A wrist-worn device will be made of polished stainless steel and will be comfortable and lightweight. It will encourage the body to produce melatonin - the hormone that encourages good sleep.

The body dryer will be designed to make towels a thing of the past, replacing bacteria-laden terrycloth with a hot air wand. Inspired by the hair drier, the body dryer concept will include three different settings that will allow the user to choose the intensity and heat of the air by turning the device. After stepping from the shower or bath, the user will simply wave the device over their skin to evaporate the excess moisture. A built-in HEPA and humidity filter will help keep...

The idea is to develop a technology that will pair a microphone tattoo on the throat with mobile devices, eliminating background noise for clearer phone calls. The tattoo, which will actually simply adhere to the larynx of the user, will be equipped with its own power supply, antenna receiver and optional display. It will pair with mobile devices via Bluetooth, NFC and ZigBee network, transmitting the vibrations form the larynx directly to the devices.

The dolphin's method of hunting with bubble nets could inspire a new type of radar able to detect explosive devices among less harmful 'clutter.' The new technology will use two sonar pulses sent in quick succession. The pulses will be phase inverted, and when they hit a solid target the reflected sound will be scattered in a linear pattern. Bubbles scatter the sound in a different way, which allows the new technology (and dolphins) to differentiate between underwater targets and...

The dragonfly-inspired turbine will be small enough to be erected in a backyard and will harness energy from winds as low as four miles per hour. Based on the dragonfly's ability to float on light breezes and still navigate through gale-force winds, the turbine will be made of lightweight carbon and polycarbonate, which will allow it to harness low winds and at low altitudes. It will also withstand the force of larger winds, due to its slim-line design, and, standing only 20 meters...

The folding pen mouse concept will shift from a mouse to a tablet pen, providing two ways to interact with the screen. The folding pen mouse will be equipped with a pair of sensors - one on the tip and one on the base - and a recessed hinge system that will allow it to be folded in half and secured with magnets. When used as a tablet pen, the device will sense speed, direction and pressure. In mouse form, it will perform the usual mouse functions.

The system will be an electronic "seeing aid," allowing the legally blind to see by projecting a video image that has been enhanced to compensate for the wearer's particular vision problem. The system will include a frame that will contain the user's prescription lenses overlaid with a headset containing an HD video camera and a pair of LCD screens. The device will be controlled by a handheld unit, which will allow the user to adjust the contrast, focus and brightness as well as...

A tiny, microfluidic water sensor will not only be much more sensitive than current options, it will also be mass-produced for just five dollars each. The chip will be inserted into the soil or stem of a plant. It will contain a tiny cavity filled with water, and it will exchange that moisture with the moisture in its environment through a nanoporous membrane. As the moisture flows from one side to the other, the chip will measure any changes in pressure that will result from water...

A digital cutting board for the kitchens of the future will display recipes, automatically adjust for servings and feature a built-in scale. At its most basic, the board will be a tablet computer embedded in a cutting board. The original goal of the board will be to help users regulate portions, and its software will specifically be created to automatically adjust recipes to the number of people dining. Users will save favorite recipes and measure individual ingredients on the...

The ring concept will translate ordinary text to Braille that can be felt with a fingertip. The ring will be equipped with a scanner and an array of six bumps able to raise or lower according to the letter read by the scanner. It will be worn like a regular ring, and then slipped onto the fingertip to allow the user to feel the Braille bumps as they change in response to the scanner moving across the text. The ring will also be able to convert the text to spoken words, which will...