The greatest innovations of 2013

Technology is, somehow, never as good as we want it to be. But there are legions of clever, dedicated and enormously ambitious people working non-stop to improve our lives with gadgets. Here are ten of this year's greatest innovations, from giants like Google to home-spun startups. One day, all this will be yours.

Paper Tab

iPads are just so...rigid - right? What the world needs is a tablet you can shove in a bag without worrying about it, read like a magazine and - potentially - wear as part of your clothing. The Papertab is made entirely from plastic, uses an e-ink display like a Kindle, and as you can see, is pretty flexible. This year the Cambridge company demonstrated the first full-colour prototypes, with resolutions approaching HD levels.

Dextrus

Fed up with the cost and time taken to make prosthetics, British robotics expert Joel Gibbard made his own low-cost, 3D-printed robotic hand, called Dextrus. It has a greater range of movement than a typical prosthetic, is made from simple plastic components than can be individually replaced, and has a soft rubber coating for a better grip.

SpaceX Grasshopper

The SpaceX Grasshopper rocket prototype is designed to be reusable instead of burning up in the atmosphere. It made a record-setting vertical takeoff and landing on October 7, proving that commercial spaceflight is coming of age, and doesn't need budgets the size of NASA's - although founder Elon Musk has put over $100million into the project. Eventually, it will be used to ferry materials into orbit.

Reviveaphone

 Some innovations have an eye on the future; others solve a current problem. Reviveaphone is firmly in the latter camp, and it does what it says on the tin: brings water-damaged phones back to life. Better than any DIY cures (rice in the airing cupboard) it actually uses a liquid solution to remove mineral deposits that have accumulated on the phone's circuit boards. It's easy to be sceptical, but with a 'results or your money back' policy, Reviveaphone may be able to save waterlogged iPhone owners a lot of money.

Samsung's 55-inch OLED TV

Not just another massive telly, this. Samsung's 55-inch OLED TV is, as the picture suggests, beautifully curved. They say this is so every portion of the image is equidistant from your eye - we say, it's because they can. It doesn't end there: the high-quality display can show two channels at once, interlaced with each other. Viewers have to wear glasses for this to work, however. It's on sale now for £6,999.99.

LED bulb with wireless connectivity

Lightbulbs are not often found on lists of great innovations. But the Philips Hue isn't an ordinary lightbulb - it's an LED bulb with wireless connectivity. This means you can set it to be any colour you want; to change colour according to the time of day, and turn it on and off remotely. The bulbs link up to your home wifi and come with an app to control them, which also lets you pick any colour from a photograph and set that as your living room theme. Great for bringing some sunshine to winter mornings or for livening up a party.

Motorola password pill

Since becoming part of Google, Motorola has been spitting out all kinds of interesting ideas. It's a commonly accepted idea that the days of written passwords are numbered; but Motorola's alternative is genuinely innovative, if totally creepy at the same time. The edible password pill contains a tiny chip that is powered by the acid in your stomach - it then emits a signal similar to an electrocardiogram (ECG) which can be uniquely identified by your phone, tablet or computer. It is approved as safe by the US FDA, but is unlikely to be released in the near future.

The Illumiroom

The Illumiroom is the next step for Microsoft in immersive gaming. It combines the Kinect module with a projector to expand whatever game you're playing to fill the room. Turn the lights down and watch as your living room is transformed into a racetrack, snowy blizzard or a warzone. The Kinect senses what's in the room, letting the projector cover the surfaces appropriately. Games really do feel as though they're coming out of the screen at you. Expect some version of this to appear on the Xbox One next year.

Oculus Rift 

If the Microsoft Illumiroom is about thinking big for gaming, the Oculus Rift is about thinking small. Kind of. It is the world's first fully-functional virtual reality headset, designed to plunge you totally into a 3D world that occupies your entire field of vision. Your movements are tracked, enabling you to look around the virtual world just as you would in real life. The premise is simple enough - two cameras that present each eye with a separate image to generate the illusion of a 3D world.

MYO

Thalmic Labs' MYO puts technology at your beck and call. It's a flexible armband that uses muscle sensors and a 9-axis motion sensor system to recognise a wide range of gestures. Connect it with bluetooth to your device of choice and you'll be able to run a presentation by waving, steer a helicopter drone, or simply control your TV or hi-fi with simple movements. Another gesture turns it on and off. It's at the developer stage, meaning products aren't yet on sale that work with it, but enthusiastic early adopters can order one now and start tinkering with anything that has a bluetooth connection.

