Matthew Rooda and Abraham Espinoza couldn’t have come from more dissimilar backgrounds. Matt grew up working in pork production in America’s heartland; Abe was a mischievous boarding school student in Mexico. When the duo met at Buckeye Community College they began channeling their curiosity onto a laser focus on the massive problem of piglet crushing in the swine industry.
Their invention, Smart Guard, has already saved millions of piglets by accurately identifying and isolating the sound of a piglet in distress using artificial intelligence and voice recognition. The device can then safely stimulate the sow to prevent her from suffocating her young. Now in their late 20s, Matt and Abe’s company Swine Tech is expanding and integrating an entire swine management platform to ensure the health and safety of piggies and their mamas throughout their time on the farm.
Matt and Abe used AI and sound recognition to solve the problem. Now it's your turn to invent a solution!
- Brainstorm: Think of other animal welfare challenges. Maybe it's protecting endangered species, helping pets with disabilities, or improving the lives of animals in zoos.
- Invent: Design a device or system that could help solve one of these challenges. Consider:
- Brainstorm: Think about the following areas and jot down as many problems as you can in each category:
- What problem does your invention solve?
- How does it work?
- What materials would you need?
- How would it help the animals?
Draw a diagram of your invention and write a description explaining how it works.