nir-vana innovation network

A university from Poland which conducts research and education in the following fields: humanities, engineering and technology, social sciences, exact and natural sciences, theology and arts, has a group of scientists that developed very innovative swimming fins. The fins are made from a material with antibacterial and antifungal properties, intended for recreational, sports and rehabilitation swimming or diving.
There are many swimming accessories on the market, but there is a lack of safe and hygienic fins that are friendly to human skin and protect against bacteria and fungi. Scientists proposed appropriate materials from which, in particular, fin shoes can be constructed. It is a thermoplastic elastomer with admixtures of nanoparticles, thanks to which the authors of the inventions obtained interesting antimicrobial properties.
The University would like to sign a license agreement with a company in Europe or beyond, being able to introduce a serial production and having established relationship with distributors from sport, leisure and health sector.

Advantages & innovations

The offered fins have a lot of advantages and the most important are the following: - The fins are ultra-light, they consist of a shoe with a strap fastening system and a specially designed, contoured feather, thanks to which scientists have managed to improve the hydrodynamic efficiency of the product. Properly designed fin feathers increase the speed and efficiency of swimming - both with a crawl, a frog and a dolphin. - The advantage of the protected solutions is the low cost of the proposed materials from which individual fin elements can be made, and the entire production process does not require the use of complicated processing techniques, which reduces production costs. Thanks to this, the fins are suitable even for short-run production. - Scientists have proposed several different materials from which the fins designed in this way can be made. These solutions are also covered by patent protection. The subject of the first patent is the use of polyurethane of appropriate hardness, the subject of the second - the use of kevlar or its mixture with other materials - to obtain fins with appropriate mechanical and physical properties ensuring better hydrodynamic efficiency of these products. - The fins designed by scientists also have an original, attractive appearance, and therefore the industrial design was submitted additionally to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Under the certificate that has been granted, the design of the fins is protected throughout the European Union.

Stage of development

Available for demonstration

Partner sought

The University is searching for licensees being able to implement the fins to serial production. The company should have technological and human potential and appropriate assets to produce the fins under license agreement on the highest level. It would be also advantageous when the company was experienced in the market of leisure, sport and health products. The partner may come from Europe or beyond its borders.