Michael Schumacher rushed to Hospital for his very critical head injury in ice sketing

Doctors treating Michael Schumacher refused Monday to predict an outcome for the former Formula One driver, saying they were taking his very critical head injury "hour by hour" following a skiing accident.

Chief anaesthesiologist Jean-Francois Payen told reporters the seven-time racing champion is still in a medically induced coma. He said the medical team was focusing only on his current condition.

"We cannot predict the future for Michael Schumacher," Payen said.

"He is in a critical state in terms of cerebral resuscitation," he added. "We are working hour by hour."

Schumacher, the most successful driver in Formula One history, arrived at the Grenoble University Hospital Center a day earlier already in a coma and immediately underwent brain surgery.

The German driver was skiing with his son Sunday morning in the French Alpine resort of Meribel when he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock. He was wearing a helmet, but the doctors said it was clearly not sufficient to prevent a serious brain injury.

"Someone who had suffered this accident without a helmet would not have made it this far," Payen said.

Gerard Saillant, a trauma surgeon who operated on Schumacher when he broke his leg in a race crash in 1999, was at the hospital. But he said he was there in his capacity as a friend, not a doctor. He did, however, tell reporters that Schumacher's age -- he turns 45 on Jan. 3 -- and his fitness should work in his favor.

But the Grenoble medical team was being very cautious about Schumacher's prognosis. They are working to relieve pressure on his brain and have lowered his body temperature to between 34 and 35 degrees Celsius (93.2 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit), as part of the medically induced coma.

Schumacher has been seriously hurt before. He broke his leg in a crash at the Silverstone race course in 1999. He also suffered serious neck and spine injuries after a motorcycling accident in February 2009 in Spain.

The area where Schumacher was skiing is part of a web of trails that slice down through a vast and, in parts, very steep snowfield. Although challenging, the snowfield is not extreme skiing: The runs are broad and neatly tended, and the ungroomed area in between, known as off-piste -- where the resort said Schumacher was found -- is free of trees.

The resort said Schumacher was conscious when first responders arrived on the scene, although agitated and in shock.

But on Monday, Payen said after the fall Schumacher was not in "normal state of consciousness." He was not responding to questions and his limbs appeared to be moving involuntarily.

He was airlifted to a local hospital and then later brought to Grenoble. Doctors said this stopover was typical and did not affect his condition.

His wife and other family members are by his bedside.

"The family is not doing very well obviously. They are shocked," said his manager Sabine Kehm, who added that the family still appreciated the outpouring of support for Schumacher.

As news of the accident spread, Formula One drivers and fans rushed to wish Schumacher a quick recovery.

"Like millions of Germans, the chancellor and members of the government were extremely dismayed when they heard about Michael Schumacher's serious skiing accident," German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in Berlin.

Sebatian Vettel, who was once referred to as "Baby Schumi," told German news agency DPA: "I am shocked and hope that he will get better as soon as possible."

During his career, Schumacher notched up seven drivers' championships and 91 race wins. After initial success with the Benetton team, Schumacher moved to Ferrari and helped turn the Italian team into the sport's dominant force. After initially retiring in 2006, he made a comeback in 2010 and raced for three years with Mercedes.

Nelson Mandela Dead at 95

Nelson Mandela, former South African president and anti-apartheid hero, has died, HLN has learned. He was 95.

"Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father," said South African President Jacob Zuma.

President Obama said Thursday that he couldn't imagine his own life without Mandela's example.

"We have lost one of the most influential, courageous, profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth," he said.

Mandela had been treated by doctors at his home in Houghton, a suburb of Johannesburg. On September 1, 2013, he was discharged from a Pretoria hospital where he had been receiving treatment since June for a lung infection.

In June 1964, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for carrying out acts of sabotage. While in prison, Mandela fought to end apartheid, the country’s system of racial segregation.

In February 1990, then-South Africa President Frederik de Klerk ordered Mandela’s release. Mandela and de Klerk received the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in ending apartheid and laying the groundwork for a democratic South Africa.

A year later, Mandela became South Africa’s first black president. After his presidency, Mandela focused on several worldwide causes, including the battle against AIDS/HIV. His efforts reverberated around the world, and Mandela was bestowed with countless honors, including the 2002 Presidential Medal of Freedom.