《时代》周刊评2014年度最佳发明

The 25 Best Inventions of 2014
《时代》周刊评2014年度最佳发明

Hoverboards, intelligent space craft, edible food wrappers, and much much more— Welcome to TIME’s annual round-up of the best inventions making the world better, smarter and—in some cases—a little more fun.

欢迎来到《时代周刊》年终最佳发明汇总，这里有悬浮滑板，智能航天器，可食用的食物包装以及其他更多的发明，这些发明让我们的生活更美好、更智能、甚至有时候变得更有趣。

The Real-Life Hoverboard

现实版磁悬滑板

The hoverboard—a type of skateboard that levitates like a magic carpet—had been a pipe dream since its fictional debut in 1989’sBack to the Future Part II. Now California-based tech firm Hendo has built the real thing.

悬浮滑板——一种像魔毯一样悬浮在空中的滑板——自从在1989年的科幻影片《回到未来2》中出现以来就一直让人可望而不可即。现在美国加州技术公司Hendo已造出了实物。

Hondo’s hoverboard can float only an inch or so above the ground, and even then only over conductive material like copper or aluminum. Just 10 are being made to order (so far). And battery life is 15 minutes—barely enough time to zoom past your enemies à la Marty McFly. But the technology that powers it could be revolutionary. Hendo founders Jill and Greg Henderson plan to develop magnetic “hovering” tech to stabilize buildings during earthquakes, protect valuable works of art and more. “The hoverboard is the first step to bringing this technology to the world,” says Greg.

Hendo公司的悬浮滑板只能离地大约一英寸(2.54厘米)，即使这么低的高度也必须是在导电材料如铜质或铝质的表面才行。目前为止，Hendo公司只定制了10台。电池的续航时间为15分钟——这点时间勉强够从敌人à la Marty McFly身边快速逃离。Hendo公司创始人吉尔和格雷格•亨德森计划对磁“悬浮”技术进行开发，以达到在地震中稳定建筑物以及保护价值连城的艺术品等目的。格雷格称：“悬浮滑板是把这项技术推向世界的第一步。”
Wireless Electricity

无线电力

We already have wireless Internet and wireless phones. Why, then, are everyday appliances still shackled to the wall? WiTricity’s technology—involving a plug-in coil that creates a magnetic field, which in turn powers objects as far away as 2.4 m — has been tested on Toyota electric cars, Intel PCs and more. Within 10 years, says CEO Alex Gruzen, rooms could be wired so that all appliances—lamps, TVs, stereos—pull power from a central charging base.

我们已有了无线网络和无线电话。那么为什么日常家电仍要插入墙上的电源插座中?美国无线电力公司的技术——利用插入式线圈产生磁场为最远距离达2.4米的目标供电——已在丰田电动汽车、英特尔电脑及其他装置上进行了试验。无线电力公司首席执行官阿历克斯•格鲁森称，在10年之内，房间里可以布设导线，这样所有的电器(电灯、电视、音响等)都可以靠一个中央充电基座供电。
3-D-Printed Everything

3D打印一切

A machine that can build any object. It sounds like a sci-fi fantasy, but thanks to the rise of 3-D printers—devices that can build objects from digital blueprints, usually by layering plastic or other materials—it is rapidly becoming reality. That’s a boon for consumers and corporations alike. In the past year alone, middle-school students have 3-D-printed stock cars for physics lessons, scientists have 3-D-printed tissues for human organs, and GE has used 3-D printing to improve the efficiency of its jet engines. “This is one of those technologies that literally touches everything we do,” says Avi Reichental, CEO of 3D Systems, whose 3-D printers produce candy (as shown above) and musical instruments, among other objects.

可以造出任何物品的机器。听起来像是科学幻想，但随着3D打印机的崛起，这正在迅速成为现实。能够通过数字蓝图、多层塑料或其他材料制造物体的设备正快速变成现实。对消费者和企业而言，这是个福音。仅过去一年，中学生们的物理课上有了3D打印汽车、科学家用3D打印了人体器官、通用公司(GE)使用3D打印技术改善喷气引擎效率等。 3D Systems公司的3D打印机可以打印糖果、乐器以及其他物品，该公司首席执行官艾维•雷切托尔(Avi Reichental)说：“理论上说，这是能让我们涉及所有领域的技术。”

Watches that Redefine Smart

改写智能定义的手表

Most smart watches have proved to be anything but: they try to shrink down the experience of using a cell phone, with clunky results. Apple’s Watch, by contrast, wholly reimagines the computer for the wrist, using a novel interface that combines a touchscreen and physical buttons. Besides telling time, the Watch can send messages, give directions, track fitness and make wireless payments.

