New technologies of the future. Technologies of the near future Modern technologies in the future

Google Glass - smart glasses from the search giant. They became available in mid-2014. The only reason this technology has not yet become popular is the price. If you want to buy smart glasses from Google, you will have to spend $1,500.

But don't discount smart glasses. Once upon a time, not everyone could afford cell phones either. Titans like Microsoft and Sony are working on their own devices. This means that in the near future you will be able to watch videos of cats during your morning jog.

Automation is one of the main problems that modern technologies solve. Although most of the processes happen automatically these days, there are some things we have to do manually. For example, adding information to your phone contacts list. You probably won’t have to do this yourself any time soon.

RelateIQ is already working on technology that will create a contact based on information about your current contact list, inbox, messages. In the end, all you need to do is say the person's name. All information will appear on your phone.

3. Wearable electronics

Smart glasses and watches are devices that connect us with the outside world. But there are also technologies that connect us with our body. They are being developed by large scientific institutes, corporations and small companies. We are talking about headphones that measure heart rate, lenses that track blood sugar levels, and NFC technology.

As soon as developers are able to make such gadgets available, the market will be filled with various implants that will read important information in real time and display it on the same smart glasses.

4. Smart home

This technology has already become a reality. Refrigerators tell you which food is low, and you can control your oven using your smartphone.

In the future, the oven will learn to heat up food while you're driving home, and the refrigerator will order the groceries itself. At this time, you will be able to focus on more important matters.

5. Virtual reality

Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR are a completely new gaming experience. Of course, science fiction writers have been flirting with the topic for a long time, but who has thought about it seriously?

Game publishers and developers are spending multi-million dollar budgets to bring us new virtual reality experiences. VR devices have room to grow: they are bulky and have a lot of wires, but a start has been made. Soon we will be able to go anywhere on the planet without leaving home.

6. Holographic images

Remember the holographic interfaces in Star Wars and Minority Report? Now such technology no longer seems like something fantastic.

The scope of holographic projections is not only limited to games and media. Imagine contact lenses that project an image onto the retina of the eye. People with vision problems will be able to see better without surgery.

7. Neurointerface

A similar neural interface has long existed and has been successfully used in medicine. Quadriplegics - people with complete paralysis of the body - talk through a neural interface using a computer.

Of course, the technology is far from perfect. However, with the development of neurotechnology, a paralyzed person will be able to return to society and live a full life.

The globalization of the Internet has reached incredible proportions. You can access the Internet almost anywhere on the planet, and if Elon Musk’s large-scale project is successful, the Internet will be available everywhere.

It's no surprise that services like Uber are popping up. This is a taxi that you can call in almost any country using a mobile application. Recently, Uber has also started delivering food. Soon there will be even more universal services.

9. Digital distribution

The world is changing rapidly. Some 15 years ago, we could not even imagine that we would no longer have to store stacks of discs with music, films and games in our home. Steam and online cinemas have replaced going to the store for us. Instead of a new album from your favorite band, it’s easier to buy a subscription to a music service at a similar price and get access to the entire discography.

Of course, digital distribution has not reached its apogee, and many continue to use physical media, but there are fewer and fewer such people.

10. Robots

Robotics has come a long way over the past 10 years. Of course, more than a dozen years will pass before the appearance of terminators, but machines capable of shouldering hard and monotonous work on their titanium shoulders will appear in the near future. For example, thanks to Boston Dynamics.

It is almost certain that within the next 30 years we will completely switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Oil and gas will eventually run out, but solar and wind energy will not. In addition, solar panels are much more environmentally friendly.

In Israel, they have already tested a road that will charge an electric car while driving. Apple this year patented technology that will allow you to charge your smartphone over Wi-Fi. If engineers are unable to create sufficiently capacious batteries, then they will have to make sure that they do not discharge at all.

Constantly growing volumes of Internet traffic set the pace of development for mobile networks. Messengers, video calls, 4K video and streaming services require new data transmission technologies, so the emergence of 5G Internet in the near future is inevitable.

