'Warmbrella', an umbrella with a handle heating system, and 'Erotic Candle', an item which changes its color and aroma over time, are products which have been developed by students from Kyungil University's School of both Mechanical and Automotive Engineering and Chemical Engineering during the capstone design class. Both of them have been attracting attention since they were awarded a prize in the competition.

The 'Chemi-Story’ team (Supervisor Professor Ham, Seong-Won)' are composed of Mr. Kang, Tae Hyun and six other students in the department of chemical engineering, and they developed the 'self-luminous erotic candle'. The aromatic candles developed by them change their colors as time goes on when each candle’s wick is lighted.

The candle is named the ‘Erotic Candle’, in that as the candle burns, it fills the room with an amazing scent and it also changes the mood or ambience of the room with its color changing.

It is a product that satisfies the senses of smell and vision by using a chemical substance called thermo-chromic pigments added to the existing aromatic candles. Although it is orange-colored before it is lighted, it turns into purple as the temperature gradually increases. After the temperature goes down again, it returns to its original orange color.

The team “Coming Out” (Supervisor Professor Yong, Ki-Joong), which is made up of six students of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering including Mr. Choi, Chan-Wook, developed ‘Warmbrella’. 'Warmbrella' is equipped with an LED at the bottom of the handle to ensure its user’s visibility and to prevent vehicle collision. In addition, with a heat wire attached to the handle, it allows its user to stay warmer than usual on rainy and cold days. The handle with these two features is detachable and can also be replaced separately when the umbrella is damaged.

These two products, which had been developed as a part of the capstone design class, received a favorable notice from the judges at the 'Capstone Design Competition in 2017 Spring Conference of the Korean Industrial Information Association’. The contest was held for the teams who had performed the capstone designs in four-year universities across the nation. Two teams from Kyungil University, ‘Chemi-Story’ and ‘Coming Out’, were awarded the encouragement prizes in recognition of their creativity and excellence.

Patent (intellectual property) applications are being prepared for both products. Now that the 'self-luminous erotic candle' in particular is easy to manufacture and can be produced at a low unit price, it is being considered as a startup item.

"I was able to plan my own products, solve problems collectively, and improve my creativity and practical skills," said the students who participated in the design work development.

Kyungil University has offered capstone design courses to the students in all departments for the first time in the nation to cultivate ‘creative and practical’ elites. Based on this educational environment, students of Kyungil University are continuously producing creative and excellent results. Thanks to the successful attainment in the competition, the capstone design courses are expected to be more active, with students’ interest heightened.