and some knife-sharpening services. Kevin was a fool. Even if the idea had any kind of merit (not in my eyes but not impossible), he could have made a smaller version any of a hundred different ways. A Dremel Moto-Tool with a grinding wheel attached (and a cylindrical version of his finger guide) could have worked, as could any of the cordless nail grinders out there. He could even have scratchbuilt a palm-sized version with a few parts, a 9v battery, a grinding wheel and a small motor. His only innovation was the finger guide with the nail slot, which could be fitted to anything, but he had tunnel-vision with his big, manly grinder.

The tea concept should have been on the UK invention show1

People only need a paper towel dispencer. That's why other wood workers only make the paper towel dispencers.  If there was a market for the combo it wood be already marketed.

i blame the pre-judges for the ineptness of the inventions. They are only looking for stories or wackiness. Invendtions move forward without  prototypes or  by mere suggestions. Anybody can bring a poster and say what it will do; but if they have drawings showing the mechanics of how it would work I'd accept that.

The pre-judges should be fired. There was absolutely no reason for that first woman and her "song invention" to get airtime or even to get in front of the judges. The judges claim they're stressed out because they have to sit through hundreds of auditions for 12 hours a day. Well, if your screeners didn't send in all these weirdos who don't stand a ghost of a chance, you wouldn't be suffering so much. Take heed, Peter! Either tell your people to stop sending annoying contestants or stop looking so annoyed. You brought this on yourself. Oh, and a tip for anybody wanting to audition for season 3, if there is one: They don't like inventions that reward toddlers during toilet training. Not the color-changing artwork to pee on or the musical toilet. Can you blame them? Toilets are for waste, not play.

I was just thinking about all those people waiting for hours/days in line (overnight?) to audition and how only 8 got to show their inventions to the judges during the TV show.  Considering that-- like Cynic mentioned below--the first contestant and her "Love Song" got shown  (if not due to pre-judge failure, surely for purposes of ridicule/mockery ),  the remaining contestants who had even somewhat legitimate inventions ought to feel slighted and enraged over their ordeal.  They have to be thinking that the audition process was a huge waste of time and effort (as well as an unnecessary expense).  Granted, some "inventors" were only seeking their "15 minutes of fame" and got that denied, but other worthy inventors could have at least been "rewarded" for their efforts/perseverance  by being given a few seconds of air time for the TV audience to see.

So it seems unanimous that the last 2 "inventions" weren't that strong.  So next week the improvements and the VOTE comes and it is Saran Wrap Dispenser, EZT4U, Six in One Bra, The Claw bike hook, the Christmas Tree Fire Extinguisher and the remote control model cars, planes... HT Racers.

The HT Racers are awesome!  I am voting for that!  Really unique and could launch a line of products!  American Inventor has a winner with that one!!!!!

If the "HT Racers" are the little cars and a drag racing downhill slide, they are  lame and outdated.  If we were still in the 70s and didn't have the motorized cars, airplanes, big wheels, etc. that we do have, I might have a different opinion of it.  The race track is like a half century too late.  Maybe some of the guys who wished they had it when they were 8 years old might still see it as a good idea, but I'd say to quit living in the past.  Get over it:  you didn't have a decent race track for your little cars when you were a kid and you can't compensate for that by trying to compliment an outdated invention that shouldn't have made it to the finals.  It was for the sake of nostalgia and the past that no longer is.  Move on with your lives.

weren't the ht racers tied to a computer program?  still dumb and not likely to sell VERY well

most of the finalists are going to have a problem with that

The HT RACERS that are on the TV show  AMERICAN INVENTOR are remote controlled and do have an RC motor and that is awesome!!! As a remote control model maker it would be great to be able to design RC planes that can fly out of paper. That is a major breakthrough.  It is all about the remote control and all about designing and buiding whatever you want to make. Check out the youtube on HT Racers.

Wow - seems like a short season for American Inventor. Can't believe the products will all be shown this coming week and the judges and audience votes. 

Even thoogh I'm a man, I don't see anything else close to the marketability of the support Bra with hideaway straps. All the other ideas (some not qualifying as inventions) are lame to say the least!

it was the superman song at the end when i walked out

yes im from austin, texas

according to your quote
"Did I hear the show correctly? That out of the five people in his immediate family, only his mother bothered to learn sign language? Please, someone correct me."

its a long story but my mother is the only person that knows sign language the most because she has a deaf sister while others didnt. my point is that my bro and sis do not know sign language well like i do.

my dad knew some sign language when he used to lvie with us when iwas young but he moved to the middle east for a reason. right now he DOESNT know how to sign language except my name.

