Beewise, Brenmiller, Lumen, Salignostics, Sensibo, Wiliot, UBQ, Weizmann Institute hailed for changing how we live.
TIME magazine’s “The 22 Best Inventions of 2023” list names 200 “innovations changing how we live” plus 50 special-mention inventions.
This year, a record eight of the listed products are Israeli:
- Beewise’s AI-powered BeeHome 4, a hive that uses a new chemical-free heat treatment to fight off mites. The hives, available next year, boast robotic tech that monitors and optimizes conditions 24/7, reducing human labor by about 90%.
- Brenmiller Energy’s bGen Zero, a battery charged by solar or wind energy. That energy gets converted into heat, which heats crushed rocks for on-demand, emissions-free steam, hot water, or hot air. The bGen thermal energy storage system replaces fossil-fuel boilers at industrial manufacturing facilities.
- Lumen, a handheld device that measures carbon dioxide levels in the breath to determine whether the body is burning more fat or carbs at any given time. Users are then advised accordingly on nutrition, exercise and rest via the connected app.
- Salignostics’ Salistick, the world’s first home pregnancy test using saliva instead of urine.
- UBQ Materials’ bio-based sustainable thermoplastic made by sorting, shredding and melting down residual household waste into fibers, cellulose and sugars for conversion into small pellets that can be used to make new products.
- A human embryo model built at Weizmann Institute of Science from naive stem cells. “While distinctly not human, the model is close enough to give researchers potential insights into fertility, miscarriage, and more, for the first time,” TIME notes.
- Wiliot’s tiny IoT Pixel device, placed on shipment boxes, transmits information about the box’s journey in real time and calculates the carbon footprint of shipping, storage and more. Client companies use the data to analyze where they could cut emissions.
- Sensibo got a special mention for AirPro, which turns air conditioners or heat pumps into smart devices that uniquely save energy and improve air quality. According to the International Energy Agency, 25% of the world’s energy is consumed by HVAC, while Sensibo can reduce energy use by about 20%.
“Every year for over two decades, TIME editors have highlighted the most impactful new products and ideas in TIME’s Best Inventions issue. To compile this year’s list, we solicited nominations from TIME’s editors and correspondents around the world, and through an online application process, paying special attention to growing fields — such as AI, green energy, and sustainability. We then evaluated each contender on a number of key factors, including originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact,” the editors explained.
“The result is a list of 200 groundbreaking inventions (and) … that are changing how we live, work, play, and think about what’s possible.”