As soon as they open the door to us, it becomes clear that Lias is fascinated by everything to do with construction. There’s a building site opposite his house, and his mum tells us that he could watch the machines working there for hours.
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Coloured pencils and a good dose of creativity – the tools of a young inventor
Lias is just seven years old, but he’s bursting with ideas like the big inventors. The second-grade student from eastern Switzerland loves putting his ideas down on paper using pencils and a healthy dose of creativity. He recently sent one of his drawings to the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI). Curious about his ingenuity, we decided to pay a visit to Lias and his mum.
Lias and his mum with his drawings – due to the importance of secrecy in the patent system (more on that on the IPI’s website), we’ve pixelated Lias’s drawings. You can never be too careful! Photo: IPI
“I thought a transporter could make it easier”
His latest drawing depicts a special lorry. “We often go into the forest to gather branches and wood to make things with. And I thought a transporter could make it easier,” explains Lias. The lorry isn’t just designed to transport logs – it also has an extra holder for a shovel. Lias took great care in creating his drawing over several days, thinking through every detail.
He saw a programme about inventors
After he had seen a TV programme about inventors, his mother encouraged him to send his lorry drawings to the IPI. It was exciting for him to get an answer, even though it hadn’t been a formal application. “I wanted to see what would happen,” he says. He was all the more surprised that the IPI actually responded to his drawing. He proudly shows us the letter that he collected from the post box himself. “I was expecting an answer, but my dad was surprised,” says Lias cheekily.
“I’d rather be a builder”
He has many other ideas in addition to the lorry: a camping trailer, a special watch and small vehicles – all drawn with coloured pencils. “These are my inventions,” he says proudly, leafing through his stack of drawings. Although Lias is full of creative ideas, he has other plans for his future than working as an inventor. “I’d rather be a builder,” he says resolutely. But who knows – maybe he’ll combine the two and be both a builder and an inventor.
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