There are many things out there that people consider amazing, but we wanted to bring to you a list of things that you might not have ever heard of before. Prepare to be amazed, and then amazed some more. Here is a list of the top ten innovations that we think are doing things differently in a world of homogeny.
ONE: ROCKETBOOK
This is a notebook that you’ll want to throw into the microwave. ‘Why’ you protest? Because this is no ordinary notebook; it’s been specially designed so that when you’ve filled it up with your scribbles you no longer need to buy a new one – just throw it in the microwave and all the ink will disappear! Seriously. We’re not joking. Check out theirIndiegogo campaign page now if you don’t believe us, they already have over 10,000 backers. And if that wasn’t cool enough, they have an app that allows all of your pages to automatically be pushed into the cloud as pdf files. A reusable notebook that syncs to the cloud…wow. Colour us impressed.
TWO: NEST THERMOSTAT
We understand that thermostats are not the sexiest things around, but does the above even look like a thermostat to you? Besides having a design that would warrant its purchase alone, the Nest Thermostat learns from you everyday so that it programs itself (and your house) to your needs. It’ll figure out that you get home every night at around 8pm and automatically adjust the temperature beforehand to be just right for when you arrive. When you’re away from the house it’ll also turn off by itself to save you money on your bills by up to 20%. It can be activated and controlled remotely if need be. It’s no wonder that Google bought this company for a ridiculous $3.2 billion. Yes, ‘billion’ with a ‘b’.
THREE: ROSA’S FRESH PIZZA
We understand that thermostats are not the sexiest things around, but does the above even look like a thermostat to you? Besides having a design that would warrant its purchase alone, the Nest Thermostat learns from you everyday so that it programs itself (and your house) to your needs. It’ll figure out that you get home every night at around 8pm and automatically adjust the temperature beforehand to be just right for when you arrive. When you’re away from the house it’ll also turn off by itself to save you money on your bills by up to 20%. It can be activated and controlled remotely if need be. It’s no wonder that Google bought this company for a ridiculous $3.2 billion. Yes, ‘billion’ with a ‘b’.
FOUR: THE PLANT
If you haven’t heard of aquaponics before, a simple introduction is that it’s a food production system where fish, water, and plants all work together to feed themselves in a closed loop where nothing is wasted. The Plant is an aquaponics farm in Chicago that compromises of a fish hatchery, a hydroponic garden, an awesome kitchen, and a brewery for beer and tea. Their plans are to become a net-zero energy system where they can operate completely off the grid. They were shortlisted in Wallpaper Magazine’s Design Awards, find out more about The Plant here.
FIVE: TESLA
Ever wish that Tony Stark was real? Well, the closest thing we have in reality is Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors who has revolutionised the car industry by creating commercially viable (and desirable) electric cars. The car’s performance is incredible, the safety ratings are at the highest across the industry, and (most importantly) the design appeals to the masses. To further his vision of revolutionising the car industry, Elon Musk has made an unprecedented move of making all the Tesla patents open source – encouraging (and forcing) the competition to come after him. Just so you know, Elon Musk was behind PayPal and also runs SpaceX (rocket company sending people to Mars) at the same time as Tesla – the man is mental.
SIX: RAINFOREST CONNECTION
Believe in having a life after life? Well, you should at least believe your cell-phone can have one. Topher White is an inspiring engineer battling an age old problem, how do you stop illegal logging? Usually the trees have already been cut down before anybody finds out, so it’s not only about discovery but also real-time intervention. In this video he explains how he uses discarded old cell phones rigged up to recycled solar panels hidden throughout the forest as sensors that listen out for the sounds of chainsaws. Once it has been picked up, a notification is immediately sent to a nearby ranger who then goes to stop the illegal logging. It’s amazing nobody thought of this sooner. Check out Rainforest Connection, and give your phone an after-life by sending it to them!
SEVEN: BEYOND MEAT
Our team has an extreme love for food. Coming from all parts around the world and always experimenting with the strange (honey bees, snakes, balls, you name it), we thought that we’ve tasted it all…until we came across Beyond Meat. In simple terms, it’s meat from plants. They’ve created chicken that looks, feels, smells, and tastes just like chicken…only that it’s not chicken. We were very skeptical…but prejudices aside, we think that this could really be a game changer. After all, none of us eat meat because we like dead animals; we eat meat because it tastes good. So what if there’s ‘meat’ that tastes good without the dead animals part? We welcome you, Beyond Meat.
EIGHT: PLANET LABS
These guys built rockets in their garage. No joke. You have to watch the TED talk to really understand how awesome their accomplishment is. The problem that they’re tackling: looking at satellite images of the planet and realising that the photos are all years old – it’s hard to improve things if everything you’re seeing is years in the past. Planet Labs have now created very cheap miniature satellites equipped with high resolution cameras that have been sent to space to orbit the Earth in a ring. These small satellites constantly take photos so that we have an updated database of the planet’s surface every 24 hours…incredible. Did I mention they built these in their garage? The applications for this technology and the assistance these images will provide to the world at large are monumental.
NINE: UBER
Out of all the innovations in the list, Uber needs the least introduction and may stick out from the rest since it’s more widely known. But we couldn’t leave it off the list because Uber doesn’t just represent itself, it represents a larger global movement where there’s empowerment in the everyman’s resources. Much like Airbnb, these services make previously useless entities a valuable resource. An empty room becomes a hotel. An empty car seat becomes revenue. You get the picture. This has radically disrupted the world in unprecedented ways and will continue to force innovation out of stagnant companies. The stone has been cast.
TEN: ORIGINAL UNVERPACKT
Last but not least, Original Unverpackt – the supermarket of the future has no packaging. That’s right, we’ve all come home from the groceries with loads of plastic and wondered if there was a better way, well here’s a solution. Located in Berlin (Germany), this concept store completely removes packaging from all of the products and stores them in large dispenser bins. Customers bring in their own containers (or ones purchased in the store), fill them up with however much they need, and pay based on weight. Obviously this isn’t an end-all solution to the grocery store model, but it’s an interesting step in the right direction.
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That’s it, folks. Like our list or think there’s something we’re missing? Let us know!