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Technologies That Changed The World In 2015

These Amazing Tech Inventions Help Make The World A Better Place
Shihab S Joi
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Visitors test virtual reality headsets at the 'Solutions COP21' exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris on December 4, 2015 on the sidelines of the COP21 United Nations conference on climate change. / AFP / LOIC VENANCE (Photo credit should read LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images)
LOIC VENANCE via Getty Images

This was the year that silenced all those who felt duped by promises made in the ‘80s by finally being able to say: here. Here’s your damn hoverboard.

As the old maxim ‘careful what you wish for’ smugly puffs on its Firefly Vaporizer while pesky kids judder past us on their hardly Back To The Future boards before catching on fire, we can take solace in knowing other inventions have helped make the world better than techies from yesteryear predicted.

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We have cars powered on electricity and even hydrogen, drones are all set to drop gifts from the sky, 3.2 billion people can communicate with each other via the Internet while 96% of the world’s population has a mobile phone account (source). Scientists this year unveiled a second genetic DNA code by mapping the epigenome, found two new planets in our solar system, unearthed a life-saving new antibiotic from soil, and now there’s even a shoe you can tie with one hand!

You may no longer want a hoverboard, but there’s plenty of technological advancement that can be a part of your brave new world as we speak.

The tech innovations of 2015 mean we are now equipped to…

Technologies That Changed The World In 2015
Travel Back In Time(01 of07)
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Scientists have been using quantum computing to send messages to the past, something to do with ‘open timelike curves’. Something more within are realms of understanding time is the 3-D camera (currently doing great work helping brain surgery thanks to NASA). From now on, you won’t simply flick through your photos, but step inside them to relive the moments. The virtual reality technology of the Teleport 3-D Camera uses two lenses much the same way we use two eyes to help shoot images with a 360 degrees view, meaning it’ll look just as you saw it whenever you transport back to the moment on a VR Headset.
Defy Gravity(02 of07)
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Nothing says ‘technological advance’ more than something hovering in mid air. Fire fighters in Dubai showed how lives can be saved by strapping on jetpacks to tackle blazes in high-rise buildings, while elsewhere, gravity is being defied by scientists literally hoisting a stairway to heaven. And then there’s the Air2. This Bluetooth speaker that brings anti-gravitational propulsion into your living room through clever use of magnets doesn’t need to levitate for it to work, but it does. And it looks wicked.
Grow A Human Organ(03 of07)
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3-D printers are all fun and games when it comes to recreating guns, cars and, in most of our cases, bits of plastic tat, but they’re making a significant mark in the operating theatre. 3D printers were used to manufacture stethoscopes in war-torn areas such as Gaza, as well as printing embryonic human stem cells, meaning a 3D print of living cells can be developed into a heart or a kidney. (credit:Artem_Egorov via Getty Images)
Own A Robot(04 of07)
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Advancements in robotics now mean bionic limbs with sensation is now a prosthetic reality, bots are helping combat cancer, exoskeletons are giving people who gave up hope of walking the chance to get back on their feet, and on the more selfish scale of things, we can have a robot running around the house! The MiP is eight inches tall, lets you know when he’s happy or sad, can be controlled by hand gestures, and can dance for you, baby. And let’s no one mention those creepy Hexapod robot spiders again, please. (credit:Javier Pierini via Getty Images)
Travel By Magic(05 of07)
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If you’ve ever sat on a DLR train marvelling at how it operates without a driver, you need cars that drive themselves in your life. Google, Apple and Samsung all threw their hats into the autonomous automobile ring this year, and while a host of luxury brands have been unveiling their green self-driving models, Mercedes Benz has left all contenders in the shade with the F 015 Luxury in Motion. How will not driving make the world a better place? They can provide emergency services in dangerous areas, they’re generally more eco-friendly, ease congestion, and safer all-round, given that 94% of accidents happen due to human error. (credit:Takashi Aoyama via Getty Images)
Get Phones To Do Everything(06 of07)
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Pretty much. From life saving sensors and medical checks, to tracking lost pets and brushing your children’s teeth, your smartphone can do everything for you. This year, they were instrumental in bypassing media agenda and political propaganda by recording brutality and conflicts first-hand, as well as being a vital tool for the destitute to get help. and It’s all part of the Internet of Things, innit? (credit:GREG BAKER via Getty Images)
Let The Machines Do The Thinking(07 of07)
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Heard the one about the washing machine that can think for itself? 2015 has been the year of the smart machine, with advances in cloud and client architecture enabling ‘deep thinking’, leaving us dancing to the algorithms of our computers. Artificial Intelligence is well and truly in motion. And we appear to be loving it. (credit:VLADGRIN via Getty Images)
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