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Gallery: Looking Back at the 100 Best Innovations of 2009

Our Best of What's New 2009 winners, all in one place

Posted 12.16.09 at 11:17 am 8 Comments

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Security Grand Award Winner: X-Flex Blast Protection System

X-Flex is a new kind of wallpaper: one that’s quite possibly stronger than the wall it’s on. Invented by Berry Plastics in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this lifesaving adhesive is designed for use anyplace that’s prone to blasts and other lethal forces, like in war or natural-disaster zones, chemical plants or airports. To keep a shelter’s walls from collapsing in an explosion and to contain all the flying debris, you simply peel off the wallpaper’s sticky backing, apply the rollable sheets to the inside of brick or cinder-block walls, and reinforce it with fasteners at the edges. Covering an entire room can take less than an hour.
X-Flex bonds so tightly, it helps walls keep their shape after blast waves. Two layers are strong enough to stop a blunt object, like a flying 2x4, from knocking down drywall. During our tests, just a single layer kept a wrecking ball from smashing through a brick wall. The wallpaper’s strength and ductility is derived from a layer of Kevlar-like material sandwiched by sheets of elastic polymer wrap. The combination works so well that the Army is now considering wallpapering bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Civilians could soon start remodeling too—Berry Plastics plans to develop a commercial version next year.
See a video of X-Flex in action at the Best of What's New 2009 site.
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Security: Scratchbot

Borrowing a trick from the lowly rat, the SCRATCHbot uses whiskers instead of cameras to see in the dark.
Researchers at the University of Bristol in England hope to deploy the poodle-size ‘bot in search-and-rescue missions where vision is impaired, like in mines or smoky rooms. Its 18 whiskers move back and forth five times per second. When a whisker bends, a sensor on its shaft signals software to orient the ’bot toward the object. Whiskers close to an object move less, while those farther away make wide, sweeping motions to establish the object’s exact edges.
See more Scratchbot images at the Best of What's New 2009 site.
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8 Comments

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genedoug

12/24/09 at 5:14 pm

Hmmm. They could make shirts of it, line celebreties' jackets with it, line tanks with it, paper houses in Israel with it, line helmets and airplanes with it.

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NormanRogers

12/29/09 at 1:27 pm

Re: The Snowmobile:

"A simple bicycle-like pump lets riders adjust pressure in all four shocks depending on their weight and how stiff a ride they want, making the vehicle truly one-size-fits-all."

Brilliant! Depending on what kind of snow trail you are riding on, this is a badly-needed upgrade and innovation!
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www.anamericanlion.com/

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LAintheCity

01/01/10 at 4:35 pm

Umm... what if you bolt a metal plate to the bottom or your car... wouldn't that stop the SQUID from wrapping up your drivetrain?

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istikrar

01/07/10 at 3:21 am

your system is really nice and useful information there I wish to congratulate and thank you success

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EX1Million

02/12/10 at 8:32 pm

Picture 1: Bullet proof, I take that back BOMB proof body suit, face mask and everything sound really nice.

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EX1Million

02/12/10 at 8:36 pm

Picture 36: DON'T TOUCH IT, IT WILL BREAK!

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TonyMann

04/04/10 at 4:50 pm

Is the Shard London Bridge a real project? I guess it must be. So I'm completely out of touch. Boris! How did you allow this?

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DimitriTheBold

05/29/10 at 9:24 am

NRA sues over guns in Delawares public housing. ICE seize nearly 2,000 rounds of.223 ammunition at Texas international bridge. Lockheed Martin wins $3.93m contract to develop advanced rifle scope attachment. Click your back button or go to our homepage. Class Lang Gureckis, who has served 26 months in Iraq and 9 months in Afghanistan, said devices like the ENVG add greatly to mission capability.
Not to say that the picture look great .
| Written by Dimitri from Eat Healthier Foods |