For the second consecutive year, Time Magazine has recognized two Colorado companies on its annual Best Inventions list.
Supersonic jet unicorn Boom and edtech robot startup Sphero both landed on Time’s Best Inventions of 2021 list for their unique inventions. This comes one year after Time recognized smart wheelchair startup LUCI and Boulder-based Nite Ize on the 2020 edition of the list.
To assemble the 2021 list, Time solicited nominations that were reviewed by its editors and correspondents, as well as through an online application process. Inventions were evaluated on factors including originality, creativity, efficacy, ambition and impact.
Sphero made the list in the education category for indi, its screen-less learning robot. Indi is an entry-level learning robot for kids aged four and older. The product is meant to teach children the basics of coding using colored tiles and a robotic car.
“We are honored to be included in TIME’s 100 Best Inventions of 2021,” Sphero CEO Paul Copioli said in a statement. “When we set out to create indi we hoped it would enact positive change on the early childhood STEM education landscape by making the foundations of programming more accessible and fun, and this recognition is further proof of its concept and our overall mission.”
Fast-growing and fast-moving jet startup Boom also landed a spot on the list in the experimental category for its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator.
The XB-1 is a one-third size replica of Boom’s signature aircraft, the Overture. The company is using the aircraft as a proving ground for its supersonic technology. Whereas the average commercial jet cruises at 460 to 575 mph, supersonic aircraft travel faster than the speed of sound, which is about 768 mph.
At this speed, Boom anticipates going from New York to London in only three and a half hours instead of seven hours or Tokyo to San Francisco in half the time of the standard 11-hour flight.
As it approaches an anticipated 2029 takeoff, Boom inked a deal with United this summer to provide 15 of its passenger jets to the Chicago-based airline. That deal also includes the option to pick up 35 more of the Overture airplanes.
Colorado has been well-represented on Time's list over the past few years, with 2019 honorees including Boulder's Otterbox and PopSockets for their combination phone case and gripper; Denver's Pipeline Equity for its software platform that identifies and analyzes bias in the workplace; and Boulder's Sunday for its lawn-care subscription box.
