Thursday, July 5, 2012

Top inventions for 2011(Popular Science picks out last year's best innovations)


The Stark Hand
Image: A prosthetic hand protoype is cheap, and helps the wearer catch balls and grip wine glasses.
John B. Carnett  /  Popular Science
Created by Mark Stark, The Stark Hand prototype provides an ingenious, comfortable, and very inexpensive alternative to the hook his friend Dave Vogt had worn all his life. With the new hand, Dave can now catch balls and grip wine glasses.


The BodyGuard


Image: This crime-fighting armored glove has a wrist-mounted stunner and a video camera built in.
John B. Carnett  /  Popular Science
David Brown designed The BodyGuard, a crime-fighting armored glove, as built-in self protection. The demo model has a camera, a wrist mounted stunner and lots of room for future improvements. The idea came to David while talking to his friend, Kevin Costner.


The Bed Bug Detective

John B. Carnett  /  Popular Science
Built to imitate a dog's nose, the Bed Bug Detective sniffs out bedbugs quickly. Chris Goggin plans to create a model that can detect other pests, too, including mice and cockroaches.


The Zero Liquid Discharge


Image: The Zero Liquid Discharge vaporizes sewage from boats, airplanes and RVs.
John B. Carnett  /  Popular Science
With a pleasant name for a gross procedure, the Zero Liquid Discharge, or ZLD, completely oxidizes and evaporates sewage from boats, airplanes and RVs. After flash evaporation, the waste leaves as a harmless, odorless aerosol.

The Medical Mirror


Image: The Medical Mirror can tell you your heart when you look at it. A webcam behind the mirror captures variations in reflected light on your face, and an algorithm translates that into heartbeats.
John B. Carnett  /  Popular Science
While it can't tell you if you're the fairest of them all, the Medical Mirror can tell you your heart rate, which is probably more valuable in the long run anyway. A webcam behind the mirror captures variations in reflected light on your face, and an algorithm translates that into heartbeats.

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