大多数智能手表已经证明纯属鸡肋：它们试图浓缩手机的使用体验，结果却难以令人满意。相比之下，苹果手表体现了全新的手腕电脑理念，利用新颖的接口把触摸屏与物理按钮结合到一起。除了具备钟表功能外，苹果手表还可以发送信息、导航、跟踪锻炼情况及进行无线支付。
 

The Smartphone that Puts Privacy First

把隐私放在首位的智能手机

皮尤研究中心称，近一半美国人觉得在手机上谈论个人信息是不安全的。那么手机的主人怎样才能藏好自己的信息?Blackphone应运而生，这是一款把隐私看得高于一切的智能手机。这款由同名公司研制并在斯诺登泄密事件后加速推出的手机，采用定制版安卓操作系统，其中剔除了可能造成安全漏洞的功能如日历同步等。它还带有以远高于普通智能手机的技术水平对通话、信息和浏览历史进行加密的软件。

The Cooler that Powers Your Party

让派对更加火热的便携冰箱

Coolest is the world’s smartest all-purpose party starter. It stores food and drinks, sure. But it also touts a blender, an LED lid light, a USB charger, a Bluetooth speaker and big wheels designed to navigate many terrains (beach, parking lot). Since Grepper’s prototype first appeared on Kickstarter earlier this year, roughly 63,000 backers have contributed $13.3 million to make it a reality. It’s now the most funded creation in the site’s history, besting hits like the Pebble smart watch and Oculus Rift’s virtual-reality glasses.

Coolest便携冰箱是世界上最出色的多用途派对用品。当然，它可以存放食物和饮料。但它还带有搅拌器、LED门灯、USB充电器、蓝牙扬声器以及便于在多种地形(包括海滩、停车场等)上搬运的大轮子。自从样机今年早些时候首次出现在众筹网站“启动者”网站上以来，已有约6.3万网友出资1330万美元支持使之成为现实。它目前是该网站有史以来吸引投资最多的发明，战胜了像Pebble智能手表和Oculus　Rift虚拟现实眼镜等热门发明。

The Selfie Stick (and Hairbrush)

自拍助手

If 2013 was the year in which selfie became a buzzword, then 2014 was the year selfies became a cultural phenomenon. Look no further than a recent Pew report, which found that at least a quarter of Americans have shared a selfie on a social-networking site. Sensing a new market, several companies have launched devices designed to streamline the selfie-taking experience. Many of them, like a hairbrush that holds your smartphone, are more goofy than game changing. But the selfie stick (produced by multiple brands), which enables users to position their smartphone beyond arms’ reach to get better photo angles adds genuine value.

如果说2013是“自拍”成为热词的一年，那么2014便是自拍成为一种文化现象的一年。最近的皮尤调查显示，至少有1/4的美国人在社交网站上分享过自拍。感觉到新商机的几家公司推出了优化自拍体验的专门装置。大部分像发梳一样的自拍装置形式大于实际意义。不过，让用户能把手机放到双手够得着的范围之外取景的(多种品牌的)自拍助手真正达到了增值效果。

Wrappers You Can Eat

可食用的包装

“Edible wrapper” sounds like an oxymoron—unless you’re WikiFoods founder David Edwards, who has devised a way to encase yogurt, cheese, ice cream and more in shells strong enough to hold their shape (in water, heat and cold) until you take your first bite. The secret lies in science: Each shell is made of particles of dried fruit or other natural substances that are tiny enough to be electrically attracted to one another; they are combined with calcium and sugar to strengthen the form. “可食用的包装”听起来自相矛盾——除非你是WikiFoods公司首席执行官戴维•爱德华兹。他发明一种(在遇水、遇热和遇冷时)保持不变形的外壳，可以把酸奶、奶酪、冰激凌及其他食物装入其中，在你张口咬开之前不会变形。这其中的奥秘来自科学：每个外壳都用水果干或其他天然物质的颗粒制成，这些颗粒小得足以因为带电不同而相互吸引：它们又与钙和糖混合起来，以加固外壳。