14. Artificial Intelligence

Creating a full-fledged one is only a matter of time. This will be a turning point in the development of human civilization, after which the world will change forever.

In fact, artificial intelligence no longer seems out of reach, especially with the rapid pace of development of neural networks. Machine learning has already reached a high level and is capable of many things, including writing scripts, books and songs.

Of course, the programs do not work as well as we would like, but the neural network is an excellent example that we are moving in the right direction.

15. Graphene

In 2004, the first sheet of graphene was released. Since then, scientists have been trying to find a way to mass produce the material.

Graphene is a versatile material with exceptional properties. It can be used in almost all areas of our lives. High-speed data transfer, filters for water purification and even an unbreakable smartphone case are all graphene. When the production of this material is put on stream, another industrial revolution awaits us.

No matter how we imagine the future, it will definitely be technological. Innovations can change both the world and ourselves beyond recognition. However, we can say with confidence that the goal of all inventions is to make our lives more comfortable. We have collected 10 technologies that will help make our lives easier.

Fast robots. There is no doubt that in the near future they will surround us: as helpers, pets, perhaps friends and even partners. Not long ago, scientists created robots that are able to maintain balance, walk and run on uneven and unstable surfaces. Such robots are more adaptable to our human environment. This is certainly a step forward towards our future coexistence with robots.

Neuromorphic chips. Did you know that the human brain is the most advanced processor in the Universe that we know of? It can process information at the speed of light without expending much energy (and taking up virtually no space). Neuromorphic engineering is an attempt to mimic the functions of the human brain. Scientists have created an artificial data processing system, which consists of small circuit boards that play the role of neurons in our brain. In terms of power, size and energy consumption, the technology is comparable to the human brain. The development of neuromorphic chips will help create ultra-fast and ultra-efficient processors that will be used by smartphones, computers and, possibly, robots.

Organic radical battery. Smartphones have become our closest friends, and every year they become more and more powerful. Their main drawback is battery life, which is decreasing in parallel with the development of power. The organic radical battery (ORB) is moving closer to solving this problem. Similar batteries appeared in 2005. They are not yet available to the mass consumer, but work on this technology is already approaching the moment when the miracle batteries will finally begin to go on sale. This battery is based on polymers made from organic radicals, flexible plastic, which can replace conventional metal batteries. Solid organic radicals are converted into a gel and mixed with the carbon base. Ultra-thin ORBs will provide a much more powerful alternative to today's lithium-ion batteries.

Vacuum train Hyperloop. The idea of ​​​​creating such a train was in the air for many decades, until Elon Musk decided to bring it to life. (translated from English as “hyperloop”) is an entire transport system where air-cushioned capsules transport passengers through tubes under low pressure conditions (almost in a vacuum) at a speed of about 1000 km/h. At first it was assumed that the capsules would seem to float due to the air compressed by compressors, but now the technology of magnetic levitation is considered more relevant. Technically, this is all possible, the only question at the moment is how to make this development cheaper to implement. When (and if) the financial side of the issue is resolved, we can expect the emergence of a high-speed, quiet, autonomous and safe road - the transport system will run either above ground or underground.

A smartphone consisting only of a display, - a long-time dream of developers. Every year, with each new model, the display area of ​​​​mobile devices is increasing. Following in Xiaomi's footsteps, Samsung's next phone in the Galaxy S series is rumored to be 95% display. The remaining 5% will come from the front camera. Most likely, the ideal phone will consist only of a display, without any “frames”.

Vertical farms. By 2050, the world's population is expected to reach 9 billion people, with 80% living in large cities. And then we are faced with the same problem. To survive, in addition to water and oxygen, a person needs food. Growing food requires significant amounts of land. Vertical farms will help grow high-quality products that can feed 9 billion people without causing irreparable environmental damage to the planet (for example, by cutting down forests for fields).

A vertical farm is a general name for a special complex that is a multi-story high-rise greenhouse. Such farms already exist and demonstrate high efficiency. For example, the first commercial vertical farm appeared in Singapore, it is located in a 38-tier tower. The largest vertical farm to date is in Japan. Its area is 25 thousand square meters, operation requires 40% less energy, 80% less fertilizer and 99% less water than a conventional farm. In general, it sounds like a technology not of the future, but of the present.

