Every year, TIME selects the best inventions that are making the world better, smarter and—in some cases—a little more fun. Here's which ones made this year's unranked list.
每年《时代》周刊都会选出让世界变得更美好、更智能或者更有趣的最佳发明。以下是今年入选榜单的科技发明。排名不分先后。
The Levitating Lightbulb
磁悬浮灯泡 Flyte
Flyte is a lightbulb that relies on electromagnetism to levitate and spin, and on resonant inductive coupling—a technical term for wireless power transmission—to shine. Flyte has sold so well since its official January launch that the company is planning to introduce a whole ecosystem of floating products, including a planter, Lyfe, which debuted in June.
Flyte是一种利用电磁场和谐振感应耦合技术让灯泡悬浮并旋转的灯泡。谐振感应耦合常用于无线电力传输。Flyte从一月上市以来一直卖得很好，因此该公司计划推出一整个系列的悬浮产品。六月份该公司还推出了悬浮盆景 Lyfe。
The Folding Bike Helmet
可折叠自行车头盔 Morpher
People refuse to wear a helmet because they’re thick and bulky. Morpher, a bike helmet made from interweaved plastics that is just as strong as its traditional counterparts (it meets general safety requirements in both the US and Europe), but flexible enough to fold almost totally flat, making it easier to transport. Morpher has raised almost $300,000 on Indiegogo and may be available for sale in stores in future.
传统的自行车头盔比较笨重，许多人不喜欢戴。但是 Morpher 这款头盔是用互相交织缠绕的塑料做的，它和传统头盔一样牢固，但质地更轻，达到了美国和欧洲的一般安全标准。更妙的是，它可以被折叠成扁平状，易于携带和运输。这款头盔在众筹平台Indiegogo 上筹集了近30万美金，未来可能在实体店销售。
Shoes That Tie Themselves
会自己系鞋带的鞋子 HyperAdapt
Almost everyone who sees Back to the Future want a pair of self-lacing shoes. Now, thanks to Nike, the shoe dream is a reality. When wearers press a button near the tongue, the HyperAdapt 1.0s automatically tighten and loosen around their foot. Simplified shoe fastening could give athletes an edge during competition, and it’s especially useful for people with impaired motor function.
几乎每个看过电影《回到未来》的人都想要一双能自动系鞋带的鞋子。现在，耐克帮你实现了这个愿望。耐克研发出了一键系鞋带的鞋子——HyperAdapt 1.0。只要按一下鞋舌上的一个按钮，鞋带就会自动系好和解开。这种简化系鞋带步骤的鞋子能助力运动员发挥，还可以帮助运动机能受损者。
Soccer Fields That Fit Anywhere
随处可“建”的足球场
The Khlong Toei district in the heart of Bangkok is packed tight with buildings and people—which doesn’t leave much room to build new parks, let alone giant rectangular fields on which kids can play soccer. So real estate firm AP Thailand used aerial photography to find what developer Pattaraphurit Rungjaturapat calls “untended areas,” or unusually shaped patches of land that weren’t being used. Then it covered them with concrete, paint and antislip materials—all the trimmings of a proper sports venue, without the typical boundaries. The first two fields, which opened earlier this year, are packed with kids as soon as school lets out. This December, AP Thailand plans to open a third.
曼谷中心的空堤县高楼林立、人口密集，没有地方建新公园，更别提让孩子踢球的足球场了。房地产公司AP Thailand 公司用航空摄影技术寻找那些无人问津的场地，然后用混凝土、颜料和防滑材料把这个场地做成没有标准边界的运动场。今年早些时候开放的两个足球场一放学就挤满了孩子。今年12月，AP Thailand 公司计划建第三个足球场。
The Ultimate Alarm Clock
聪明闹钟 Hello Sense
It's hard to believe that an alarm clock could not only be beautiful but also improve your sleep. That it could gauge the temperature, humidity, light and even air quality in your bedroom to help you engineer a perfect sleep environment. That it could monitor your sleep cycles and wake you when you’re least likely to feel groggy—all thanks to simple voice commands.
闹钟还能改善人的睡眠，而且颜值还挺高？Hello Sense就是这样的一款闹钟。它能够监控卧室中的温度、湿度、光线甚至空气质量，帮助你营造一个完美的睡眠环境。此外，它还能监控你的睡眠周期，在合适的时候叫你起床，你只需说句话向它发出指令就可以了。
Dishes That Work Around Cognitive Decline
最稳餐具 Eatwell Assistive Tableware
It is hard for Alzheimer’s patients to use silverware without spilling. Eatwell Assistive Tableware is a dining set designed to make mealtime easier for people with Alzheimer’s and other diseases that affect brain and body function. The tableware uses bright colors to help people distinguish their plates from their food and putting wide rubber bases on the cups to prevent spills.
一些患有认知衰退的老年人在吃饭的时候常常把菜肴撒得到处都是。Eatwell Assistive Tableware这款餐具为那些患有阿尔兹海默症以及其他认知功能衰退的老人带来了福音。它的颜色非常鲜艳，可以帮助他们更好地区分盘子和食物。在餐具底部还带有吸盘，防止杯盘倾倒。
The All-Purpose Shelter
超便捷房屋 Better Shelter
Last year, Ikea helped launch Better Shelter, a line of temporary houses—equipped with features like door locks and solarpanels—that could be shipped flat and assembled in under four hours. But now that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has helped send more than 16,000 of these units all over the world, they’ve taken on a life of their own. Refugees and aid agencies are turning Better Shelter structures into hospitals, reception areas and more. In Greece and on its border with Macedonia, the shelters are being linked together and used as early-childhood-development centers. Now designers are trying to revamp the Better Shelters to allow for even more flexibility.
去年宜家推出了临时帐篷 Better Shelter，里面有门锁和太阳能板，在4小时内就可以平邮到家并安装完毕。自从联合国难民署派送了16000套 Better Shelter 后，这种临时房屋就迅速流行起来。许多难民和救援机构用它组装成了医院、接待室和其他临时建筑。在希腊和马其顿的交界处，临时帐篷被连在一起，做成了幼儿园。一些设计师也在想方设法把 Better Shelter 变得更具灵活性。
Sweet Potatoes That Could Save Lives
救人无数的橙色土豆
In sub-Saharan Africa, vitamin A deficiency afflicts more than 43 million children under age 6, leaving them vulnerable to blindness, malaria and more. Plant scientists from HarvestPlus and the CIP are helping countries grow their own solutions—in the form of sweet potatoes. The key is biofortification, or cross-breeding locally grown sweet potatoes with versions rich in vitamin A, so that over time the crops naturally get better at addressing the deficiency. Plant scientists have also bred them to be more resistant to droughts and viruses. This year, the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes won the World Food Prize and have been seen as “a healthy crop for all.”
在撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲，有四千三百万名六岁以下的儿童由于维生素 A 缺乏，容易患上失明、疟疾等疾病。国际马铃薯中心和 Harvestplus 通过生物强化技术（将具有特定功能的微生物引入传统生物处理系统）和杂交技术培育出富含维生素A的甜土豆，同时针对不同地区需要对其进行了抗干旱和抗病毒等优化。这种橙色甜土豆今年获得了世界粮食奖，被誉为“全人类的健康作物”。