MY family isnt the only thing that i have a communication problem with. There are much more than you imagine.

Chris

if this is the real Chris khanoyan, I'd really like to help out with making your invention possible =)

Don't most hearing impaired people have the ability to read lips very well?  I don't mean to undermine the seriousness of the problem, but my interactions with deaf people were never problematic--even though I didn't know sign language.  There was usually an interpreter present, but the deaf person was still able to communicate quite well even when alone.

I also don't quite understand how members of Chris's immediate family didn't feel compelled to learn sign language--unless Chris IS good at lip reading and doesn't have as many communication problems as his presentation on the AI show suggested.  (Which wouldn't surprise me based on the other "sob" stories we've been exposed to on the show.)

How about portable TTY machines?  They could be similar to walkie talkies of the past.

Hi Chris:

Welcome to the site. :)

A viewer wanted me to send you some information. I did not have an email for you. Here's the message:

"Didn't know how to contact Chris.  He should go to www.theaudeo.com.
Ambient Corp. and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago are working with
good progress on at least 1/2 of his idea - a portable communication device
(laptop) for people with communication disability and I believe have
created speech."

According to "Don't most hearing impaired people have the ability to read lips very well?"

okay imagine if ur deaf, do you think you can read lips when people speak normally without hearing what they are saying? I DONT THINK SO and do you think i will try and tell people to slow down everytime they speak to me over and over again? NO I DONT THINK SO. and are all the hearing impaired people good at reading lips? SOME BUT NOT ALL and even NOT ALL can catch what they say perfectly when they speak normally like they talk to other hearings.

TTY machines? i dont think you understood my presentation on tv. My invention IS A PERSONAL CARRY-AROUND device that can receive voice from others AND I can also type anything i want to say on it as it will speak for me. TTY machines? they cannot go anywhere and they have to be plugged AND i would have to put a phone on it .

All i say is.. most impotantly, you are not deaf so it means you dont completely understand how my life is without hearing.

Thank you
chris

yeah im the real one lol i added you through myspace =)

if u are the real chris... your appearence on the ABC show moved me and my family to tears. god bless you and yours -
love from us here in NY

becky

Hey Chris,

Will  you be adding InventorSpot.com  to your my space account as well? 

We would really appreciate a link

Thanks,

Michelle

Hi Chris,

I was really moved by your appearance and invention on American Inventor.  I wish the judges could see how $50K could allow you to make significant progress with your idea and increase awareness for the need to marry these different technologies in the process. 

 I tracked you down via the internet to share that I work at Cal State Northridge, a campus with a large deaf and hard of hearing population that also hosts the largest Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference in the U.S.  (maybe the world).

There may be a way to connect with the conference coordinators and/or past vendors/affiliates to see who might be able to assist you with developing The Voice Inside.  I looked at the conference website and they have a specific section for assistive devices for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Here is the conference contact information: 

http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/index.html 

conference@csun.edu
Phone: (818) 677-2578

Best wishes to you as you pursue your dream of bringing your idea to fruition! 

Wendy

moreisavailable@aol.com

Hi Chris,

I didnt get to watch the episode that you were on, so please forgive me if I am asking silly questions. I work at a college in NYC as a voice writer, so I am familiar with need for a device like yours. I am a little confused about your invention because the software that I use needs to be trained before any speaker can use it with good recognition and accuracy. When you say that it receives voice from others, do you mean that there is a third party captioning the person you are speaking to? Or does the invention actually transcribe any person's voice without training? Also, what is the name of the voice recognition software that your invention is using? Thank you for your time.

~NIcole

dear chris, you have a great idea i think it'll take alot of work to become realized but i think you have alot of support and ambition that should help you through. i hope that technology can advance as fast as your dreams
ever need support from a friend in washington! i'm one.

----

also i loved the simple idea of the magnets to help you dry your shoes without ruining the dryer maybe not world changing but it would be a nice thing to have around.

as for the lesser ideas......

dear love test song lady you are nuts. true love cannot be found based on your simple questions and audacious outfit. but you are brave to go on tv with such a different idea and sit through the comments made about it.

dear tea people, i dont understand your invention, was there ever a problem with making tea before?

A New innovative automotive shop accessory?  What a great tool!

Visit the private product review site at: 

www.thinkertank.com and use the following to access the product details;

username = Guest1

password = 37128461

Hope you like it ... we're looking for investors/partners too.

Ready and Waiting 

u can just add him on face book by chris khanoyan....