VR headset. Virtual reality is not new to anyone, but in 2016 there was a dramatic change. Not only the computer games industry has started talking about VR, but also social networks, the media sphere and many others - everyone sees great prospects in virtual reality. Without a doubt, VR technologies will literally pour into our non-virtual reality, and only the lazy will not adapt them to their business needs.

Modular houses. One of the main trends of the last 10 years is the extinction of villages and the overpopulation of cities. The desire of people to move to cities, and to larger cities, leads to higher prices for real estate. Modular homes will make housing more affordable. Prefabricated houses are manufactured in a factory and installed in the required location after purchase. Ease of manufacture, mass production, universal design reduce the cost and, accordingly, the price of your own home.

Self-driving cars - perhaps the most anticipated technology in the world. Millions of people die in road accidents caused by human factors, namely drunk driving, inattention and irresponsibility. Self-driving cars will rid the roads of fools.

Modern science and advanced technologies of the future have reached a level of development that will allow us in the near future to acquire the supernatural physical and mental superpowers of any fantasy superhero.

The eleven devices presented below, invented by innovative scientists, simply go beyond the boundaries of our ideas about human capabilities:

While this device may technically be considered an "experimental ultra-light aircraft", the Martin Aircraft Company of New Zealand has no doubt that thanks to their invention, man will now be able to fly.

New Martin Jetpacks will soon be available for sale for $200,000. According to the calculations of the developers, Martin Jetpack will be able to reach a speed of 100 kilometers per hour and rise to a height of 2.5 kilometers, and also stay in the air for half an hour.

2. Telekinesis

Two companies, Neurosky and MC10, have created a device that will allow you to control various objects with just the power of thought. The device will work on the principle of the well-known electroencephalography of the brain using “neural dust” - a miniature chip that will be implanted under the skin. Thus, soon we will be able to turn on, say, a coffee maker, just by thinking about it while lying on the sofa.

3. Predicting the future

The new software, called Recorded Future, stores about 100 million events from the past, present and future. This technology uses algorithms to summarize and analyze all information and predict possible future developments.

Of course, this product could not interest marketers, investors and intelligence agencies in order to be able to predict the future. The Pentagon has also launched its own project that uses similar data in real time to study how individuals and crowds will react to certain situations in the future.

4. Invisibility Cloak

The legendary invisibility cloak, which is part of pop culture, has become closer to reality today than we could have imagined. Scientists from military and research institutes are already working on a device that will be able to refract light around an object, allowing it to disappear from view.

5. Acute hearing

Dogs' hearing acuity is much superior to ours. They can distinguish very high frequencies - up to 45 kHz, and coyotes - up to 80 kHz.

There is good news for people who envy this ability of animals. London-based Industrial Facility is developing a new device called “super-directional beamforming”. It looks like regular glasses and is equipped with four microphones that create three-dimensional hearing, giving people the ability to hear like coyotes.

6. Mind reading

Who wouldn't want to be able to read the thoughts of, say, their boss or lover? Such a device could open up unlimited possibilities for humans. At the same time, this ability would not always be used exclusively for good purposes.

However, this did not stop a team of scientists from Yale University from trying to read the thoughts of their subjects using brain scans, which can reconstruct the images that arise in a person’s head based on neural activity.

One of the lead authors of the study, Alan Cowan, noted that further development of this technology could be useful in studying the consciousness of people with autism, those with racial and gender bias, or those under the influence of drugs.

7. Superhuman Strength/Speed

The Raytheon company presented its new development - an exoskeleton, thanks to which a person with the most ordinary physical characteristics will be able to lift up to 90 kilograms of weight several hundred times, without spending much effort. In such a suit, you can easily punch your fist through a package of four three-centimeter boards.

And this is just the beginning. Thanks to the advent of nanotechnology and materials such as graphene and cadmium arsenide, we are on the verge of a “golden age” of exoskeletons and non-human superpowers.

