Top 10 innovations that can change the way we live
Over the years, technology has transformed the world and changed the way we entertain ourselves, communicate with others, stay healthy, and ensure safety and mobility.
Here are the top ten innovations, the blessing of modern technology, in 2019 that can make the world better and smarter, and change the way of the human lives in 2020.
Stevie: Caring for the elderly
A robot to help battle the loneliness of elderly people especially in care homes.
People over 65 are the fastest-growing age group in much of the developed world, but the growth of the eldercare workforce isn’t keeping pace. This AI launched by an Irish university can help fill the shortfall of paid care workers.
Stevie is a socially assistive robot that has a friendly face and can be adapted to play games, make deliveries and facilitate video chats.
Lightyear One: A solar-powered car
Dutch automotive startup Lightyear’s Lightyear One is the first-ever long-range solar-powered car which can drive almost 500 miles on a single charge.
Lightyear One is also the first and foremost plug-in electric vehicles that can fast-charge up to 354 miles worth of energy within an hour.
Its self-charging capability could find certain owners rarely even needing to plug their car in. The sun can add up to an additional 7 1/2 miles each hour to the vehicle's total range. In ideal conditions, its solar panels can generate over 12,000 miles worth of energy in a year.
OrCam MyEye 2: Making vision audible
OrCam MyEye 2.0 is a revolutionary vision technology that improves the lives of individuals who are blind or partially sighted.
The most advanced wearable assistive technology for the blind and visually impaired, provides independence by conveying visual information, audibly. It reads the text, recognizes faces, identifies products and more.
For those living with visual impairments, the OrCam MyEye 2 could be a game-changer. Described as “talking glasses,” the artificial-intelligence device attaches to the frame of any glasses.
Fitting all this power into such a small device is like “putting an elephant into a small closet,” says Amnon Shashua, inventor of the technology. It can also be useful for those with reading difficulties like dyslexia.
The device is available in 48 countries and has even been used in Israeli elections to help blind and visually impaired citizens cast their ballots.
Butterfly iQ: A new era of medical imaging
Butterfly iQ portable ultrasound scanner is used as an easy-to-manufacture semiconductor chip rather than the piezoelectric crystals used by traditional ultrasounds.
This technology enables a low-cost window into the human body, making high-quality diagnostic imaging accessible to anyone.
Butterfly iQ has shortened ultrasound technology to the size of a chip, letting medical professionals simply plug the portable probe into their phone.
The device is used for several clinical uses including pediatric, gynaecological and abdominal cases. The device can directly transfer the image to a smartphone and has an added advantage of storing the image over the cloud.
BrainRobotics: More lifelike prosthetic
BrainRobotics is a prosthetic hand that can be controlled by residual muscle strength of an amputee with better efficiency than similar devices.
It is an AI-powered hand that allows the user to make unlimited gestures and grips.
This device has an algorithm that allows the hand and user to learn from each other and becomes more lifelike with each use.
It also uses eight multichannel electromyography sensors in the wrist, which enable the hand to process muscle signals from the user’s arm, allowing more accurate control over grips and hand motions, according to a report of TIME magazine.
GE Senographe Pristina with Dueta: An easier exam
GE Senographe Pristina with Dueta is one of the best inventions of 2019. GE's Senographe Pristina with Dueta takes the stress and worry out of the screening process and allows women to gain a sense of control.
Many women avoid mammograms because they hate having their breasts pressed as doctors take images that can detect signs of cancer. GE Healthcare’s Senographe Pristina with Dueta allows patients to control the compression themselves using a wireless remote.
Starkey Livio AI: A talking hearing aid
Livio® AI is the world’s first hearing aid to provide both superior sound quality and the ability to track body and brain health. Featuring integrated sensors and artificial intelligence, Livio AI can detect if you've fallen and acted as an assistant
This device is embedded with sensors and artificial intelligence that allow it to stream music; verbally answer questions like a smart assistant; translate conversations into your language; detect falls (and alert loved ones); measure physical activity, and track how often you talk to other people during the day—useful for elderly users who can become isolated.
WeWALK: A smarter cane
There is an estimated number of over 250 million visually impaired people (World Health Organization) in the world and 50 million are using a cane.
Since the beginning of the white cane usage, it never got innovated and visually impaired individuals faced problems like coming across above chest obstacles. WeWALK solves this problem and adds more to it through smartphone integration.
WeWALK is a smart cane that detects objects above chest level and pairs with apps, such as Google Maps—to the visually impaired and blind people navigate a digital world without having to juggle a smartphone.
ClearUP: Relieving sinus pain
Nearly 30 million people suffer from sinus pain, without satisfactory treatments. This is a clinically-proven five-minute treatment of sinusitis.
ClearUP emits a microcurrent of electricity from its penlike tip, which users glide around the eye for about five minutes a day to calm nerves connected to the sinuses that can be aggravated by allergies and infections.
Airthings Wave Plus: Air-quality detector
Most people have a carbon-monoxide detector in their home but nothing to warn of elevated levels of radon, the leading cause of lung cancer for nonsmokers in the US. The Airthings Wave Plus is the first app-supported radon and indoor air-quality detector.
Airthings Wave Plus is the first-ever smart indoor air quality monitor with radon detection, designed for homes and all populated spaces.
A clean air detector enabling you to gain full visibility into six factors; radon, airborne chemicals (TVOCs), carbon dioxide (CO2) humidity, temperature and air pressure.
Besides, the battery-powered Wave Plus detects CO² levels along with total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and gases emitted from chemicals in the home, giving you a comprehensive view of your home’s air quality.
The article is a compilation of reports published in different news portals, including Time magazine, featuring the top innovations in 2019. The photos were collected from different websites.