On May 6, the closing ceremony of the “Kreative Köpfe” competition was celebrated in Bad Mergentheim. The student teams supported by BARTEC once again achieved top placements.
For more than 20 years, the “Kreative Köpfe” ideas competition has been inspiring young people to pursue their passion for inventions and discoveries. Students aged 13 to 18 with an interest in STEM subjects—mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and technology—have the opportunity to develop their innovative ideas as part of the competition organized by the “Junge Kreative Köpfe” foundation. They are supported by experts from regional companies who assist them in bringing their ideas into practice.
BARTEC has been involved in the competition since its beginnings and once again supported four projects in its 23rd year.All four of the award-winning projects were supervised by BARTEC experts, and all four teams achieved excellent results.
BARTEC CEO Dr. Martin U. Schefter also expressed his enthusiasm for the commitment of the mentors and the success of the teams: “Our colleagues once again supported the students with great dedication and helped them realize their creative ideas with their expertise. I would like to sincerely thank them for this special commitment. The excellent placements are a well-deserved result of this outstanding collaboration.”
Congratulations to all the students who participated in this competition!
1. Project: FeelGreen
Student: Kubilay Serdaroglu, 13 years old
School: Kopernikus-Realschule Bad Mergentheim
Mentor: Thomas Lede
Description: The student wanted to develop a thermos flask with a display integrated into the lid, including a temperature sensor to measure and show the temperature of the drink in °C. He also wanted different emojis to be displayed depending on the temperature.
We implemented this by installing a temperature sensor inside an immersion sleeve and connecting it to a microcontroller and an OLED display. The prototype was already very advanced and looked almost market-ready.
With this project, we won the 3rd overall prize in the competition.
2. Project: The Smart Houseplant
Students: Samira Schmidt, 15; Lina Schmidt, 15; Jule Feser, 14
School: Deutschorden-Gymnasium Bad Mergentheim
Mentor: Thomas Lede
Description: The students wanted to develop a sensor that measures the moisture level of plant soil and indicates when the plant needs to be watered again.
For this project, we designed our own circuit board that can measure soil moisture capacitively and send the data to a Wi-Fi-enabled microcontroller. The board is battery-powered and transmits the measured moisture values via Wi-Fi to a receiver, which hosts a small website. This website can be accessed via smartphone to see how dry or moist each plant is and when it needs watering.
The company “Data Modul” from Weikersheim has helped us with 3D-printing of some parts.
With this project, we won 1st place in the “Marketability” category.
3. Project: Mood Lock
Students: Tabea Sturm, Nele Kött
School: Gymnasium Weikersheim
Mentor: Marius Hügel
Description: Mood Lock is a digital sign on the door, which shows the mood of the resident. The mood is chosen by a control unit inside of the room by selection of an emoji and is send the data via WLAN to the digital sign outside of the room.
By having a role-playing game at the product presentation, the students won the 1st place in the category presentation.
4. Project: CozySeat
Students: Anika Müller (15), Laurentia Lorenz (17), Malia Model (16)
School: Gymnasium Weikersheim
Mentor: Pavel Shynkevich
Description: Cozy Seat is an electrically heated seat cushion designed for mobile comfort. Powered by a power bank, it uses Power Delivery (PD) technology in combination with a PD trigger to deliver selectable heating levels. At the push of a button, the system provides either 15 V or 20 V, which are supplied to a fixed‑resistance heating cable that efficiently converts electrical energy into cozy, even warmth.
The heating wire is securely sewn onto an insulating mat with a heat‑reflective surface, ensuring efficient heat retention and minimal loss. A padded outer cover provides a high level of seating comfort, making Cozy Seat ideal for extended use.
Thanks to its smart technical implementation and practical design, the Cozy Seat project was awarded first place in the category “Technical Implementation.”
Students with their mentors and BARTEC CEO Dr. Martin U. Schefter
Read more
Read an interview with our long-time mentor to learn more about BARTEC’s involvement in the competition.