8. Breathing underwater or artificial gills

For scuba diving enthusiasts, this new product may be the most anticipated. Called the "Like-A-Fish," this gill system makes it possible to extract oxygen directly from seawater.

The developer of artificial gills, Alon Izhar-Bodner, proposed reducing the pressure of sea water in a sealed chamber. This will restore the oxygen dissolved in water into a gaseous state. Carbon dioxide is released when the pressure decreases when the lid is opened. The oxygen thus obtained enters the oxygen cylinder.

9. Bionic vision and microscopic vision of objects

Researchers at the University of Washington are currently developing bionic contact lenses that are expected to help the visually impaired, as well as enable people with good vision to see things that are visually difficult to perceive.

The lenses will be equipped with a navigation system, Internet access and even games. This development will be somewhat reminiscent of Google Glass smart glasses, only the bionic lenses will be an order of magnitude more advanced.

However, the science didn't stop there: now the Tokyo company JEOL is designing a microscope that will allow us to magnify objects 50 million times their original size.

10. Walking on walls

A new invention by scientists from Cornell University, which will make you feel like a hero of a science-fiction film, will be called a “fast adhesion device.” It controls surface tension so that adhesion to any surface occurs. Superman cosplay is probably about to reach a new level.

11. Clairvoyance

Nigel Kerner has created a fantastic microchip called "Soul Catcher 2025" that will be implanted in the skull behind the eyes to record a person's feelings and even thoughts.

Dr Chris Winter from British Telecom believes that this technology, combined with advanced biogenetics, will one day make it possible to recreate a person physically, emotionally and spiritually, that is, in essence, a kind of database of all human knowledge will be created.

The list of the most promising revolutionary discoveries and technologies at the end of the year is traditionally compiled by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Experts are confident that in the near future they will open up new opportunities for humanity and change the world.

Treating cancer with immune engineering

Availability: 1-2 years

Genetically altered immune system cells may save the lives of cancer patients.

Late last year, the world was shocked by the results of an experimental treatment for leukemia, a blood cancer, using altered T cells (a type of lymphocyte, a cell of the immune system) of a patient.

T cells, also called killer T cells, destroy damaged cells in the body's own. Scientists take a T cell and change its DNA so that it can also recognize diseased cells.

This method was first tested on humans in the fall of 2015 - at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, using developments from Cellectis. The results were called a miracle by many: 12-month-old girl Leila Richards was not helped by any traditional treatments, but she fully recovered after this experiment.

New method of genetic modification of plants

Availability: after 5-10 years

This is not the first time that genome editing technology, known as CRISPR, has made it to the list of the most promising. It allows you to increase the resistance of plants to drought, disease and other negative factors. But just as important, plants modified using this method are not considered GMOs, which are banned in many countries.

The fact is that if genes of foreign organisms are transplanted to create GMOs, then the CRISPR method works only with one organism, editing exclusively its genes.

The method allows the desired DNA sequence to be inserted into the desired location, and the body accepts the changes, since the technology is based on a natural process to protect the beneficial bacteria.

Thus, the technology, which appeared several years ago, turns out to be simpler and at the same time more effective than previously known methods of changing DNA. Scientists hope that over time CRISPR will not be banned like GMOs.

Conversational interfaces instead of touchscreens

Availability: now

Touch screens and touch screens are being replaced by conversational interfaces.

For years, science fiction writers and futurists have talked about a time when technology would be controlled by voice, but in the last few years this way of “communicating” with a computer has come as close as possible to reality. Just remember Siri from Apple, Now from Google and Cortana from Microsoft - the largest companies have already taken a step towards voice control.

However, the conversational interface is most developed in China, thanks to the IT industry leader Baidu. On the streets of Beijing's Sanlitun district, home to a huge number of bars and shops, you can find hundreds of people operating devices without the aid of screens.

Baidu made a breakthrough last November with the development of Deep Speech 2 voice recognition technology, which works with amazing clarity, sometimes understanding speech even better than a person.

Reusable rockets

Availability: now

Thousands of rockets have flown into space, but until last year, none had returned like this: descending slowly and controlled onto a support, as if the landing were a takeoff filmed and replayed. If a person does learn how to “land” rockets, this will make flights hundreds of times cheaper, because rockets cost tens of millions of dollars.

