There are a countless number of new inventions/gadgets being introduced each year, and we’ve hand selected five of the most innovative that our editors have come across in the first half of 2007.
WL-16RIII Walkbot We have seen the future and it’s the WL-16RIII Walkbot — developed at Waseda University in Japan. Designed for the disabled, elderly, or just plain lazy, the Walkbot makes descending a flight of stairs much easier — though it doesn’t look very safe. It’s powered by a 850-Mhz Intel Pentium 3 processor and has two joysticks to control movement. [Source ]
Automated Dishmaker
Created by MIT student Leonardo Bonanni , this incredible device “can actually replace cabinets worth of dishes by storing them as flat disks.” Video after the jump.
If the Dishmaker ever becomes a reality, you will never have to worry about dishes again. You just make dishes on demand and try to put all the extra free cabinet space to good use
[Source 1 – 2 ]
Real-Life “Batman” Utility Belt
MIT graduate Nathan Ball created a real-life Batman ultility belt for a contest. Called the ATLAS Rope Ascender, it’s capable of lifting 250-pounds, 50-feet into the air. in 5-seconds or less.
Batman jokes aside (I have well surpassed my quota), this is a great tool that could be used by the military, firefighters, window washers and more. Ball even won $30,000 for making it
[Source ]
Uberbed Lift
The Uberbed Lift is basically a device that conceals “a 50” panel with amplifiers, DVD, VCR, subwoofer, and 7 channels of surround” under your bed.
In just 45 seconds, a robotic arm that will later turn your television, positioning the display to whatever angle you feel is optimum
[Source 1 – 2 ]
Project Grizzly
Troy Hurtubise’s Project Grizzly is basically a high-tech military suit that’s “crafted from high-impact plastic lined with ceramic bullet protection over ballistic foam, and features nearly endless compartments, morphine / salt containers, knife and gun holsters, emergency lights, a built-in recording device, pepper spray, ingestible transponder for those last resort scenarios, and there’s even a fresh air system powered by solar panels within the helmet.”
Troy — inventor of such products as several well-documented bear suits, a fire-resistant paste, and a strange device that he claims can see through walls and skin — spent $150,000 developing the Trojan (apparently his family’s entire savings), along with 1,800 hours on everything from calibrating the helmet-mounted laser to designing the unique, um, crotch-mounted digital compass / world clock
[ Source ]