The best tech demos at TED

Calling all self-proclaimed tech nerds! TED2013, themed “The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered.,” begins in six days. As we cover the conference live — blogging each and every of the 70 speakers, including those from the worldwide talent search — we will be anxiously awaiting a demo that sets everyone in the theatre a-buzz. In preparation, here’s a look back at 9 memorable tech demos from TED and TEDGlobals past.

Boaz Almog “levitates” a superconductorBoaz Almog “levitates” a superconductor On stage at: TEDGlobal 2012 Boaz Almog uses quantum locking to “levitate” a superconducting disk over a rail, without friction or energy loss. Start at 4:30 to watch a super-thin 3-inch disk levitate something 70,000 times its own weight.

A robot that flies like a birdA robot that flies like a bird On stage at: TEDGlobal 2011 Markus Fischer and his team at Festo, a German tech company, developed a lightweight, incredibly lifelike robot that flies like a bird. Watch from 2:00 to 3:00 to see the SmartBird in action as it soars over the audience.

Tan Le: A headset that reads your brainwaves Tan Le: A headset that reads your brainwaves On stage at: TEDGlobal 2010 A mind-boggling demo by Tan Le, in which a volunteer is able to “pull” a cube toward him on a screen, just by thinking it.

Eric Giler demos wireless electricity Eric Giler demos wireless electricity On stage at: TEDGlobal 2009 Eric Giler presents wireless electricity, which uses magnetic resonators to transfer power over large distances via a magnetic field. Watch at 6:30 to see a standard TV and three different smart phones powered wirelessly.

Michael Pritchard: How to make filthy water drinkable Michael Pritchard: How to make filthy water drinkable On stage at: TEDGlobal 2009 Michael Pritchard introduces his portable 15-nm filters, which can capture the tiniest viruses and make water drinkable. At 3:30 Pritchard takes visibly disgusting water from the Thames, Cherwell and his own pond, runoff from a sewage farm, rabbit droppings and other delights, and pours it through his filter, then drinks the water. TED Curator Chris Anderson takes a swig as well.

Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology On stage at: TEDIndia 2009 Pranav Mistry of MIT Media Lab talks about developing SixthSense, a gesture-interface device that allows you to replicate what you do in the physical world in the digital world. Long before Microsoft Kinect, Mistry showed how he could treat any wall as a digital interface and take pictures just by gesturing with his fingers.

Johnny Lee demos Wii Remote hacksJohnny Lee demos Wii Remote hacks On stage at: TED2008 At 1:40 Johnny Lee shows how to turn a Wii Remote into a digital whiteboard, touchscreen and a head-mounted 3D viewer, all for $40.

Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos PhotosynthBlaise Aguera y Arcas demos Photosynth On stage at: TED2007 Blaise Aguera y Arcas of Microsoft demoed Photosynth, a software which uses a giant database of static photos to allow you to navigate a space as if in 3D. It’s a fascinating demo — given pre-Google Street View.

Jeff Han demos his breakthrough touchscreenJeff Han demos his breakthrough touchscreen On stage at: TED 2006 Well before Apple popularized multitouch technology with the iPhone, Jeff Han had built his own high resolution, low cost and scalable multi-touch screen, shown here.