AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarThe 100 Best Inventions of 2019TIMEHere are the 2019 best inventions making the world better, smarter and more fun.
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarHow We Chose the 100 Best Inventions of 2019TIMEEvery year, TIME highlights the Best Inventions that are making the world better, smarter and even a bit more fun. (See last year’s list here.) To assemble our 2019 list, we solicited nominations across a variety of categories from our editors and correspondents around the world, as well as through …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatar2019 Lemonade Giveback: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: Most insurance policies have some leftover funds after all the claims are paid. When users sign up for insurance through Lemonade, they pick a charity they want to “Giveback” that money to. Policyholders who pick the same charity form a group whose leftovers are pooled and donated …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarQWSTION Bananatex: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: Four years ago, Swiss bag brand QWSTION began experimenting with banana fibers from the Abacá plant. The result of that research is a line of bags made out of Bananatex, the world’s first durable, waterproof and biodegradable fabric made entirely from banana plants. Qwstion …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarHelium Hotspot: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMEWhen a user buys a Helium Hotspot ($495), they become like a miniature cell tower in a peer-to-peer wireless internet network that connects small, low-power devices like pet collars and scooter trackers from miles away through Helium’s “LongFi” protocol. The logic is that Hotspot owners would be …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarGenomatica Bio-nylon: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: Some 8 billion pounds of nylon are produced every year to make clothes, carpets, car interiors and toothbrush bristles, burning fossil fuels and emitting highly toxic nitrous oxide in the process. San Diego-based biotechnology company Genomatica wants to change that by replacing …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarzSpace AR/VR Laptop: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: Dissecting frogs, mixing chemicals and tinkering with electric circuits can be messy and, at times, even dangerous for students. But a new AR/VR laptop from zSpace is changing how classroom experiments are done. With the laptops (which start at $1,299), there’s less risk. Learners …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarWarby Parker Virtual Try-On Tool: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: When the virtual try-on tool launched on Warby Parker's app in February, the company saw a single-day record of app downloads. The free augmented reality tool, which shows users how a pair of glasses will look on their face in real time, scans 30,000 facial data points to determine …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarInspiren iN: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: Even the most attentive hospital workers can’t be everywhere at once. So Inspiren created iN, a device that, when mounted on the walls of patients’ rooms, leverages AI and a series of sensors to monitor patients’ safety and alert staff if they need help. It can also hold staff …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarAttabotics: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: With many of our purchases now happening online, the warehouses that used to hold those products needed an update. Attabotics takes the rows and aisles of traditional fulfillment centers and condenses them into a single, vertical storage structure inspired by ant colonies. Robotic …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarAd Hoc Labs Firewall: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: An estimated 48 billion robocalls were placed to U.S. phones last year—a 57 percent increase over the year prior. Firewall was created to stop these calls from ever reaching you. For $3.99 a month, the app intercepts all calls from unknown numbers, sends them to a voicemail of your …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarLaws of Motion The Alpha: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: It can be hard for women to find professional clothes that fit properly, even when they're looking for a basic black dress. Enter the Alpha ($195), a one-style-fits-all shift dress that comes in 99 different microsizes. The startup behind the Alpha, Laws of Motion, has done away …
AvatarTIMEAvatarAvatarQuikflip Hoodie: Special Mention on Best Inventions 2019TIMESPECIAL MENTION: The Quikflip hoodie ($55 for a classic version) converts into a backpack (and then back into a hoodie) for those cool mornings that turn into warm afternoons. To convert the hoodie, simply turn it upside down, reach into a built-in pocket and pull. Finish by stuffing the rest of …