Silvana Herrera was honored alongside inventors from Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay with the Ingenias Latam 2025 award, an initiative that seeks to raise the profile of female talent in innovation and intellectual property.
Fernanda Guajardo Sepúlveda
While studying Design at the Universidad de Talca, Silvana Herrera faced a question that would change her career: how do blind people perceive the world?
The answer came after months of field observation: through cane taps, ambient sounds and a surprising ability to “visualize noise,” many people with visual impairments oriented themselves using echolocation, the same mechanism dolphins use in the darkness of the ocean.
Inspired by that finding and by the study of biomimicry, Herrera developed Mov, a sensory band worn on the head that uses laser sensors to detect obstacles. The information is translated into gentle vibrations on the head, creating a mental map of the surroundings. The device aims to complement or even replace the white cane, enabling safer, hands-free mobility. “What we want is for people with visual impairments to be able to walk more safely and independently, avoiding accidents along the way,” she explained.
The project began in 2018 as her thesis and quickly evolved into a line of applied research. After years of technical adjustments, usability testing and collaboration with organizations of blind people, Mov became a functional prototype. At the same time, Herrera took on the intellectual property route. She first obtained a patent in Chile, and later extended protection to the United States, Mexico and the European Union.
Today, Mov has earned this Talca native the Ingenias Latam 2025 award, granted by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and Inapi in Chile. The award recognizes women innovators in Latin America with solutions protected by intellectual property rights that have social impact.
“At first I thought there was no point in applying, because we don’t sell the device yet. But I realized that what is being recognized is the innovation itself, rather than sales. I’m proud of it, and it’s also a way to raise the profile of women’s work and of work from the regions,” said the industrial designer, who now teaches in the Video Game and Virtual Reality Engineering program and at the School of Design of the Universidad de Talca.
Inapi director Esteban Figueroa highlighted that “Silvana’s story is an inspiring example of how industrial property can turn an innovative idea into a concrete solution with social impact.”
The award, part of the European AL-INVEST Verde IPR program, responds to a broader goal: increasing women’s participation in innovation. According to World Intellectual Property Organization figures, in 2024 only 18% of international patent applications were filed by women. By raising the profile of inventors from across Latin America, Ingenias Latam seeks to open up opportunities and strengthen international cooperation.
At 38, Herrera is the Chilean winner in this second edition of the award. Her case shows how academic research that creates a technological device can move toward product validation and international certifications. “Today we know there is a community that supports us and organizations that believe in our work, which gives us confidence and backing to think about strategies and technical partnerships before reaching the market.”
Original article: El Mercurio Innovación
