SoundBounce wins SME category at European Inventor Awards
Lios founders Rhona Togher and Eimear O’Carroll are the winners in the SME category of the European Inventor Award 2023 from the European Patent Office. The physicists were selected from a field of more than 600 entries.
The winning entry, SoundBounce, is a composite technology that reduces the negative effects of loud noise. It consists of a responsive material housed within a cellular structure that responds to agitation by becoming liquid and absorbing energy.
One of its innovative features is the invention’s cellular structure; the second is a thixotropic gel (capable of liquefying when agitated and resolidifying when allowed to stand) placed inside the cells. Once sealed, they work together to dampen sound, reducing noise transmission from one space to another. This new material can also be integrated into machinery and vehicles to reduce noise output. It can be used in the automotive, construction, aerospace and home appliance industries.
This material is particularly effective at low frequencies, which present a significant challenge connected to products with engines, vibrations, and airflow. SoundBounce’s thinner material means that aeroplanes or vehicles using it could be lighter, thus reducing fuel consumption and leaving more space. In addition to the environmental advantages related to noise reduction, the materials used to make SoundBounce have a low environmental impact as they are non-toxic, and recyclable at end of life. Since SoundBounce was created, Togher and O’Carroll’s company has developed partnerships with renowned organisations such as the European Space Agency.
According to the European Environment Agency approximately 20% of the EU population lives in areas with unacceptable noise and vibration levels. High noise levels have been linked to poor sleep and higher instances of heart problems. Due to noise pollution, the EEA estimates that 22 million people across Europe currently suffer from chronic high annoyance, whilst 6.5 million suffer chronic high sleep disturbance. Exposure to loud noise can also cause high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress.
“We are honoured to win the European Inventor Award in the SMEs category and would like to express our sincere gratitude to the European Patent Office. This award recognises many years of hard work and commitment to making the world a quieter place. It is a genuine privilege to be acknowledged alongside so many noteworthy inventors who have made such significant contributions to their fields,” said Togher and O’Carroll.
The SoundBounce inventors were not the only Irish winners on the day.
Environmentalist Fionn Ferreira won third place in the Young Inventors Prize. The 22-year-old chemistry master’s degree student and teaching assistant at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, created a way to remove microplastics from water using a unique mixture.
Ferreira’s method to remove micro-plastics from water uses ferrofluid, a magnetic liquid mixture, which binds to microplastic particles, separating them from water and allowing for their removal using magnets.
His latest prototype, supported by Robert Downey Jr.’s Footprint Coalition, removes over 85% of microplastics in a single pass and can be used safely in drinking water. The process does not require filters and produces zero waste. It retains nearly all the magnetic liquid while removing microplastics.
Ferreira is currently working with the University of Texas in scaling his invention to a commercial model.
“Receiving this prestigious award is not just a personal achievement, but a profound acknowledgement of the urgent need to combat the devastating impact of microplastics on our planet’s water systems. It also highlights how young inventors like me can make a difference,” said Ferreira.
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