After his grandmother fell at home and couldn’t call for help, Kevin Tang, an eighth-grader from California, came up with a way to help other elderly people in similar situations. He invented a device called FallGuard. It uses an algorithm to analyze video footage of people at home. The computer program can detect when someone falls—even in the dark—and send notifications to loved ones.
More than 40,000 people die from falls each year in the U.S. alone. In October 2025, Kevin’s device received the top prize of $25,000 in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge. “It makes me happy that my invention could help others and even save lives,” says Kevin