A breakthrough in this area was made possible thanks to two billionaires: Elon Musk (Space X) and Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin). The first stage of the New Shepard rocket was successfully landed by Blue Origin in November (with the same rocket in January of this year), and in December the heavier Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Space X managed to land. Now the latter is trying to land the launch vehicle on floating platform

Previously, The Futurist, which will bring the Bezos-Musk rivalry to the world.

Robots that teach each other

Availability: 3-5 years

Robots can become much more useful if they can teach each other. This process will replace their childhood and upbringing, which helps a person to get to know the world.

Training is also possible due to the fact that most robots operate on the same operating system called ROS. This should happen like this: for example, a robot learns to hold a cup, sends information to the “cloud”, and from where another robot takes it.

Professor Stephanie Tellax from Brown University in the USA is confident that first of all, robots must learn to handle objects.

DNA in a smartphone app

Availability: this year

An online storage of information about genes will help you obtain health information more easily and quickly, including determining a person’s predisposition to various diseases.

In the summer, the American company Helix announced that it would create an application for storing information about human genes in mobile phones. The company plans to launch it this year or at least next year.

Buyers of the app, which will of course be paid, will have to share a sample of their DNA so the information can be analyzed. There may soon be an app that will show you exactly what you'll look like when you're old, based on DNA information, or which celebrities you might be related to.

Bulk solar energy

Availability: next year

The future of solar energy is now being built in the American city of Buffalo by SolarCity, whose founders include Elon Musk.

Here, in a year, an entire Gigafactory industrial park should appear, which will become the most efficient in the production of solar panels: 10,000 panels per day or gigawatts of solar energy per year.

The plant will be the largest in North America and one of the largest in the world. Thanks to mass production, the panels will become cheaper and therefore much more affordable for households by the end of 2017, when the plant reaches full production capacity.

Corporate messenger Slack

Availability: now

The American corporate messenger Slack has already been called the killer of corporate email, and now it is predicted to change the entire culture of corporate communication.

It was launched in 2013 and three years later, more than 2 million users use it daily.

The application allows you to communicate with colleagues, create dialogues, and exchange files both from a computer and from a mobile phone. It would seem nothing special. However, what made the application so popular is, on the one hand, a trend - many hard workers now communicate using a mobile device, especially since they often have to contact people who are not currently in the office.

On the other hand, the application integrates messages from other instant messengers, which eliminates the difficulties when you have to communicate with different users in different applications.

Tesla Autopilot

Availability: now

Elon Musk's electric car maker Tesla has actually made driving entirely on autopilot possible. And all thanks to new software that can be loaded into the company’s electric vehicles “stuffed” with sensors, cameras and radars.

As a result, the driver feels almost like an airplane pilot: the electric car can change speed, change lanes and park itself. Previously, manufacturers like BMW, GM and Mercedes could only offer automatic parallel parking.

Happy car owners post videos of themselves driving without touching the steering wheel at all. And although this progressive way of driving is not yet very legal, it is certainly a breakthrough that could soon change the entire industry.

Energy from thin air

Availability: 2-3 years

Scientists from the University of Washington have developed technology that will eliminate batteries.

Gadgets will use waves emanating from nearby TVs, radios or Wi-Fi routers and convert it using backscattering.

That is, instead of creating its own signal, the gadget will receive, for example, a radio signal, and then redirect it. All that remains is to solve the problem of the distance at which it will be possible to work with data in this way.

Predicting the future is quite difficult, and trying to predict how future technologies will develop is almost impossible. Concepts and designs, approaches to development and production methods change, new ones appear every year and old solutions fade into oblivion. Humanity is on the threshold of a new era, where it will be possible to create things that science fiction writers of the last century could only dream of. The most interesting of them may appear in the next hundred years.

Floating cities

According to current forecasts, by 2100 the average temperature on the planet will increase by at least 1 degree Celsius. As a result, sea levels will rise, threatening coastal communities around the world. One solution to this problem could be floating cities, which the Seasteading Institute has been trying to promote for many years. Such a project is already being developed in French Polynesia, where Blue Frontiers is planning the Floating Island project.

