U invent, he coaches with AI-powered development tool

By GREGORY ZELLER //

He’s baaaaack.

Actually, he never left. Brian Fried remains one of the hardest working people in Long Island innovation, a badge of honor he’s worn since breaking through two decades ago with Pull Ties, one of the first commercially successful products concocted by the prototypical garage-workshop tinkerer.

Now, several inventions (and podcasts and how-to books and innovator consultancies) later, the self-proclaimed “Inventor Coach” is at it again – this time, with an artificial intelligence-powered platform designed to turn ideas into marketable products and services.

Welcome to uinvent.ai, a free digital tool that evaluates ideas and offers direct guidance to all the future Brian Frieds out there – the big-thinking brainstormers and budding builders who think they’ve got a real shot, but don’t know how to take it.

Leading the way is the artificially intelligent Pat Pending – a computerized guide, of sorts, that ushers users through the blackboard-to-commercialization labyrinth with useable intel, cautionary suggestions and other expert-level direction that first determines if ideas are viable, then helps progenitors execute their vision.

“Everyone has an idea at some point in their life, but most people do not know what to do with it or where to start,” Fried noted. “I built uinvent.ai for the woulda, coulda, shoulda inventors who never took that next step.

“It is free, it is private and The Inventor Coach is right by your side every step of the way,” he added, third-personally.

It’s a Digital Era refresh of things Fried – always one flux capacitor short of full-blown mad scientist – has been doing for years.

After making his mark as a QVC mainstay (with Pull Ties, the Paper Towel Topper and other popular kitchen gadgets), the designer repackaged himself as a guru, of sorts – a been-around-the-block invention veteran who could help other wannabe Doc Browns break through.

Now, in a single, cost-free session that take only minutes, users can describe their idea in plain language – even speak it aloud, using the voice-input protocol – or use a handy Help Me Describe feature that’s loaded with guided questions. They can also upload a photo or sketch if available.

Within moments, Pat Pending responds with an AI-generated product-concept image, along with patent and similar-product search results, pricing and market-size analyses and an educated estimation of the product’s likely success rate.

The free system can even generate a 10-second video of the invention in motion, allowing inventors to see their ideas brought to life – without a single development dollar ever spent.

While Pat Pending handles the heavy lifting, Fried himself is always just a click away, ready to share his decades of knowledge and experiences through his thriving invention consultancy.

Ultimately, The Inventor Coach – who also founded the National Inventor Club, which now boasts 15,000-plus members – wants to level the playing field between resource-rich corporate R&D operations and that basement-laboratory creator sweating out a better mousetrap.

“The big companies have teams of patent attorneys, market researchers and product developers,” Fried said. “The independent inventor has a napkin and a dream.

“uinvent.ai changes that equation completely.”