6 best inventions of recent years

The world is moving forward at an astounding pa mmce. Robots taking over factories and children having AI nannies is no news, but 2018 may actually become the year when all these things go on the mass market.

Ember Mug

Anyone who’s ever sipped coffee knows how temperature can affect taste: if it’s too hot, it’ll scald your mouth; too cold and it’s barely worth drinking. By one estimate, you have only about 37 seconds to enjoy the brew at an ideal level of warmth. “That didn’t make any logical sense to me,” says Clay Alexander, CEO and founder of Los Angeles–based Ember Technologies. So he invented a solution: the stainless-steel Ember mug. Reinforced in white ceramic coating, it keeps coffee or tea at a precise temperature—anywhere from 120°F to 145°F, set through an app—for about an hour on its own and for an unlimited amount of time on its charging saucer. It’s the second in Ember’s series of smart drinking devices, following a temperature-control tumbler last year. And it may be poised to become a desktop staple: the mug launched on Nov. 9 and is already being sold in 4,600 U.S. Starbucks stores. 
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Another great product from the same company:

Crypto Anchors

Crypto anchor developed in IBM

Crypto anchors are digital footprints which can help companies, as well as ordinary consumers, check the product’s authenticity. They can be either codes or small (really small) computers embedded in the product itself and tied to the blockchain. Blockchain saves digital info about the product which can then be used to carry out the product’s identification.

Crypto anchors have sensors and algorithms which can’t be tampered with. This inovative technology can help the world’s economy as it loses billions of dollars due to various fraudulent practices. Moreover, it can help people to feel more secure about the product and not to spend their money in vain.

Myo armband

Myo armband is an astonishing technology invention which can be used both in video games and during surgeries. It is a rigid pod which consists of rubber cords holding sensors in place.At first, this armband could only be used while connected with a USB cord, but in 2018 it’s

Inside Myo

become mobile. Now with a couple hand movements you can accept a phone call while driving. Surgeons can now perform operations much more accurately and successfully.

Xbox adaptive controller

For people with limited hand and arm mobility, it can be tough to play video games, which are generally controlled using small buttons and joysticks. And while some gamers and small companies have engineered hacks, major gaming companies have largely remained on the -sidelines—until now. Inspired by an internal hackathon and informed by work with groups like the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Microsoft developed the Xbox Adaptive Controller ($100), an oversize version of its classic rig designed to empower as many gamers as possible. Its main buttons, for example, are roughly 4 in. in -diameter—large enough to be pressed with an elbow or chin, if necessary. It also features ports to accommodate additional aids, like a foot pedal. Xbox designer Chris Kujawski urges others to follow suit: “We hope [our controller] becomes a catalyst for inclusiveness in the gaming industry.”

Jibo

Personal robots, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, have come a long way in recent years. But fundamentally, they’re still stationary speakers whose defining expression is a light that turns on when you speak.

Jibo is different. It’s not just that he—and I use the term he here, because that’s how Jibo refers to himself—looks like something straight out of a Pixar movie, with a big, round head and a face that uses animated icons to convey emotion. It’s not just that his body swivels and swerves while he speaks, as if he’s talking with his nonexistent hands. It’s not just that he can giggle and dance and turn to face you, wherever you are, as soon as you say, “Hey, Jibo.” It’s that, because of all this, Jibo seems downright human in a way that his predecessors do not.

And while that technology may seem merely amusing—or creepy, depending on your point of view—it could fundamentally reshape how we interact with machines.

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eSight 3

For the millions of people who are legally blind, navigation is a routine challenge. Though support canes and guide dogs can help, they cannot mimic actual vision. eSight 3can. Think of it as the world’s most powerful pair of glasses: once users put on eSight, it records high­ definition video and uses magnification, contrast and proprietary algorithms to enhance that imagery into something the legally blind can see—enabling them to partake in a variety of activities, including sports, that would otherwise be off-­limits. At $9,995, the device, which launched in February, is not accessible to everyone (though the company does help connect would-­be buyers with funding sources, including grants). But it is cheaper than the company’s earlier iterations, as well as faster, lighter and equipped with better zoom capabilities. To date, the company estimates it has been used by more than 1,000 patients.