“I envision huge floating cities that can move, join together and separate from each other - these are the technologies of the future that could become a reality in a hundred years. Not only because of the need for serious environmental problems, but also because technology will make the ocean much more hospitable,” said Paul Armstrong, founder of the consulting company Here/Forth.

He says 4D printing and graphene will be two of the inventions that will allow people to build these cities, and special nanobots could be used for cleaning to deal with ocean pollution, even as severe as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Increased lifespan

Life expectancy for the UN's predicted 11.2 billion people is unlikely to rise sharply by 2100, but older people will become healthier.

“Doctors will be able to better care for older people. We can expect the emergence of personalized medicine, from high-quality genetic resequencing to biohacking and wetware technologies, which are still in their infancy,” Armstrong said.

Brain-computer connectivity is on the horizon, although developing software and interfaces will take time. Another massive trend could be personalized medicine. Most likely, medical capsules for in-patient diagnosis of health problems and implants that will do the same on the go will appear in people's homes.

Airspace development

With initiatives like the company's drone delivery initiative, future technologies will help redefine airspace.

Currently, global airspace is demarcated by "corridors" used exclusively by commercial and military aircraft, but this could change. The future could include vertical columns used by aircraft to jump into the stratosphere, shifting geo-routes to allow passenger drones to pass safely at any altitude, and movable geo-fences to protect moving vehicles from collision.

This active use of airspace could lead to a surge in unmanned aerial systems - drones. Use in cities and reduction of response time to emergency situations using such transport will significantly make life in megacities easier. The sky is now an invaluable resource that humanity has barely mastered.

No shortage of drinking water

The inhabitants of the “blue planet” still lack “blue water”. The number of droughts is increasing, and where there is drought, there is shortage and inevitable conflicts. However, potential water wars can be avoided if humanity learns one simple trick - drinking the oceans.

Desalination plants can remove salt and minerals from a liquid to make it drinkable, but processing seawater takes a ton of energy. An idea from New Mexico-based energy company Atmocean may help. The project includes fuel-free wave pumps that will allow seawater to be more efficiently collected onshore. The system, used a few years ago in Peru, can also generate additional electricity.

From drinking water to irrigation, aquaculture and desert greening, advances in desalination technology could make a huge difference.

Functional food

In a hundred years, humanity will begin to use a completely different way of consuming food and farming. From an overabundance of food to intellectual consumption and meeting the needs of the body according to individual criteria using implanted implants made of nanomaterials - this is what is already becoming a reality.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration recently approved an electronic pill with a built-in sensor that alerts doctors when patients take medications. The same device can be used to determine the sets of substances the body needs, which will significantly reduce consumption and increase health.

Instead of eating grasshoppers and making protein shakes, such future technologies will help people free up time for more important things.

Using artificial intelligence for nuclear fusion

Fears about the enslavement of humanity by intelligent machines still seem too far-fetched. What those who will live in a hundred years really have to fear is a lack of energy. Its per capita consumption is now growing so quickly that only a miracle can save humanity from energy starvation. Perhaps this miracle will be nuclear fusion.

According to Tokamak Energy CEO Jonathan Carling, fusion will be an integral part of the energy mix by 2100, providing between 15% and 35% of the world's energy. The company is already testing its third nuclear fusion reactor, the operation of which, in theory, can provide energy to a small city. Electricity from nuclear fusion could be achieved in less than 15 years, thanks to the use of new high-temperature superconductors and advanced solutions such as artificial intelligence and flexible development environments.

AI is now being used to develop critical models of plasma physics, helping scientists predict how reactions will proceed. Once the correct algorithm is obtained, humanity will be able to provide itself with energy forever.

All these future technologies can become real before the end of this century. Whether they will be able to save humanity from those created by them, or whether they will remain just futuristic fairy tales is still unknown, but the very fact of their presence inspires confidence that people will be able to outgrow themselves and open up new horizons for their evolution.