2018 is almost over. Its high time we evaluate the thousands of new tech innovations that have the potential of replacing their not-so-effective counterparts.
Some of the technologies listed below are not widely popular yet. But we are considering them as a breakthrough innovation because we believe they could have a positive application in our day to day lives.
Liquid Gold Cancer Detection
Detection of cancer has always been a difficult task. Sadly, there are several incidents where people were diagnosed with cancer weeks before they reached a critical level, which left not enough room for prevention. If only there was a more advanced method of detecting cancer.
Hopefully, a new method which uses liquid gold to detect cancer cells can revolutionize cancer diagnosis. Researchers from the University of Queensland first discovered this method. This method works by adding DNA from patients into a liquid containing gold nanoparticles.
So how is this method better than existing ones? Well, using this method we can detect a very low level of Cancer cells in patients. However, there are some limitations as well. This method does not tell us the location and type of cancer. But its limitations does not invalidate its merits. It can be used in combination with other simple tests to get a more detailed diagnostic report.
Code for America
California has legalized recreational use of Marijuana back in 2016. But what happens to those people who have been sued for possession of Marijuana. These records still exist in Police Database. This is where the non-profit organization Code For America comes into play. This organization is trying to help people convicted of Marijuana possession, erase their conviction records. This organization has already made significant attempts in this regard and hopes to clear 250,000 Marijuana records by the year 2019.
Alexa Donation
Simply start off by saying “Alexa I want to make a donation”. There are more than 229 listed charities that you can make donations to. After you tell Alexa which charity you would like to donate to, tell her the amount of your donation. And that’s it.
However, any charity wishing to receive donations through Amazon Alexa has to have an Amazon Pay account. One way this new application of Alexa can revolutionize philanthropy is ensuring there are fewer middlemen involved in transferring the money from the donator to the charity. The current donation processing fee for Amazon Pay is 2.2% plus an authorization fee of $0.30. Which means that if you donated $10.00 to a charity, only $0.52 is taken out.
Alia
Alia is an online platform to help house cleaners get benefits. House Cleaners usually work for multiple employers. But this does not mean that they are rich. Despite having multiple income sources, domestic workers are one of the lowest paying individuals of the economy.
As a result, they are deprived of different benefits. This is where Alia comes in. Alia acts as an intermediary between three parties: the worker, the client, and their partner insurance providers. Currently, there are several benefits available such as Paid Time Off, Disability insurance, Accident insurance, Critical illness insurance, Life insurance.
Emojis For People With Disability
Apple believes the addition of emojis to better represent individuals with disabilities is important as one in seven people around the world has some form of disability, whether that be a physical disability involving vision, hearing, or loss of physical motor skills, or a more hidden, invisible disability. Currently, emoji provide a wide range of options, but may not represent the experiences of those with disabilities.
Massive 3D Printers
3D Printers is a machine allowing the creation of a physical object from a three-dimensional digital model, typically by laying down many thin layers of material in succession. When we think about such a machine we conjure up images of little household objects such as coffee mugs, spoons.
But with recent technological advances, we can make larger objects using 3D Printers. Some of today’s’ 3D Printers can produce objects larger than 1 Meter in dimension. These 3D Printers are suitable for large-scale industrial use. Using such advanced machines we can print small furniture to real-life homes.
Organ-On-A-Chip
An organ-on-a-chip (OOC) is a multi-channel 3-D microfluidic cell culture chip that simulates the activities, mechanics and physiological response of entire organs and organ systems. The printing ink can be any biocompatible material, depending on the purposes and functions of the chip components. This technology has been used to mimic the workings of actual human organs such as the Lungs, Kidney, Heart.
Zero Carbon Natural Gas
Natural Gas is undoubtedly the most widely used source of energy. In fact, it is also the cheapest one. Currently Natural Gas accounts for more than 30 percent of US electricity and 22 percent of worldwide electricity. However, burning Natural Gas produces CO2 in large quantity, which is the major cause of the Greenhouse Effect.
Researchers are trying to come up with technologies which will allow us to burn Natural Gas for producing energy but in the process using the CO2 for other productive use instead of emitting it into the air. One possible way to use this technology is turning that CO2 into supercritical C02, which is then used to drive a turbine thus producing energy.
Using AI to detect Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age. Sadly, there is no cure for this disease. This means that early detection is the single best hope for the futures of the 44 million people living with Alzheimer’s around the world.
But using AI to diagnosis people who are likely to contract this disease is showing remarkable results. Artificial Intelligence can be taught to detect the smallest of changes in Brain cells that lead to Alzheimer’s Disease. In fact, some AI Diagnosis Technology can detect the onset of Alzheimer’s Six Years Early and with 100 percent accuracy.
Wrapping Up!
2018 has been a great year. We have seen social workers using armbands to detect malnutrition among people living in the poorest parts of the world. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation introduced a Toilet that would turn the waste into water and fertilizer. Also, we have seen the use of technology to keep a record of refugees around the world. Do let us know about the ways you think technology can change our world in 2019.
