The Greatest Innovations of 2024

An image of Barcoda's BMind Smart Mirror.

1. Delta Pro Ultra

With climate change has come more extreme weather and, thereby, more power outages. These power outages can have dire and even life-threatening effects; without a functioning heating system, people can die from hypothermia, and without a functioning cooling system, people can die from heat injuries. To avoid both of these tragic fates, developers at EcoFlow created Delta Pro Ultra. The Delta Pro Ultra is a backup battery generator that runs on solar power and will retain power in the event of an outage. The product is one hundred and eighty-six pounds in total, portable enough to be transported in cars and in an RV. The Delta can even be programmed to take over as the power source for your home during peak energy times; when the cost for energy is high, using Delta Pro Ultra can be a cost-effective way to maintain home circulatory systems. 

2. BMind Smart Mirror

The BMind Smart Mirror was created by the Paris-based health tech company, Barcoda. Barcoda claims that the mirror can take one look at its user and immediately know how they’re feeling. Upon processing the emotions of the user, the mirror will suggest “personalized mental health coaching” to assist with mood improvement. This includes advice on exercise, stress management, and activities to promote wellness. Barcoda was able to achieve these shocking results by employing AI tech and natural language processing to analyze the facial expressions, gestures, and body language of the person looking in the mirror. Specifically, it utilizes software from the CareOS platform. 

3. Ogilvy Colombia Filter Caps 

Baylor International Filsa Water, the Colombian Red Cross, and Ogilvy Colombia collaborated on the innovative project Filter Caps to address the growing lack of hydration resources in Colombia. In Colombia alone, twelve million people do not have access to adequate drinking water. Within this large population, a struggling three million and seven hundred thousand do not have access to drinking water. After the Filter Cap developers witnessed firsthand the dire need for clean, drinkable water in Colombia, they sprang into action. Their Filter Caps are capable of making untreated and polluted water safe for consumption. With 3D printing tools, the team was able to create layers of sweet-corn resin, molding the fixture that attaches to the top of the bottle. The second part of the cap, which treats the water, is composed of a chemical mixture of metals, minerals, and anti-pollutants like activated carbon. This chemical mixture filters and mineralizes the water for drinking. Users of the cap can fill their bottles with water from a well, pond, or river, and be assured that it will be consumable with their caps. An individual filter cap costs less than $6 and can filter up to five liters per day. Additionally, as sustainability should remain a global priority, this product is biodegradable, so this is an effective way to provide support for one community in a way that will ultimately be beneficial for the globe. 

4. Spiritus Carbon Orchard 

Spiritus Carbon Orchard is built of tennis-sized balls made of novel sorbent, a material that absorbs carbon dioxide. These balls mimic “fruit,” attached to pillar structures that mimic tree trunks. The “fruit” grows heavy with carbon and falls off the “trees” and is then heated to remove the absorbed carbon dioxide, which is stored in the ground. The various “fruits” are reusable, and the process is repeated to pull more carbon from the air. Spiritus’s first large-scale project, Orchard One, will begin carbon dioxide removal in Wyoming in 2026. Spiritus’s notable customer base includes Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta, and McKinsey Sustainability.

5. Aquaria Atmospheric Water Generators

Although Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) have been in existence for a few years now, Aquaria Atmospheric Water Generators stand out due to the greater amount of water they produce, with less energy and at a lower cost per gallon. The Hydropack unit sucks in air (similar to an AC) and filters it free of dust, dirt, or other unwanted matter. Next, its ambient heat exchange technology essentially freezes the air to its dew point, transforming the water vapor in the air into water droplets. Then, the newly formed water droplets undergo a multi-stage water purification system to ensure that the water is safe to drink. Notably, the company recently confirmed a $26 million project in Hawaii that will build 1,000 homes with pre-installed Aquaria devices.

6. Regenesis’s SourceStop

Regenesis works to decontaminate soil that contains PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), also known as forever chemicals. PFAS are widely used in consumer and industrial products, and slowly disintegrate over time. However, exposure to certain PFAS can result in harmful health effects for humans and animals, including cancer. For this reason, in April of 2024, the EPA announced new legal limits on PFAS in drinking water in cities and corporate facilities. Regenesis’s Sourcestop works to lower the PFAS levels and depollute contaminated soil, thus preventing PFAS from reaching groundwater. It is capable of such powers due to its carbon content. It is an activated carbon treatment, which comes as both a solid and a liquid. Once it is applied to the polluted soil, it works as a carbon filter, absorbing the PFAS. Even in early stages, the product has been proven to reduce PFAS concentrations in soil by more than 99%.

Bibliography

"The Best Inventions of 2024." TIME. Accessed April 19, 2025. https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-2024/.

"CES 2024: Baracoda Unveils BMind, the World's First Smart Mirror for Mental Wellness." Baracoda. Last modified January 7, 2024. Accessed April 19, 2025. https://baracoda.com/resources/press/baracoda-unveils-bmind-smart-mirror-for-mental-wellness.

"Filter Caps." Filter Caps. Accessed April 19, 2025. https://filtercaps.co/en/.

Matchar, Emily. "The Eight Coolest Inventions from the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show." Smithsonian Magazine. Last modified January 12, 2024. Accessed April 25, 2025. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-eight-coolest-inventions-from-the-2024-consumer-electronics-show-180983577/?itm_source=related-content&itm_medium=parsely-api.

"PFAS Explained." United States Environmental Protection Agency. Last modified October 3, 2024. Accessed April 2025. https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained.