A company called WiTricity is a pioneer in wireless electricity.
Very soon, I understand, we can all charge our laptops without the need of a wire. And our lamps, TVs, and music systems can all pull power to themselves, without wires, from a central charging base.
It will be just like how we are connecting to, and downloading digital data, from wireless routers in our homes.
In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 30% of kids under age 5 are at risk of going blind. They lack adequate vitamin A as there is an acute shortage of appropriate food there.
So, an Australian biogeneticist James Dale, who visited Uganda decided to reengineer the ‘gene’ in the bananas which form the main diet of children there.
Now, the vitamin-A enriched ‘superbananas’ are being increasingly grown there, and they can prevent blindness!
‘Wireless Electricity’ and ‘Superbananas’ are just two among many amazing inventions, of the year 2014, given in the latest issue of TIME magazine.
Every year TIME lists 25 best inventions that are making the world better, smarter and, a little more fun. And I enjoyed going through the list.
I was pleasantly shocked and completely fascinated at the new technologies that are coming up, just when I was thinking that almost all that we need, have already been invented.
Interestingly, listed at second place is Mangalyaan, India’s spacecraft that reached Mars and achieved its ‘Mission to Mars’ objective.
At $74mn dollars – much less than the cost of making the Hollywood movie Gravity – I believe, the invention truly deserved to be listed here.
When USA, Russia, and Europe did not make it to Mars in their first attempts, India did! And that makes Indians proud.
Also, just look at the other wide range of innovations around us and with us now.
“Apple Watch”, with a touchscreen and physical buttons, does not just tell time. It can also send messages, give directions, track fitness and make wireless payments.
“Coolest Cooler” is what we will need for a party on the beach, or a picnic far away.
This box-shaped cooler for ice cubes also has a blender, an LED lid light, a USB charger, a Bluetooth speaker, and nice big wheels.
So you would be soon blending your drinks, charging phones and listening to
music, all from one single box that holds ice cubes and bottle!
“3-D printers” are building objects from digital blueprints, usually by layering plastic or other materials.
A simple “selfie stick” enables users to position their smartphone beyond arms’ reach to get better photo angles.
But I was most fascinated by what was listed on top: Hendo Hoverboard.
It is a skate board that moves hovering above the ground, over an inch or so. As if floating on air, children can skate on boards without wheels.
It must be an amazing feeling to glide on the road an inch above the ground – a feature I am told was only science-fiction in the movie, Back to the Future – Part II.
My fascination grew wider when I learnt that this magnetic “hovering” tech will be used to stabilize buildings during earthquakes, and protect valuable works of art and more.
When I see all these inventions, all I can say to their inventors is, Keep it up! Happy Inventing!