American Inventor was a reality television series based on a competition to be named America's best inventor. It was conceived by Simon Cowell and the producers of American Idol, and premiered on ABC in March, 2006. It was organized as a competition between inventors nationally, resulting in one overall winner.
Premise
Season 1
Twelve inventors and their products are chosen from a pool of hundreds by four judges. The 12 semi-finalists are broken down into four groups of three, with each episode focusing on a different group of three. Each of the twelve semi-finalists in each group receives $50,000 to improve their inventions and competes to become one of the four finalists. The finalists would then work with a dedicated prototype and design company who would help with expert advice and manufacturing assistance. Each group is assigned a judge who would judge their products that they have invented. Each of the four judges would then choose one inventor from their group to compete in the finals, for a total of four finalists. In the show's live finale, the four finalists present a 30-second commercial advertisement for their product, with the home audience voting by phone for the winner. The winner receives $1,000,000 worth of business support, entrepreneurial counsel, physical resources, and prize money.
Season 2
Instead of 12 finalists receiving $50,000 checks to develop their inventions like in season one, six finalists, one from each of the audition cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Tampa and Houston, will each receive $50,000 and have one month to develop their inventions. The 6 finalists are narrowed down to three based on the judges' preference. Unlike the first season, the three finalists for voting were declared and were voted on by viewers immediately after the second-to-last show.
Finalists
Season 1 finalists
Anecia Safety Capsule: A car seat shaped like a sphere with a movable sphere inside it. In the event of a car accident, the sphere will move, lessening the force on the baby. (Winner) Word Ace: A game that tells you a letter and a number and you have to come up with a word that starts with the letter and has a number of letters equal to the number. (Final 4) Double Traction Bike: A bike with a seat on the handlebars. (Final 4) The Catch Vest (aka Receiver Trainer Pole): A bar that sits in front of your body to help you catch footballs properly. (Final 4) Inside Umbrella: An umbrella where the top part goes inside the bar. (Final 12) Head-Line It: A rubber pad to go on top of your head to prevent sweating and itching under hats, helmets and wigs. (Final 12) Sackmaster: A large shovel with a bag inside it to make sand-bag filling easier. (Final 12) Here Comes Niya Doll: A multilingual set of dolls. (Final 12) The "Niya Doll" appear again in The Toy Box. Bathroom Clip: A clip to attach to a bathroom door in case the lock is broken. (Final 12) Tonerbelt: An exercise belt (Final 12) EZ-X Portable Gym: A portable gym (Final 12) Pureflush: A toilet that prevents the spread of bacteria upon flushing. (Final 12)