Invent@SU student teams unveil top prototypes at Syracuse University event
AutoStrada won Invent@SU as eight Syracuse University teams pitched prototypes from traffic control to pet wellness and student safety.
AutoStrada took first place at Syracuse University’s Invent@SU finale, a six-week sprint that turned eight student teams into prototype builders inside Link Hall. The winning project, an autonomous traffic control system for one-lane construction zones, gave the event a clear local-development edge: practical hardware, a real infrastructure problem and a path that could interest contractors, municipal agencies and startup partners in Central New York.
Final judging took place June 18 at Link Hall on the Syracuse campus, closing a program that ran from May 11 through June 18. The top three projects pointed to the kinds of inventions most likely to move beyond the classroom. PawseMat placed second with a smart pet wellness system designed to reduce separation anxiety through positive reinforcement. Tagalong finished third with a wearable bracelet system aimed at student safety during field trips and group outings.
Invent@SU sits inside Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and is built around a six-week, hands-on process. Undergraduate students work in interdisciplinary teams to design, prototype and pitch original devices, with weekly feedback from guest evaluators. The program is open only to undergraduates who have not previously entered their invention idea in another business plan or entrepreneurship competition, a requirement that keeps the pipeline aimed at first-time founders rather than repeat competition entrants.
The university backs that pipeline with concrete support: each student receives a $2,200 stipend, each team gets a $1,000 materials budget, and participants have access to laser cutters, 3D printers, a machine shop and professional machinists. Invent@SU also includes help with a provisional patent application, which makes the program more than a demo day. It is one of the few campus offerings that pushes students toward ownership, legal protection and product readiness at the same time.
That matters in Onondaga County, where universities are often asked to do more than graduate talent. They are expected to help keep it. IEEE Entrepreneurship sponsored the 2026 program and planned to help send two Invent@SU students to Web Summit Lisbon in Portugal, widening the students’ exposure to investors and potential markets beyond Syracuse. The balance now is whether those ideas turn into companies, internships or local partnerships that stay rooted here, or whether the strongest students carry their next move somewhere else.
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