Max Du won the Canada-Wide Science Fair. His project is a drone (无人机) to save people who go into cardiac (心脏的) arrest. Max got the inspiration during Christmas break last year. "I got a toy drone from my parents, but I couldn't fly it because it is snowy." Max said. "So I played with it at home, and it got me thinking how a drone could be used as an indoor robot that could help people."

About 35, 000 people have cardiac arrests in Canada each year. Most of those happen outside of a hospital, of whom fewer than 10 percent survive. Max believed a drone could offer faster support and life-saving medicine, but he had to build it himself to know for sure.

Testing his drone took about six months. Max's parents had to deal with their son's constantly flying and crashing in the home. Every time Max would create an exciting innovation, such as an extendable arm, it would add extra weight to his drone, causing it to break apart. Then Max would have to buy all new parts. Max tested using more lightweight materials until his design was more balanced.

Through trial and error, the 14-year-old boy finally got it right. His drone can open a door handle, fly in the air and then land softly on the ground. A new extendable arm can be released to administer a shot or hand a patient lifesaving medicine. A built-in camera could directly conference with an emergency response team whose members could monitor the patient remotely.

Max plans on applying for a patent (专利) so he can make connections in the health-care industry to get it made for real. He's spent his summer learning about artificial intelligence at California's Stanford University as one of 32 kids selected worldwide. He'll head next to the University of Pennsylvania to take a college-level robotics class before returning to high school in September.

Growing up, I was often the first Jewish person my classmates had ever met. I lived in Mississauga, Ontario, and was the only Jewish student in my grade 一 sometimes the only one in the whole school. This difference set me apart.

Every September, I hated presenting the note my parents had expertly made to a teacher I was just getting to know. The note explained that I would be absent during the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I flatted that my teachers would label me the "Jewish kid".

The real trouble always came as the local new year's festival approached. I was Jewish and celebrated Hanukkah, not this festival. At school, on one day before the winter break, every class would sit in neat rows in the gym and sing songs from the festival. However, the music teacher sometimes played Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, a Jewish festival song, and I would feel hundreds of eyes staring at my red cheeks. As my friends counted down the days until the festival, I counted the days until it was over and I could go back to feeling normal.

Each year during primary school, my mother would coordinate (协调)with my teacher to come to my class and tell the story of Hanukkah. She would prepare treats and materials depending on my age. Every time I would proudly stand beside her as she told the story of Hanukkah and explained the symbols. The children who had attended the presentation previously competed to answer questions. After my mom left, I would overhear them showing off their fried treats to kids in other classes.

My mom's annual visits to my school sparked (激发) interest from other parents as well. Over the years, we had visits from parents who shared how festivals were celebrated in Germany and Italy.

My mom showed me, my classmates and their families that what sets us apart should be celebrated and shared, an intention which I continue to set for myself as I cycle through another holiday season.

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.