The Best Inventions Of The Year

From the phone that has changed phones forever, to futuristic cars, to a building made of water, to a remote-controlled dragonfly—a dazzling display of ingenuity

—By Maryanne Murray Buechner, Kristina Dell, Andrea Dorfman, Lev Grossman, Anita Hamilton, Rebecca Winters Keegan, Jeffrey Kluger, Michael D. Lemonick, Coco Masters, Lisa McLaughlin, Alice Park, Julie Rawe and Deirdre van Dyk

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Weed 'Em and Reap

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The HortiBot, designed by Rasmus Jorgensen and a team of Danish scientists at Aarhus University's Institute of Agricultural Engineering, spares farmhands the most tedious chore: weeding. As the bot winds through a field of crops — a camera keeps it on track, row by row — it identifies weeds based on the shape and orientation of their leaves. It can be rigged to spray or pull, farmer's choice.
Available: Prototype
hortibot.com

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