Innovations that changed the world for the better in 2014

At the end of the year it is always interesting to sum up some results. Recall the most remarkable, important, exciting, enjoyable. It happens that the epochal, but it already happens much less often. Of course, new technologies and inventions are always of particular interest, because ours are completely dependent on them. And it's not just about fundamental discoveries. Sometimes even small and insignificant at first glance, new technologies and devices can facilitate or improve the lives of millions of people. The main thing to notice them.

ReSound LNX

This is a hearing aid that works in conjunction with iOS devices. Very small and inconspicuous, equipped with a Bluetooth-module, the hearing aid in combination is also a wireless headset. From the smartphone, you can adjust the sensitivity and volume of the device, and you can create different profiles, for example, for the house and for the street. The application also allows you to record a sound path in the file.
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Telebot

The prototype of a police robot , a growth of 1.8 m and weighing 34 kg. Of course, this is not a self-sufficient, but a remote-controlled robot. Moreover, it is not controlled by the mouse and WASD, the operator puts on a virtual reality device (Oculus Rift), a tracking vest, sleeves, and gloves with feedback tactile feedback. Soon the developers are going to conduct field trials.

Personal Wearable Base Station

Hardware-software complex Instant Network Mini is placed in a small backpack and allows you to create a tiny cellular network. All this economy weighs about 11 kg (the previous version pulled 90), and the process of “bringing to combat readiness” takes about 10 minutes. The main purpose of the new product is to provide emergency mobile communications in disaster areas. The performance of the wearable station allows you to maintain up to 5 simultaneous cellular sessions in a radius of up to 100 meters, simultaneously processing thousands of SMS.

Foldscope

The great idea of ​​a Stanford bioengineer is a paper microscope worth $ 0.5. It consists of several parts inserted one into another, and a cardboard insert the size of a postage stamp contains a microlens with a 2000-fold increase. The author of the invention thus wants to popularize the study of biology among children. Foldscope can also be a cheap working tool for researchers from regions where expensive laboratory equipment is simply not available in terms of finance or availability.

Toilet sol-char

Most of us do not realize that about 2.5 billion people all over the world live in unsanitary conditions due to lack of water or its poor quality. Scientists from the University of Colorado who have created a toilet that runs on solar energy have attended to this problem. A parabolic mirror collects light, which is transmitted via fiber and is used for ... burning products of human activity. As a result of this "processing", a by-product is obtained under the name "biochar", which can be used as a fertilizer or fuel for furnaces. So far, the product has not reached the stage of the test sample and exists in the form of a laboratory setup , but the developers are not going to stop.

Smart pavement

In May of this year, an American startup completed a five-year program to create a prototype of a smart pavement consisting of thick glass hexagonal panels. Under the glass is a solar panel and LEDs. Energy collected during daylight hours can be spent on heating the surface of the pavement or given to external consumers. And at night the LED lights turn on.



Another similar project was implemented in the Netherlands, where they developed technology to create solar-powered bicycle lanes .

NanoMotor

An incredibly fast nanomotor 500 times smaller than a grain of salt has a rotational speed of 18,000 rpm, and the duration of its operation reaches 15 hours. Prior to this, microrobot technology could boast of much slower motors, operating in just a few minutes. However, the real breakthrough in this case was not even the speed and duration of work, but the ability to synchronize the work of several motors. This allows you to create a means of delivering drugs to cancer, which can achieve the goal within one day.

Mind-Driven Exoskeleton

Here, perhaps, it is meaningless to explain something . It is enough to remember how many people in the world suffer from paralysis of various degrees.

Exosuit

The deep-sea diving suit of the new generation, 1.95 m high and weighing 240 kg. It can be lowered to a depth of over 1000 m, and in addition to purely scientific tasks, the spacesuit will allow research, lifting, repair and construction work at previously inaccessible depths.

Programmable implantable microchip

This development allows for pre-programmed for quite a long time to release into the body of the carrier of the drug from the built-in tanks. For example, hormonal contraceptives, which is very important in such overpopulated regions like Africa and Southeast Asia. Entry into the market of the finished product is scheduled for 2018.

Ophthalmologic examination with a smartphone

Scientists from Stanford University have developed an implantable sensor that allows you to track glaucoma. And the information can be obtained using the camera of the smartphone. While progressing, glaucoma damages the optic nerve, but apart from the loss of peripheral vision, it usually does not have other symptoms, and therefore is often not detected in its early stages. An implantable sensor with a length of several millimeters measures intraocular pressure, so that you can detect glaucoma in a timely manner and prevent blindness in many people around the world.

Another very promising project is a crowdfunding campaign to create a cheap adapter for smartphones, allowing you to independently conduct an ophthalmologic examination and to identify certain illnesses.

Smart wheelchair

Intel has created a wheelchair that records the various vital parameters of its passenger, including heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure. This information can be quickly sent wirelessly to doctors, family or carers. The first tester was Stephen Hawking. Well, comments and explanations are also not needed here.

Safe kitchen stove

More than 40% of the world's inhabitants are still preparing their own food by burning solid fuels. At the same time, due to carbon monoxide poisoning and other products of combustion, more than 4 million people die every year. In 2012, this accounted for 7.7% of the total number of people who died during the year worldwide.

To reduce the number of such accidents, a special “safe” energy-efficient kitchen stove was created. It gives 70% less smoke and consumes 60% less fuel.

Instead of needle

A real sample of nanotechnology is a device that allows injecting without any syringes and needles. It is a plate the size of a nail, covered with thousands of tiny needles filled with the right medicine. It is enough to press the plate against the skin, the needles penetrate into it and the medicine enters the blood. Due to the tiny size of the needles, a person does not feel any pain. This approach also eliminates the need to store vaccines in refrigerators, which is especially problematic when sending drugs by air or sea, and even to not very developed countries.

Based on Mashable .

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Of course, the list of all sorts of technologies and inventions that have appeared this year and serving for the benefit of people, and not just for entertainment, can be continued for a long time. If you know something suitable, write in the comments.