《時代》周刊評出2014年度最佳發(fā)明

19. The AC that Lowers Your Energy Bills

幫你節(jié)省電費的空調(diào)

The Aros air conditioner, which is developed by Quirky, the GE-backed site that turns people’s concepts into creations. It’s smart. Thanks to a companion mobile app, Aros can track owners’ movements via GPS and turn itself on and off depending on their proximity to home. It also tells people exactly how much money they’re spending to cool their residences. That’s how Quirky knows it’s working: so far, the company says, Aros owners who use the “smart away” feature that turns the unit on and off automatically have trimmed their energy use by nearly 10%.

Aros空調(diào)是由通用電氣公司自助的創(chuàng)意網(wǎng)站Quirky研發(fā)的。它是智能化的。利用一款配套的手機應用，Aros空調(diào)可以通過GPS跟蹤主人行蹤，并根據(jù)他們離家的遠近自動開關機。它還能告訴用戶他們正在花多少錢來給屋子降溫。Quirky網(wǎng)站稱，使用自動開關機功能的Aros空調(diào)為用戶節(jié)省了近10%的電費。

20. The Prison Room that Helps Inmates Relax

有助于囚犯放松情緒的監(jiān)獄活動室

For 23 hours a day, the 200 inmates in solitary confinement at Oregon’s largest prison see nothing but a tiny, white-walled cell—an experience some research suggests can heighten mental illness and make prisoners prone to suicide attempts and violence. Last year, officials began letting some of them spend their free hour in a first-of-its-kind “blue room,” an exercise space where a projector plays video of open deserts, streaming waterfalls and other outdoor scenes. That imagery, says creator Nalini Nadkarni, who studies how nature affects behavior, is designed to calm prisoners.

每天有23個小時，美國俄勒岡州最大監(jiān)獄里被單獨關押的200名囚犯除了白色的牢房墻壁什么也看不到。有研究稱這種體驗會提高精神疾病發(fā)病率，使囚犯容易具有自殺和暴力傾向。去年，監(jiān)獄官員們開始讓一些囚犯在獨創(chuàng)的“藍屋”里度過1小時放風時間，這是一個內(nèi)有放映機播放空曠的沙漠、奔流的瀑布和其他室外景色視頻的活動室。這個屋子的設計者納利尼?納德卡爾尼的專業(yè)是研究自然界如何影響人類行為，而這個屋子也意在使囚犯平靜下來。