From bicycle safety to elderly care, Taiwan’s lifestyle creativity wins gold medal at German Invention Exhibition

From bicycle safety warnings, nail clippers to height-adjusting urinals, Taiwanese students and industry professionals turned life’s troubles into creative inventions this year.Germany The Nuremberg International Inventions Exhibition won several gold medals.

The 2026 International Invention Exhibition in Nuremberg (iENA) will be held from October 31 to November 2, featuring approximately 580 invention works from 21 countries and regions. Taiwan Invention Association led a delegation of 78 people to Germany and won a total of 12 gold, 15 silver and 23 bronze. Among them, Taitung Countytoyota Students from Junior High School, Donghai Junior High School and Gongdong High School of Engineering each won a gold medal.

According to information from the Taiwan Invention Association, Toyota Junior High School students were inspired by the bicycle tour event held every year by the school. They found that when a rider turns, it is difficult for the rear vehicle to predict the direction of travel, so they developed a “wearable intelligent safety warning device” to improve riding safety.

The device can manually activate direction lights via a wireless button on the handlebar, and can also be linked to Google Maps navigation to automatically issue warnings before turning. It will also flash red flashing lights to alert vehicles coming from behind when braking at night. This work won a gold medal and a Polish special prize.

Donghai Junior High School students focused on the daily care of the elderly and designed a “multifunctional nail-cutting accessory”, which combines a 6x magnifying glass and a nail clipping collection function to help people with poor vision cut their nails. It analyzes nail images through a built-in lens and artificial intelligence (AI) image recognition system to provide health advice, and won the gold medal and the Thailand Special Award.

The “Adjustable Sanitary Urinal” developed by students of Gongdong Polytechnic uses infrared sensors to detect the user’s height and automatically adjusts the height of the urinal to facilitate use by children, the elderly and people of different heights. This device combines telescopic drainage lines and safety protection design to reduce urine splashing and improve the hygiene of public toilets. It won the gold medal and the Croatian Special Award.

Taiwanese companies have also received recognition for their lifestyle application products. Hair care brand O’Lad’s “Bionic Melanin Caffeine Shampoo” won a gold medal and a special award from the Korea Invention Association. According to information from Taiwan Invention Association, the product has been developed in the direction of research and development with gray hair care in mind. It focuses on not containing the five types of risky ingredients found in traditional hair dye, and offers a care option different from dyeing hair.

Zhang Jiaju, president of the Taiwan Invention Association, said that education should not only focus on the accumulation of knowledge, but also develop students’ ability to think independently, innovate and practice, and solve problems. He hopes that more counties and cities will attach importance to invention education and encourage students to participate in international exchanges.

The International Invention Exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany is also a platform for inventors to communicate with enterprises and research institutions. Henning Koenicke, head of organizer AFAG, said ahead of the exhibition that in the face of rapid changes in technology and society, invention exhibitions can help draw attention to innovative achievements and promote international cooperation.