Every year, the staff of Popular Science barricades itself in a room to fight. No, this is not some nerdy(书呆子;笨蛋)fight club;it's where we select our Innovation of the Year, the breakthrough that we agree is the most important from the previous 12 months. Below are some examples.
Smart AI Hand
Getting through daily life without the use of one's hand can be quite difficult. While prosthetic(假体的)hands have seen great progress over the years, a new smart prosthetic hand built by BrainRobotics is attractive. The hand is powered by an AI software that allows it to "learn" from its user. The hand is still being tested, but one tester is able to successfully play a song on the piano with the hand. The hand is expected to cost somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000, which is cheaper with the use of 3D printing. It allows each hand to be printed to fit the user.
LightSail 2
The fuel not only takes up space on the spacecraft, but also increases its weight, making it more expensive to launch. But a new type of spacecraft, the LightSail 2 satellite, could end this problem by using the thrust(推力)of photons(光子)bouncing off the spacecraft to sail through space. It takes advantage of the thrust and needs little to no fuel to move through space. LightSail 2 will return to Earth in one year.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Lenovo has introduced a laptop that can be folded up like a book. You can use it anytime and anywhere if you want to. It can also be held like a traditional laptop. It can be held flat, just as you would hold a tablet, or folded like a book when you're lying in bed. It has already been on the market.
Meal Delivery Robot
Food delivery workers have hard jobs. Can robots do the same job? US company Postmates has designed a meal delivery robot called Serve. With two eyes and four wheels, it can drive down footways thanks to the cameras inside it. Still, a human driver can control it remotely if there are any problems. The company has begun testing the robot in some parts of San Francisco, the US.