When the Corona pandemic swept the world, Jordanian mechanical engineer Saliba Taima thought about the contaminated surfaces that a large number of people touch daily, such as the handrails of escalators in malls, airports and metro stations, so he decided to make a device for sterilizing them with ultraviolet rays.

Tuaima is a mechanical engineer and inventor of a sterilizing device for escalator handrails, inspired by the Corona pandemic (French)

But his idea and other Jordanian inventors would not have succeeded and seen the light on the ground without the help of the "Idea Factory" or as it is called in English "Tech Works", which is a unique innovation center, platform and engine in the Kingdom that works to attract, inspire, empower and support makers, innovators and talented youth.

Idea Factory

The center was established in 2018 at the King Hussein Business Park, which includes branches of major international technology companies. It contains advanced equipment and is affiliated with the Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II Foundation. Last year, it received about 100 inventors and start-up companies to help invention owners produce prototypes quickly and at low cost. .

The doors of the “Dream Factory” laboratory are open to all, as the support includes students, entrepreneurs and startups (French)

sterilizer

Taima, 39, says that he succeeded in inventing the sterilization device after about two years and after about 23 attempts, and with the help of the center, which "provided me all support, support, advice and guidance," noting that he modified the device more than once and became larger and a screen was added to it.

"It is a machine that sterilizes the railings of escalators from all kinds of viruses, such as the Corona virus and bacteria, and it is very powerful and effective," he added to the French, while standing next to the device.

After he finished making the device, Saliba wrote to several international companies presenting his idea to them. The answer came from a German company specialized in health safety in public places. I agreed with him to make the device, which he called "Brigid Box", and it weighs 7.2 kg and is externally installed in less than 15 minutes. on elevators, and in return he will get a portion of the profits.

A tracking device for elderly patients and people with special needs is placed on the hand, like a watch, or around the neck, like a necklace (French)

To protect the elderly

Other inventors have succeeded with the help of the center, where high school student Zain Abu Rumman (18 years) was able to make a “SBS Watch” device to follow up on elderly patients and people with special needs, placed by hand like a watch, or around the neck like a necklace, and its battery works for 8 Consecutive days, and against water, heat and breakage.

Jordanian young man, Abu Rumman, inventor of a follow-up device for the elderly and people with special needs (French)

Abu Rumman says, "The device can send alerts to a family member's phone through a special application in the event that a person falls or gets hurt, and if he goes away from the specified place."

The young man - who worked 18 months to reach his invention - adds that he is very happy and proud after he agreed with a Chinese company to start producing the machine.

Smart plug protects children from electric shocks (French)

child protection plug

With the help of the center, the industrial design company "Jerzy" has designed a smart electrical plug that protects children from electric shocks.

"The Idea Factory has advanced equipment, engineers and technicians who help us convert our ideas into successful products," said Omar Khader, 26, an industrial designer working for the company.

Omar Khader (right) is a Jordanian who works for an industrial design company that created a smart plug to protect children (French)

Persia world

But some designers, such as civil engineer Malik Nour, 32, still have a long and expensive way to verify the authenticity of their products.

He designed the "Pickler" triangle, a safe and environmentally friendly children's toy, and hopes to approach the Swedish furniture giant Ikea by displaying its products that it is currently selling through social media to those interested in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and named it "Persian World" after his child.

The Idea Factory seeks to secure a creative environment to enable young people to transform their ideas into a tangible product (French)

creative environment

The Executive Director of the Idea Factory, Ismail Hakki, asserts that they seek "to secure a creative environment and all the necessary resources to support and enable young people to transform their projects from just an idea to a tangible product on the ground."

"The doors of the factory's laboratory are open to everyone, the support includes students, entrepreneurs and startups," he explains, "and there are many young people who are currently working with the factory to produce products in various sectors."

The factory, which hopes to open two more branches in the north and south of the Kingdom, receives school and university students, and provides training courses on technology.

The factory receives school and university students and offers training awareness lessons on technologies (French)

medical services

In the medical field, the factory provides its services to doctors and hospitals in the fields of facial restoration, digital dentistry, face shields and sterilizers.

For example, at the request of a doctor, he converted a chest x-ray image of a patient suffering from a malignant tumor in a sensitive location close to the heart, into a three-dimensional stereotype of the patient's chest and tumor, which made it easier for the doctor to perform the operation and successfully remove the tumor.

Smart innovations

The CEO refers to "other successful stories", including the creation of the "smart home" that enables, via a mobile phone, to control electrical appliances inside the house and light the house or turn on the heating or cooling from a distance.

A student also created a piano keyboard that enabled her blind classmate to play the piano.