Since 1975, Geneva has been home to the International Exhibition of Inventions. On this occasion, numerous inventors present their creations to enliven the world's largest showcase of its kind.
After the customary official speeches, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis officially opened the event. The pair of scissors arrived by air, transported by Dronistics, a small Swiss drone created by the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), to cut the ribbon.
Another popular Swiss development, also from EPFL, is ROVéo, a highly agile land robot designed for use in rugged terrain and environments hazardous to humans. The startup developing it has already won over customers in China in the fire-fighting sector. Thomas Estier, Co-founder and CEO of Rovenso, explained that the company "has a pilot project with a Chinese company, in Jinan, to carry out inspections to analyze toxic gases upstream of intervention teams during industrial fires."
This year saw record participation, with 822 exhibitors from 40 countries presenting around a thousand inventions. Asia accounted for 61% of exhibitors, followed by Europe (22%) and the Middle East (12%). Over an area of almost 9,000 square metres, 31,050 visitors - a stable figure compared to last year - spent five days at Palexpo. Show Director Gaëlle Grosjean declared that "the five days were of incredible intensity" and that she "shares her satisfaction with the exhibitors and the numerous visitors".
The Geneva International Show confirms its position as the world's most important specialist event. Once again, it was marked by the very strong presence of inventions related to health, medicine, the environment and safety. In fact, it was a medical invention that won the Show's Grand Prix. It was awarded to Messrs Carly Sy Lam and Chi Ho To, from Hong Kong, for DIMS spectacle lenses with multiple "microlens segments" that project an attenuation of the effects of myopia and provide clear vision to the user, potentially slowing the progression of myopia in children by 60%. The People's Choice Award went to DRONISTICS, developed by Przemyslaw Kornatowski of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, for their drone delivery system for small parcels.
Jean-Luc Vincent, President and Founder of the Show, was delighted with this year's event: "The general level of innovations presented is higher every year. Claude Membrez, General Manager of Palexpo, hailed the success of this year's event: "The constantly renewed challenge of finding the world's best inventors is not one we dislike. This year's record strengthens our resolve to give the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions an ever-widening aura."
The next edition will be held from April 10 to 14, 2019.