Buzz
Don't lose hope for flying cars or hoverboards just yet! As technology evolves at a relentless pace, every idea eventually enters the development stage—just like these innovations, which are highly likely to become a reality within our lifetimes.
10. Artificial Gills
Inventors have long been on the hunt for an underwater breathing device that doesn't store oxygen but instead extracts it from water like gills do. Israeli inventor Alon Bodner is making significant strides toward this goal.
The device, aptly named LikeAFish, functions by utilizing a centrifuge to reduce the water pressure within an airtight chamber. As water contains only a small amount of oxygen, the device must circulate around 190 liters (50 gallons) per minute to allow an average person to breathe comfortably. Despite this, the main obstacle to its deployment is its size and weight, but it's advanced enough that it has been under consideration for military use for several years.
Such a system would, of course, enable longer underwater durations without needing to refill oxygen and reduce the amount of nitrogen a diver is exposed to. According to Bodner’s website, the company spent 2012 'quietly designing a prototype to be installed on board a naval submarine,' meaning they may be very close to overcoming the size and weight challenges of earlier models.
9. Agricultural Robots
Agricultural robotics are, somewhat surprisingly, still in their early stages. While unemployment appears to be stabilizing, there’s ongoing concern about a potential widespread labor shortage in the near future—particularly in agriculture. Many companies worldwide are striving to bring different types of robotic farmhands to market, but in the field of robotics (where government and academic projects still take the lead), it generally takes longer than in some other commercial industries for such projects to secure funding, develop a product, and prove their feasibility.
However, the technology is progressing, and it’s not hard to envision it being widely adopted sooner rather than later. One Boston-based company, which raised nearly $8 billion in private funds in 2011, has created a robot that they claim could take on 40 percent of the manual labor currently performed on farms. A Japanese research firm has developed a robot that uses stereo imaging to assess the ripeness of strawberries before harvesting, and MIT has a cherry tomato garden managed by a small team of robots equipped with vision sensors. The key advantage of robotic farm workers, of course, is that they can operate around the clock without tiring.
8. Sunscreen Pills
An effective sunscreen that can be taken orally has been a long-sought goal. One doctor claims that a fern extract containing polypodium leucotomos, a compound, could serve this purpose. He points to a human study showing reduced sun damage in participants who took the active ingredient (though he does admit the study involved only 12 people).
Another promising study comes from King’s College in London, where researchers have discovered how coral protects itself from UV rays through a symbiotic relationship with algae. The algae produces a chemical compound, which the coral transforms into its own UV-blocking sunscreen, benefiting both the coral, the algae, and the fish that feed on the coral. Scientists believe that if this compound can be isolated, it might be modified into an oral sunscreen for humans, providing protection for both skin and eyes. Dr. Paul Long, head of the three-year project, said, 'There would have to be a lot of toxicology tests done first but I imagine a sunscreen tablet might be developed in five years or so. Nothing like it exists at the moment.'
7. Ultra-Thin, Flexible Computers and Phones
In early 2013, the consumer electronics shows unveiled a prototype from the European company Plastic Logic, called the Papertab. A blend of 'paper' and 'tablet,' this device is exactly what it sounds like: a fully functional touch screen tablet that is not only as thin as a sheet of paper but as flexible as one as well, with similar reflective properties. The company envisions these devices becoming commonplace within the next five to ten years, offering affordable, interactive technology. Consumers could have multiple devices on hand, each multitasking with various forms of media for one project.
A collaborative effort between two American and Canadian universities has led to the creation of the Paperphone. Dr. Roel Vertegaal, director of Queen's University, shares a similar vision for the project. 'This is the future,' he says. 'Everything is going to look and feel like this within five years.' The device is about the size of a standard smartphone, featuring a 9.4-centimeter (3.7 in) display, yet remains as paper-thin and flexible as its name suggests. Users can interact with the phone through 'bend gestures.' The phone consumes no power when idle and is much more durable than a typical smartphone.
6. Tooth Regeneration
The idea of humans regenerating body parts has long seemed like a fantasy, despite the fact that many animal species can fully regrow lost body parts. For instance, it has been known that alligators can regrow lost teeth, though it was once believed to be a cyclical process, much like how snakes shed their skin. Recent studies have shown that this isn't true: an alligator's tooth regenerates automatically to replace a lost one. This is significant because the structure of alligator teeth is quite similar to human teeth.
