Kids can change the world. They can also make it a better, safer place. Kevin Tang is proof of that. The 13-year-old invented a device that can tell if an older person falls — and alerts others quickly so they can send help. His invention, called FallGuard, can protect loved ones around the world. And it helped the 8th-grader from Hacienda Heights, California, win the 2025 3M Young Scientist Challenge.
News-O-Matic wrote an article about Kevin and his important invention. Thousands of young people read his story. And they voted to make him the 2025 News-O-Matic Kid of the Year! Those included students from Ms. Chapman’s 3rd-grade class at Jeffreys Grove Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. The students shared the reasons they voted for Kevin. And Kevin joined a video call to answer some of their questions!
A 3rd-grader named Oliver said he voted for Kevin because his FallGuard “saves a lot of people and helps save lives.” Agnes, age 8, agreed. “I was really excited about Kevin’s idea because my great grandmother recently fell, and FallGuard would be a great invention if she ever falls again.”
“I voted for Kevin because his FallGuard is a really good invention,” added 8-year-old Link. “My grandfather fell,” said Link. “If he had a FallGuard, then we could have known sooner that he fell down,” he explained. “Kevin is saving many lives,” said 8-year-old Beckett, “and he is only 13.” Here are some of the students’ questions:
Where did you come up with the idea for FallGuard?
Kevin: It started when I heard that one of my friends’ grandparents fell at home. It took an entire day just for his family to figure out that he fell. He had an Apple Watch, and they thought it would
the fall, but since he forgot to charge it, it didn’t detect anything. I did some research and found that around 700,000 people die from falls every year. I didn’t want other families to face the same trouble, so I decided to create FallGuard to solve this issue.
How long did it take to invent FallGuard?
Kevin: It took around one and a half years. I started last summer and I just kept working on it throughout the summer and throughout any breaks I had in the school year. And now it’s been through so many stages, and I finally got to a stage I like right now.
My name is Sunny and I’m 8 years old. My great grandma fell, and if she had the guard on, she could have got more help more quickly. How did it feel to win the News-O-Matic Kid of the Year?
Kevin: It’s exciting knowing that so many people voted for me. Thanks for voting for me!
Was it hard to make this invention?
Kevin: Yeah, there were a lot of challenges. I have three main
— or three main designs — that I went through. The first was a tripod with a camera on top connected to a mini computer. This worked well for the time, but later I changed it into a smaller device. This was a lot better since you could just place it on a wall instead of having to set up an entire tripod. And then I have the converter, which can turn any computer into a FallGuard device. It was also hard to submit the app that I created for my device; it was rejected over five times already.
Where can we purchase this invention and how much will it cost?
Kevin: Right now it’s free. It doesn’t cost any money. If you want, you could go to FallGuard.net and can ask your parents to sign up for a device.
What words of advice can you share with future inventors?
Kevin: Don’t work on something just for fun; instead, make something that can be impactful. So many people have a lot of talent, but usually they’re just creating fun things to play with. I think if they use that talent for creating impactful things that can possibly help or even save other people’s lives, it can make the world a lot better place.
Does FallGuard need batteries, or how does it stay charged?
Kevin: You can just plug it into a wall. And if you’re using a normal computer, then you can just have a charger plugged into the wall and plugged into the computer.
How is it attached to the wall?
Kevin: I couldn’t really find a way to attach it to a wall. So, I thought it’d be such a great idea to just use the 3M hanging strips, since they’re really sturdy and easy to take off.
How many family members can be alerted?
Kevin: The app that I created can alert as many family members as you want.
Do you have any thoughts on what you might want to study or what you might want to do when you get older?
Kevin: Probably in the fields of AI and computer science cause that’s really something I want to do in the future — or maybe engineering, so I know more about the hardware of projects.
Your technology uses artificial intelligence. Do you think AI can be a useful tool in helping people and saving lives?
Kevin: Yeah, I think it’s really useful. Even I use ChatGPT sometimes to create new ideas or to help me with stuff.
What are you working on now?
Kevin: I’m working on creating more devices to send out to other people. I also created a page where anybody can donate unused computers or unused cameras and turn it into a life-saving device for other people.
How does it feel to know that you’re making people safer and are literally saving lives?
Kevin: It feels really good and also
me to continue working on this project. I’ve got so many emails about how much people need this device too, and it’s all just really encouraging and motivates me to continue working on it.
What message do you have for other students?
Kevin: I hope they are inspired by my project and will possibly create projects like this to help people in the future too.
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
Updated December 17, 2025, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
