Top 10 innovations of the year

10. Mute button for noisy people. Ever dreamed of having a remote control to shut someone up? Now, thanks to a Japanese speech-jamming gun, you can. The device, dreamed up by Japanese inventors Kazutaka Kurihara and Koji Tsukada, works by firing back a voice echo that stresses our brains and instantly silences us. It works from a distance of 90ft, so is perfect for dealing with unruly classrooms.

9. Talking gloves for mute people. Talk to the hand! Well, what if the hand could talk back? Ukrainian students have developed gloves with electronic sensors that convert sign language into speech via a smartphone. The device, called EnableTalk, costs £50 to make and has the potential to cheaply transform the lives of 40million deaf and mute people around the world.

8. Indoor cloud. Cloud gazing is a fine way to pass time. The only problem was that, until recently, it could only be done outdoors. Luckily, Dutchman Berndnaut Smilde, has found a way to control the weather. Using a fog machine at the right temperature and with the correct amount of light, he can isolate fluffy white clouds in our living rooms.

7. The eyephone. Touchscreen could become a thing of the past thanks to Danish technology that allows smartphone and tablet users to control their devices by moving their eyes. Eye Tribe, which uses infrared light reflected from the pupil to the device’s camera, are negotiating with manufacturers to release a visually-controlled phone next year.

6. The get-drunk spray. Alcoholics can rejoice. Designers have come up with a tiny machine that gets you drunk in seconds. The £20 Wahh Quantum Sensations device, developed by Frenchman Philippe Starck and American David Edwards, sprays just 0.075ml pure alcohol at a time. It works instantly because it is an aerosol and hence absorbed quickly. The bad – and good – news is that the effect lasts only seconds as well.

5. 3D chocolate printer. It’s the ultimate device for the sweet-toothed. A British team from Exeter University have developed the world’s first printer that lets you create your own custom-made 3D chcolate treats. The £2,500 Choc Egde machine squirts out chocolate and, via computer instructions, allows the user to build any shape they like out of the food.

4. Remote-controlled chess board. While playing chess with someone thousands of miles away can be done with computers, it was not possible using an actual chessboard with moving pieces. Until now. U.S.-designed Wireless Arduino Powered Chess sets have pieces which can move remotely. It means your out-of-sight opponent can move their pieces and the corresponding ones on your board move as well.

3. Jogging drone. Don’t have the discipline to run by yourself, nor any friends to spur you on?Well, jog on… because Australian inventors have developed a drone that will be running buddy and fly ahead of you. A camera on the Joggobot helicopter locks on to excercisers’ T-shirts and they can control its pace via a smartphone app.

2. Google Glass. It’s a sci-fi loving geek’s dream. Behold, Google Glass – a computer built into a pair of spectacles. The $1,500 device, which is due to go on sale next year, has the processor built into the frames with the lenses working as monitors. The display is activated when users look up and to the right.

1. Water-powered phone charger. Fast draining smartphone batteries are pain at the best of times. But what if you’re nowhere near a plug? Well, thanks to Swedish designers of the PowerTrekk, which generates electricty with water, you can charge up in the countryside.The £160 sodium fuel cell device converts the water to hydrogen and generates power via another chemical reaction.