Best Inventions 2023

Nature-loving dye for denim. Pasta of the most innovative form. A plant that produces clean drinking water from waste. Compact system for recycling kitchen food waste into compost. Suitcase and bed in one building. An audio speaker that accurately assesses the parameters of the room. Kommersant continues to talk about new and old inventions with great potential.

Sugar + bacteria = denim dye

More than 2 billion pairs of jeans are produced annually in the world. Perhaps the most popular garment in the world, more than 500 factories in different countries are engaged in the production of this item. The global jeans market was worth $70.7 billion in 2021, and by 2030 it is estimated experts, will grow to $ 95 billion. And everything would be fine if toxic and dangerous chemical compounds such as benzene, formaldehyde, sodium amide were not used to dye denim in the popular indigo color. In addition, the production of each kilogram of such a dye takes 75 kg of petroleum products. And it turns out that the dyeing of the fabric is the dirtiest part of the production of jeans.

How to make denim dye non-toxic, invented by a California startup Huuewhich specializes in works related to biosynthesis.

Huue specialists based their development on the natural processes of color formation, having studied how molecules with such paint appear in indigo-bearing plants, from which indigo dye was made until the 20th century.

And then, with the help of biotechnology, they brought out such bacteria that repeat the natural process and, absorbing sugar, produce this paint. There are no problems with the production of the right amount of dye, since the bacteria multiply very quickly and they are all programmed to produce the substance of the desired color. The result is a dye that does not harm nature, does not require petroleum products for production, does not irritate the skin and is non-toxic to humans. And the color is exactly the same, real, denim.

This is to eat better.

It would seem that all possible forms and varieties of Italian pasta have long been invented, because there are more than six hundred of them. But there is no limit to perfection, decided Dan Pushman, an American food podcast host The Sporkful, and came up with another special variety – cascatelli (from the Italian word cascate, meaning waterfall). The form was invented by him taking into account three important parameters.

He calls them sauceability (that is, how well the sauce spreads over them), forkability (how convenient it is to take them with a fork) and toothsinkability (how pleasant it is to dip your teeth into them).

According to Dan Pashman, most varieties of pasta meet one or two requirements, but not three. But the cascatelli are friendly with the sauce, and with a fork, and are very pleasant on the tooth. This was also appreciated by TIME magazine, which included Cascatelli in list the best inventions of 2021.

Clean drinking water from waste and air

The inventors of the next unit were the winners of a design competition, which faced a difficult task: to create a device capable of producing at least 2 thousand liters of water per day from air, powered only by energy from renewable sources. At the same time, the cost of the received liter of water should not exceed $0.02. Although, in the opinion of an ordinary person, the task with such conditions is hardly feasible, the inventors submitted several options for solving it for the competition, including improved desalination plants, or condensers. And the joint development of startups Skysource and Skywater won, which was named WEDEW (Wood-to-Energy Deployed Emergency Water).

WEDEW converts air into drinking water using organic waste as an energy source (agricultural waste, forestry, any other organic waste). The device is similar to an ordinary shipping container. The water production process looks like this: biowaste is loaded into the first chamber of the container, where it is crushed and enters the gas generator, where it is burned. This produces humid hot air, energy in the form of gas and biochar.

The resulting energy is used to cool the resulting moist hot air, which in the process condenses and becomes water. And biochar can then be used as a fertilizer.

WEDEW developers pay attention to the fact that in the absence of the necessary waste fuel, it is possible to equip containers with solar panels or batteries.

Home compact food waste composting system

It is unlikely that anyone will argue with the statement that decaying organic waste emits an unpleasant odor. And in the conditions of an apartment or a city house, and even in the summer heat, it is especially unpleasant to feel this smell every time you open the bedside table under the sink, where the trash can usually stands. People who are not particularly concerned about the problems of ecology and respect for the environment simply try to regularly throw waste into garbage containers, from where they end up in the city dump and stink already there. And those who care about the environment and who care about the problem of rapidly growing urban landfills install a food waste grinder in the kitchen under the sink. However, this does not solve environmental problems either. In a country house, this is easier: there were some cleanings or food leftovers – collected, carried to a compost heap on the site or to a composter. Waste gradually decomposes and turns into organic fertilizer. But the unpleasant smell from the compost pit will still go.

A comprehensive solution to the problem was found by engineers of the Canadian companies Sepura Home, who created the device of the same name for the convenient collection, storage and preparation for composting of kitchen food waste. Sepura is a composite container with a separator to separate food waste from liquids or solids (such as a spoon accidentally dropped into the sink sink) and a container to store the collected waste.

The device comes with a Bluetooth button that can be placed anywhere near the sink. Sepura is installed under the sink and is connected to the sink drain, as well as to the hose leading to the sewer. Sepura works like this: while cooking or washing dishes, you throw any food waste, including bones, directly into the sink sink. When enough of them have accumulated there, you press the button, it turns on the separator under the sink: the water from the sink goes into the sewer, food waste flies into the bucket. The device has bucket full indicators. Waste can be stored in a container for up to four weeks, and there will be no smell from there. After filling or after four weeks, the bucket is removed, and its contents, already partially decomposed, can be taken to the composter or to the food waste container. At the same time, Sepura can be installed in any kitchen and under any sink, connected to any drain system, and this device also cleans itself.

Suitcase, bed, freedom

According to the creators of JetKids, this is the only one in the world suitcase premium class for children, which can be not only a suitcase, but also a children’s bed, and a footrest, and a wheelchair. This invention was appreciated not only magazine TIME, but also many parents who have had to travel with several young children. The JetKids suitcase with dimensions of 46x20x36 cm and a volume of 23 liters weighs 3.3 kg without contents, the maximum load is 35 kg. The volume allows you to load into it, probably, all the necessary toys, games, books, important little things that the child needs, and there will still be room.

During long transitions from one terminal to another, a tired child can simply be put on top of JetKids, which has four strong wheels at the bottom and a specially shaped saddle-like upper part.

In the waiting room or right in the cabin of an airplane or train compartment, the suitcase can be easily transformed into a comfortable bed with bumpers for the baby. Non-toddlers can use JetKids as a high footrest in the cabin.

All-round sound and the Death Star

This device was designed by Christopher Stringer, who has been a designer at Apple for 22 years and has worked there on the iPhone, iMac and other “apple” devices. After leaving there, Stringer created his own company Syng and continued to develop interesting devices. This is how the column came into existence. Cell Alphawhich looks like the Death Star from Star Wars, only placed on a high stand.

According to its creator, Cell Alpha is able to “transform the human relationship with sound” because it makes sound “tangible”. A speaker installed in any room first evaluates the dimensions and geometry of that room, creating a virtual representation of the walls and objects in the room that will reflect the sound and affect its quality. After setting up, the device begins to transmit sound as if it is coming at the listener from all sides at the same time, the sound is “tangible” and “enveloping”. You can control the direction and strength of the sound through the application on your smartphone, as well as virtually move the speaker to different places in the room. When you install two of these speakers in a room, they will adjust accordingly, and the sound will be even more tangible. The ideal option, from a developer’s point of view, is to install three Cell Alphas at once.

Alena Miklashevskaya