Every year,
TIME selects the best inventions that are making the world better, smarter
and—in some cases—a little more fun. Fortunately,
the levitating lightbulb designed by Flyte team and manufactured by Goodwell in
Zhaoqing of China was selected and become the No.1 of the 25 best inventions of
2016.
Simon Morris, The owner of FLyte, has been obsessed with making objects float in midair since he was a
child. At one point he even managed to turn a skateboard into a hoverboard,
though as he recalls it, “I couldn’t ride on it.” Now he’s applying that same
passion to Flyte, a lightbulb that relies on electromagnetism to levitate and
spin, and on resonant inductive coupling—a technical term for wireless power transmission—to
shine. Morris sees his design as a seamless blend of science and art honoring
both pragmatists, like Thomas Edison, and dreamers, like Nikola Tesla. And
consumers appear to agree: Morris says Flyte has sold so well since its
official January launch that his team is planning to introduce a whole
ecosystem of floating products, including a planter, Lyfe, which debuted in
June. “We’re just scratching the surface,” he says.