Friendyno bicycle generator has been presented at the 8th International Invention and Innovation Exhibition MINOX 2020

November 6, 2020

In order to popularize the authors of inventions and the realization of their ideas for more efficient development of Latvian economy, Latvian Inventors Association, association "CONNECT Latvia" and Latvian Academy of Sciences organize an international Invention and Innovation Exhibition MINOX 2020. It is an opportunity to get acquainted with the latest inventions and innovative solutions and participate in various activities. Individual inventors, research institutes and universities, companies, as well as young people and students demonstrate their innovative projects.   


MINOX exhibitions differ from other exhibitions in that anyone in Latvia can be the author of an invention and participate in the exhibition, regardless of the situation in society and occupation, starting from the age of two without an age threshold. So not only scientists or entrepreneurs can take part, but also ordinary people, such as housewives, grandchildren with their grandmas and grandpas, and students, professors, mothers and fathers. The aim of MINOX exhibition-festivals is to encourage the development of inventions and innovations in the regions and the capital of Latvia, as well as to interest pupils, students and society in general in technical creativity. Exhibitions are organized by the Latvian Inventors Association, "CONNECT Latvia" and Latvian Academy of Sciences together with partners in the regions.                     


This year, for the first time the International Invention and Innovation Exhibition "MINOX" was planned both in person and remotely in a live video broadcast. On 30-31 October, at the Faculty of Architecture of Riga Technical University, it was possible to get acquainted with the exposition of inventions, moreover, presentations of solutions offered by inventors and conversations with experts about their implementation are recorder and can be viewed on YouTube (record duration 2:48:00).   


Inventors from Riga Technical University, Liepaja University, Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Electronics and Computer Science, several new companies, as well as new inventors and individual inventors were represented in the online talks. In total, 17 inventors' projects were analysed in online discussions with experts.   


Andrejs Krasņikovs, the chairman of the organizing committee of the exhibition “MINOX 2020”, admits: “In the last two years, working under the leadership of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, almost every day I have met very talented entrepreneurs and inventors who create niche products and sell them in many places far beyond the borders of Latvia.


Latvia is a very rich country with technically and artistically creative minds that are able to turn knowledge into the various innovative products that society needs, and it is our only opportunity to build our country's economy, especially recently.”   

On 30 October, researchers from Ventspils University of Applied Sciences participated in the MINOX 2020 exhibition with their exposition, in which a prototype of a new innovative bicycle generator “Friendyno” for powering smartphones and bicycle electronics was presented to the general public. The aim of the proposed solution is to create a competitive energy source that would meet the growing demand for smart electronic devices for cyclists.    


The exhibition was attended by DrauGen project manager Valērijs Bezrukovs as well as project executors Vladislavs Bezrukovs and Toms Ērenpreiss. On the same day, Vladislavs Bezrukovs presented to commercialization experts a technological solution developed during the project - a new type of generator. The conversation with the experts was streamed online on YouTube and can also be viewed in the YouTube post above, but a separate presentation can be viewed here.



 Engineering Research Institute (ERI) Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences as a leading partner and joint stock company "LATVO" as the project partner since the beginning of March 2019 have started to implement the European Regional Development Fond Operation Programme "Growth and Employment" 1.1.1 Specific Support Objective "Increase the Research and Innovation Capacity of Latvian Research Institutions and the Ability to Attract External Funding by Investing in Human Resources and Infrastructure" 1.1.1.1 within the framework of the 2nd round of the measure "Practical Orientation Research" project "Environmentally Friendly Small Power Generator with the Rotor Linear Motion (DrauGen).                                                                                                                                                                                       

Total approved costs of the project are EUR 472 069,00 and they are financed from the following financial sources:

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - EUR 272,855.88,

Government funding - EUR 163,807.94,

Ventspils University of Applied Sciences and joint stock company "LATVO" funding – EUR 35,405.18


Project Duration – 24 months (03.2019-02.2021).                                                                                 

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