Hosted by ebullient host, James O'Loghlin, The New Inventors highlights the brightest new inventions in Australia. Tonight's show features new ideas on how to: stop high heels sinking, take the hit and miss out of making water tanks, and pull a tarp over a truck without leaving the ground.

Deciding the winner of these three inventions are: inventor Christine Kininmonth, science broadcaster Bernie Hobbs and agricultural scientist Chris Russell.

Inventions featured on the program:

Invention 1 UP HEELS - by inventor Samantha Jagger from WA.

There's no doubt high heels are sexy, but as inventor Samantha Jagger knows, it's hard to maintain your poise at a garden party when your five inch heels are descending further into the grass with every step. Up Heels is her solution - an invention that stops high heel wearers from getting stuck in cracks in the footpath and from getting that sinking feeling every time they leave terra firma. Attached to the base of the heel, the Up Heels spread the load over a wide enough area to stop heels from sinking into soft, unstable or cracked surfaces. Useful for outdoor weddings, garden parties and long romantic walks along the beach.

Up Heels turns high heels into all terrain walking shoes.

Invention 2 EDGE PINNING HEAD TOOL - by inventor Stephen Walker from QLD

It used to take Stephen Walker over an hour working with three separate tools to put the bottom onto a steel water tank. And up until now, one of those tools was the humble hammer! But this passionate environmentalist has also been devoting 30 years of his life to simplifying the tank making process, and now he’s perfected a replacement for the hammer. It’s the edge pinning head tool - an air powered hand held device that folds the metal base of a tank to the exact angle needed to secure it to the sides – all in one smooth action.

The Edge Pinning Head Tool takes the hit and miss out of making water tanks

Invention 3 TARPSAFE - by inventors Noel Baker and Mike Hammond from VIC.

Every day hundreds of truckies climb on top of their rigs to pull heavy tarpaulins over their load. OH&S requires these drivers to wear a safety harness, but when it's forgotten it's often with tragic results. Every year in Victoria alone someone is killed and 150 truck drivers suffer serious injuries due to falls from trucks. So Noel Baker and his lifelong friend Mike Hammond, both now in their 60's, invented Tarpsafe. It's an electronically operated machine that lifts a rolled up tarpaulin above the truck and rolls it out over the load without anyone having to leave the ground.

As well as the added safety, Tarpsafe saves truckies up to 20 minutes of tarping time.

Wednesday, 12 March at 08:00pm on ABC
Repeated on Friday, March 14 at 4:00pm on ABC2