12 Most Awesome Inventions That Appeared This Year
This year has seen the appearance of many awesome new inventions which help make life easier, more comfortable — and in some cases — more enjoyable.
Here are 15 of the most interesting ones. Hopefully, we’ll live to seem them all take on a major role in our lives!
The Transparent Truck
Image Credits: Samsung
Every year, thousands of people get hurt or die in traffic accidents, in part because their visibility gets blocked by a lumbering vehicle. This is especially true in Argentina, known for its winding, narrow roads.
But Samsung and ad agency Leo Burnett have partnered on a creative solution: a system that relays video footage from the front of a truck to four screens on its back, giving drivers a clear view of what’s ahead.
The Pan that teaches you to cook
Image Credits: Pantelligent
How hot should the pan be? When do I stir? It it done yet?
If you’ve ever cooked an unfamiliar dish, chances are you’ve asked yourself one or more of these questions — and Pantelligent aims to answer them all.
Once you select a recipe from its smartphone app, the pan uses Bluetooth and a special heat sensor to offer real-time instructions on your screen, so you’ll know exactly when to flip a steak, for example, if you want it medium rare.
The Book that filters water
Image Credits: Page Drinking Paper
An estimated 663 million people globally do not have access to clean drinking water, in part because filtration is complicated and expensive.
The Drinkable Book is neither: thanks to a special treatment—developed with a team of scientists over several years—its pages double as water filters, killing over 99% of harmful bacteria during trials in Bangladesh, Ghana and South Africa.
The plant pot which grows along with your plant
Image Credits: Ayaskan
These origami flower pots made by Ayaskan studios are transformed over time as your plant grows.
The Electronic Orchestra for your guitar
Image Credits: ACPAD
Simply attach the ACPAD panel to your guitar, and you’ll be able to play hundreds of instruments, samples, effects and loops.
’Sproutling’ Baby Monitor
Image Credits: Sproutling
A wearable band for your baby, a smart charger and a mobile app work together to not only monitor more effectively but learn and predict your baby’s sleep habits and optimal sleep conditions.
The device which stops you snoring
Image Credits: Kickstarter
’Nora’ is the first smart and non-invasive snoring solution that’s designed specifically to stop snoring before it wakes your sleeping partner.
With Nora, there is nothing to wear to bed—no masks, dentures, or nose strips. Instead, Nora silently and gently moves your head using a lightweight, padded insert that sits under the pillow.
This slight movement stimulates the relaxed throat muscles. As a result, the airway assumes its natural position and you can breathe normally once again.
The chip which stops you slouching
Image Credits: Uprightpose
Every time you begin to stoop or slouch, this chip will begin to vibrate. There’s no pain involved, and it’s seriously good for your health!
The app that can lock your front door
Image Credits: Candy House
This is a great invention for all those who either forget to lock their door when they go out or worry that they forgot to lock it.
This app not only lets you know at any time whether your house is secure, but also records who enters and leaves and when they do so.
The Ocean Vacuum
Image Credits: The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup Project proposes a 62-mile-long (100 km) floating boom — at an estimated cost of $15 million — that would use natural currents to trap trash. (Its net drops roughly 10 ft., or 3 m, below the surface, shallow enough for fish to swim around.)
If next year’s trials succeed, a full clean-up operation would aim to start in 2020; internal estimates suggest it could reduce the trash by 42% over 10 years.
Power Pasta
Image Credits: Eat Banza
This pasta is made from chickpeas instead of wheat. That simple switch — in a recipe perfected over 10 months of trial and error — has yielded a healthy twist on the al dente dinner.
Banza, shorthand for garbanzo pasta, has double the protein and four times the fibre of traditional pasta, and far fewer carbs; it’s also gluten-free.
