"The awards give bright young Kiwis a platform to show their ingenuity and emerge as future leaders in the New Zealand electrotechnology industry."
It's Nathan's fifth year as a finalist, his second and now successful attempt with his iDispense which he also submitted last year.
Nathan came up with his design after going to the supermarket to buy trail mix for a tramp he was going on.
He wasn't sure how much he'd need and then didn't know how much it was going to cost him.
So he carried out some research and found that other people were also frustrated that they didn't know how much product they were getting when they used the bulk bin.
With his latest iDispense prototype, an app can be downloaded onto a shopper's phone or the supermarket could have an iPad in-store for the customer to weigh and price out how much their product has cost.
It interacts directly with the iDispense to accurately dispense the product.
Nathan said he first got into the world of inventing when his father, Ross, asked him to give it a go in the family shed.
"It was really a lot more of a hobby and when I got into high school I was like 'oh this stuff is easy compared to what I've been doing at home'."
There was a wide set of elements involved, including social science, graphics, design, programming and maths.
"This is my third prototype. My first was completely different, the second was a bit better and this one is pretty much on track. I've got it down to about 1 gram accuracy which is pretty perfect."
Best overall female design was taken out by Briar Patel, of Aquinas College, Tauranga, with her Water Play Activity design - an interactive game for young people with mental and physical disabilities to learn about pedestrian crossing safety.
INNOVATIVE YOUTH
Best Overall (Female) sponsored by Dr Michelle Dickinson
• Briar Patel with Water Play Activity - Aquinas College
Tauranga Best Overall (Male) sponsored by Manukau Institute of Technology
• Nathan James with iDispense vs 2 - Burnside High School
Christchurch Best Concept sponsored by Baldwins Intellectual Property
• Junior (0 - 14 years): Aurelia Wilberforce with Wakey Wakey - Lincoln High School, • Christchurch Senior (15 years +): Simon FitzGerald with Board Mania - Home School, Auckland
People's Choice sponsored by Vodafone
William Bradley with TV Planner - Saint Kentigern College, Auckland
