Wednesday, 06 August
8.00pm

Hosted by the ebullient James O'Loghlin, The New Inventors highlights the brightest new inventions in Australia. Tonight's show is a great prelude to the Olympic Games. It features new ideas on how to play table tennis with up to six people simultaneously, grow a garden on your lounge room wall, and watch sports events from a new angle.

The New Inventors also presents the history of the starting blocks and meets serial inventor, Paul McNeil.

Deciding the winner of these three inventions are agricultural scientist Chris Russell, science journalist Bernie Hobbs, and futurist and author Mark Pesce.

Inventions featured on the program:

Invention 1: MODULAR TABLE TENNIS by inventor Guenter Arndt from NSW.
Could six-person table tennis be the next Olympic sport? The way is open with Guenter Arndt's Modular Table Tennis. Frustrated by having to sit on the sidelines waiting for his turn to play, Guenter has invented a table tennis table that can be played by any number of people from one to six. His round table has a unique curved net, and its six segments are removable, so it can be configured into as many playing shapes as the players' imagination allows. Modular Table Tennis - the Olympic sport of 2012?

Invention 2: FYTOWALL by inventor Stuart Tyler from VIC.
For anyone wanting to turn their walls into green space, the Fytowall is the latest invention in vertical gardening. Able to be installed indoors or out, Fytowall is made from modules of biodegradable hydroponic foam that come with the plants already growing in them. The modules are slotted into a framework custom built to suit the desired location and wall shape. Irrigation drippers keep the wall alive, and the flow of air behind the wall helps lower room temperatures. Fytowall - stunning green (or gold) space wherever you have a wall.

Invention 3: TRACE X8 by inventors Jeremy Anderson and John Lenigas from SA.
There'll be hundreds of cameras covering the Beijing Olympics. If they were controlled by the Trace X8, none of them would require a human operator. The invention is a computer controlled system that allows a single person to operate up to eight cameras simultaneously and remotely. This means cameras can be located in previously inaccessible positions - opening up new angles for a more exciting coverage, and keeping camera operators out of harm's way. Trace X8 - the new way to view sports.

The New Inventors will be repeated on ABC2 - Friday, August 08 at 4:30pm