Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2015, as a product roundup. The “more than 1 million units sold” figure for TrackR came from the company’s own website at the time.
Continuing our series on original products, we are closing out 2015 with a varied set of product and service ideas, each of which, as you will see, solves a specific need. Others may be pure entertainment, but that is enough to show that not everything has been invented yet and that the most creative minds can still innovate or improve on what already exists.
1. SkySaver: the backpack that could save your life
You may never need the product sold by SkySaver (let’s hope you never do), but if the moment comes, this backpack could literally save your life when you have to evacuate from a high floor.
The entrepreneurs who developed it had exactly that in mind. In fact, if something like this had been available during the 9/11 attacks, many of the people trapped on the upper floors who were forced to jump would probably have survived. The following video shows how it works:
Watch: SkySaver demonstration video
2. A bed that protects you from earthquakes
In China, a man named Wang Wenxi decided to create a bed to protect you in the event of a strong earthquake. The bed has sensors that detect a sizeable quake, and it then folds shut, shielding you from falling debris. If the building collapses and you are trapped under the rubble, the inner compartment holds supplies of food and drink, as well as oxygen masks, so you can hold out until rescuers find you. A good invention, no doubt.
3. Selling bottled air
From now on we will have to be careful with the phrase “that company sells thin air”, because the Canadian company Vitality Air sells precisely that: oxygen. And the business is profitable, because it has managed to establish itself in China, where air pollution reaches levels that are quite dangerous for humans.
4. No more checking bags at the airport
The Uber of luggage has arrived: an app where, once you sign up, they send you a DUFL suitcase, which you fill with your clothes and send back. They then build you a virtual wardrobe, and every time you need to travel, you simply select the clothes you want and give them a destination. They send the suitcase to whatever hotel you are staying at. No more wasting time packing a suitcase, and certainly no more time lost at airport check-in or lost bags.
5. A device to find your dog
The company TrackR has developed a device that is affordable for everyone. You attach it to your dog’s collar, and if the dog gets lost, you open the mobile app, which gives you the exact coordinates of where your pet is. According to the new company’s own website, it has already sold more than 1 million units, so the idea has turned out to be profitable for these entrepreneurs. Of course, it also works as a key ring (so you don’t lose your keys) or to find your handbag.
6. The alarm clock that wakes you up no matter what
Simone Giertz has come up with an absurd but funny idea: she has combined several concepts to invent an alarm clock that activates a hand to wake you up, quite literally, by slapping you. The design still needs some work, but I think the idea comes across perfectly.
Here is the young inventor explaining how it works:
Watch: Simone Giertz’s slapping alarm clock
7. And speaking of alarm clocks…
This other alarm clock will not switch off unless you get up and stand on it, which is a good way to force the lazy out of bed.
8. A suitcase motorbike
With this motorbike, the need to find parking is about to disappear, because it folds up until it turns into a suitcase.
9. Coffee from a galaxy far, far away
With “Star Wars” so popular right now, this coffee maker shaped like the saga’s friendliest robot could hardly be left out.
10. Get comfortable
If you spend too many hours sitting in front of a computer, whether gaming or working, you will have heard that you need to adopt the correct posture. Desks are certainly not what they used to be, and some people have looked for ways to make you as comfortable as possible.
Featured image: Glogger, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
