The world faced numerous crises in 2022, and overcoming the largest of these challenges will be a monumental and long-lasting task.
Top 6 Most Outstanding Inventions of 2022
The United Nations has outlined several of the most pressing issues, encompassing topics from poverty to pollution, environment to equality. The greatest concerns are environmental protection and addressing global poverty, both of which affect billions of people around the world every day.
Yet, all of these issues serve as driving forces for humanity’s development and inspire individuals to invent solutions to problems since the dawn of humanity on Earth. There have been several inventions throughout history, dating back millennia, that have revolutionized our lifestyles and literally changed the world.
While not every problem can be solved with simple and easy solutions, no year passes without new and increasingly impressive advancements.
Alongside the novelties and small enhancements that make everyday life easier or more enjoyable, several new and significant inventions created in 2022 have the potential for substantial impact on the world.
Some of these may initially seem insignificant, but with time and effort, any of them could develop into something truly remarkable.
3D Printing Houses
House Zero is designed to better connect humans with nature and the outside world.
Homelessness is a growing global issue, and according to the United Nations, it was estimated that in 2020 around 1.6 billion people worldwide were homeless or living in “inadequate housing conditions.” This is a challenging problem even in wealthier parts of the world. The New York Times reports that homelessness is increasingly affecting more people across the United States. An effective way to tackle this issue is to make housing more affordable and faster to build.
House Zero was built in 2022 by a company called ICON. Instead of laying bricks one by one, it is 3D printed. As Dezeen explains, House Zero is designed to better connect humans with nature and the outside world, a principle known as biophilic design, using rounded and organic-looking designs to improve airflow. The walls are made from a material called Lavacret, which provides both insulation and protection from weather elements. Built in just 10 days, the entire 3D house printing process can also help reduce housing costs, with printers operating on-site using raw materials.
Cooling Urban Heat Islands
Solar-reflective paint helps prevent heat buildup in urban environments.
As climate change becomes an increasingly urgent concern, a serious issue for built environments is the urban heat island effect.
The EPA explains that this occurs due to how urban materials like asphalt and concrete absorb sunlight, storing and radiating more heat than rural landscapes. This leads to localized heat spots in cities, with temperatures up to 7°F higher than surrounding areas.
The impacts of these heat islands also touch on issues of equity, with a study in the journal Nature explaining how disadvantaged and low-income communities are disproportionately affected by heat islands and the dangers they pose. Statistically, those affected are at higher risk of heat-related deaths compared to other extreme weather events such as storms or floods.
An innovation that could help address this issue has been developed by a company called StreetBond, which includes improved solar-reflective paint that helps prevent heat accumulation in urban environments.
EcoWatch reports that this colorful paint, based on acrylic epoxy, reflects both visible and infrared light from the sun. The paint has been used in Los Angeles, leading to surface temperatures cooler by up to 12°F compared to other areas. With hotter summers and increasingly frequent heat waves, efforts to reduce temperatures in major cities like LA could genuinely save lives.
Vibrant-colored paint is also used in street murals and community areas like playgrounds, making residential areas appear brighter.
Electric Aircraft
This small electric passenger aircraft runs on electric engines.
In a world where people are increasingly aware of climate change and carbon emissions, air travel has become a contentious issue as it is a significant source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
According to the Aviation Transport Action Group, approximately 2.1% of total carbon emissions come from the aviation industry. In an effort to make air travel more environmentally friendly, 2022 witnessed successful test flights of an aircraft powered entirely by electricity.
Named Alice after the main character in “Alice in Wonderland,” this small electric passenger aircraft operates using electric engines, as reported by GeekWire. It was designed and created by a company called MagniX, with the goal of electrifying air travel with propulsion systems that do not burn any hydrocarbons.
Alice’s first test flight lasted a brief 8 minutes at an altitude of 3,500 feet, but it is hoped that it will pave the way for a completely new type of passenger aircraft. The current goal is to manufacture lightweight short-range aircraft, but it is likely that this could eventually be scaled up as related technologies continue to improve.
In addition to the aircraft, MagniX also successfully tested an electric helicopter in 2022, according to Vertical. Perhaps in the near future, travelers will be able to take flights without worrying too much about their contributions to climate change.
Touch-Sensitive Robots
This robot is sensitive enough to “feel” the surface of objects.
Robots often conjure images of metallic machines devoid of sensation, but researchers at MIT are busy developing “sensitive” robots.
According to MIT News, the latest robot unveiled in 2022 is a “soft robot” that can exert careful amounts of force, allowing it to grasp and manipulate tools. While early robots would use tools attached to them, the latest creations can even allow robots to carefully hold a pen and write. When a robot grasps an object, it employs a sensory system to receive tactile feedback – a technical way of saying that the robot can effectively sense what it is holding to assess the level of pressure it needs to apply.
This follows another touch-sensitive robot reported earlier in the year. According to The Robot Report, this is a robotic gripper designed to be more dexterous. Made from silicone and acrylic, it uses a small camera to detect how the soft materials are compressed when it holds an object. Notably, this robot is sensitive enough to even “feel” the surface of objects, picking out minute details like the individual seeds on the surface of a strawberry.
Alongside their use in robotics, such innovations have the potential to be applied in prosthetic limbs for humans. NPR explains that creating prosthetic limbs with touch sensitivity remains a primary goal for researchers, making prosthetics more intuitive for amputees by restoring their sense of touch.
Light from Seawater
This device can take half a liter of seawater and can emit light for 45 days.
It may be hard to believe when reading a few articles online, but we may realize that an astonishing number of people around the world are living without electricity.
According to the IEA, about 770 million people worldwide were living without electricity in 2022, primarily in the southern hemisphere. An innovation in 2022 that could help provide power to those currently without it comes from a Colombian company called E-Dina. This company has developed a lantern that can generate light using only seawater.
Named WaterLight, this small smart device can extract half a liter of seawater or saltwater and can illuminate for 45 days. As Very Compostable explains, the energy comes from an electrochemical reaction between the saltwater and the magnesium electrode inside WaterLight, generating electricity. Besides being made entirely from recycled materials, these lanterns can also provide power to charge small electronic devices. It also boasts an impressive lifespan of 5,600 hours, longer than traditional incandescent or halogen bulbs.
For those who do not live near the sea, Dezeen notes that in emergencies, WaterLight can even generate energy from urine.
Sustainable Plastic
Called AirCarbon, this is a negative carbon material.
Single-use plastics account for a significant portion of waste worldwide. Disposable items, from drinking bottles to wet wipes, are often discarded into the environment, and according to the European Commission, single-use plastics make up about 70% of marine litter across Europe.
This is not only unsustainable but also consumes a large amount of raw materials from the petroleum industry. Researchers, both industrial and academic, have been studying more environmentally friendly alternatives for some time, and a promising new type of plastic was announced in 2022.
Called AirCarbon, this is a negative carbon material. In other words, its manufacturing process captures more carbon dioxide than it emits into the environment.
Created by Newlight Technologies, Sustainability Times explains that AirCarbon is specifically designed to replace traditional single-use plastics, with the goal of substituting everyday items like cutlery and straws made from plastic.
It is produced from methane and carbon dioxide and instead of being synthesized through traditional chemical reactions, it is generated by bacteria sourced from the ocean. Plastics News further explains that some naturally occurring bacteria will even be able to use this plastic as food after it is disposed of, making it biodegradable. Newlight is clearly very serious about their sustainable plastic, recently taking steps to begin large-scale production of this plastic, aiming to reduce both greenhouse gases and plastic waste in the process.
