Communication and Emerging Technologies of 2009

This coming week we are required to create posters about an emerging technology to share with the class. As I was doing research for this particular project, I came across Time Magazines 50 best inventions of 2009. I thought this was an interesting article. There are many different gadgets, products, ideas and programs that were invented this year that may change the way we think, act and move in the future. These inventions range from NASA Are's Rocket to the 10 million dollar light bulb.

I have compiled a short list of my favorite ones:

The Smart Thermostat

the EnergyHub Dashboard, a little device, with a screen, that can talk wirelessly to your furnace and your various appliances and let you know exactly how much electricity (or gas) each one is using and how much it's costing you. It can also turn appliances on and off and raise or lower the temperature in your house so you can rein in the real power hogs.

The $20 Knee

A team of Stanford engineering students has designed a knee that's not only dirt cheap — just $20 — but also mimics the natural joint's movements. The JaipurKnee comprises five pieces of plastic and four nuts and bolts. It requires no special tools and takes just a few hours to manufacture.

The High-Speed Helicopter

Sikorsky's X2 Technology helicopter aims to annihilate that speed barrier. Unlike ordinary choppers, which pair a single rotor on top with an antitorque tail rotor, the X2 has two main rotors spinning in opposite directions and an airplane-like propeller at the rear. This highly stable setup should allow the X2 to cruise at a zippy 290 m.p.h. (467 km/h) — about the same speed as some small turboprop planes.