The challenge has been that the inner part of teeth, known as the 'pulp,' contains living tissue that doesn’t regenerate. However, the breakthrough might lie in stem cells. Researchers from various countries are working to figure out how to use stem cells to produce the right tissues and structures on demand for specific needs. A study from the University of Utah in November 2012 confirmed that this could be done in a lab. Perfecting this technology could potentially eliminate tooth decay, gum disease, fillings, and root canals.
5. Holographic TV
While Ultra High Definition TV is on the horizon, there are limits to how many pixels can fit into a flat display—this is why most current models are massive 214-centimeter (84-inch) screens. The next wave of televisions, however, may not even have traditional screens. Instead, they could offer a viewing area, ranging from desktop displays to entire rooms. Holographic displays are certainly in development.
MIT researchers, masters of cutting-edge technology (hence the 'T'), have created a chip that supports holographic displays at 50 gigapixels per second—enough to replicate real-world objects, as reported in the journal Nature. While this breakthrough technology isn’t available yet, costs need to decrease first. Michael Bove, head of MIT's Object-Based Media group, notes: 'The technology itself is simple and inexpensive and, as far as we know and as Nature knows, it has never been applied to displays before.' He predicts that holographic displays will be available within 10 years, at the same price as today’s flat-screen TVs. Additionally, Provision, another company, has created an affordable projector capable of displaying an 18-inch image and is working to scale it up to a two-meter (six-foot) image with a device the size of a toaster.
4. Real-Time Google Earth
At RAL Space in Oxford, scientists are constructing two unique video cameras—meter-long tubes filled with electronics and mirrors—to be mounted on the International Space Station. These cameras won’t capture images of space; they will be focused on Earth. While the resolution will be modest (about one meter per pixel), these cameras will provide a real-time, live streaming video of the entire planet.
At Georgia Tech, some researchers are approaching the same goal from a unique angle. They capture footage from live video feeds around the globe and overlay intricate animations on top of Google Earth, sometimes combining multiple camera views to extract the needed data. Currently, their focus is on people and cars, but they aim to include animals and weather patterns in the near future.
3. Sustainable Fusion Reactor
Nuclear fission, the method by which energy is generated in nuclear power plants, is far easier to control than nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun and fuels nuclear weapons. Although small fusion reactors have been created, a full-scale, sustainable fusion reactor has not yet been attempted—until now. A coalition of seven international bodies (the US, EU, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, and India) has selected a site in France to build the world's first. While its proponents acknowledge that it may take decades before it begins generating power, nuclear fusion is cleaner and generates three to four times more energy than fission.
The project, known as ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), is the second-largest international scientific collaboration, following only the Space Station. It will employ a donut-shaped magnetic field to contain gases that will be heated to temperatures similar to those at the sun's core, exceeding 150 million degrees Celsius (270 million Fahrenheit), and aims to produce ten times more energy than it consumes.
2. Ultra–High Speed Tube Trains
Magnetic levitation, or Maglev, trains have been under development for years. A recent successful test in Japan has set plans in motion to link the entire country by 2045 with trains capable of reaching speeds over 480 kph (300 mph). They achieve this by removing the wheels, eliminating both contact and friction. Maglev trains float above the track, held in place by an electromagnetic field. While the Japanese model is groundbreaking, a company based in Longmont, Colorado, is pushing the limits even further by tackling another speed obstacle: wind resistance.
To be honest, removing this factor doesn’t just increase the potential; it practically blows the roof off the place. Daryl Oster of ET3 argues that his company’s concept, called the Evacuated Tube Transport, could very well be the future of transportation. The track is housed within a sealed, pressurized vacuum tube, allowing capsules to potentially reach speeds of up to 6,500 kph (4,000 mph). The ride would be smooth, with G-forces no greater than those felt during a calm drive on the highway, and it could cross the entire US in less than an hour. ET3 has built prototype capsules and is currently seeking a suitable route to construct the first tube.
1. Wireless Electricity
The idea of transmitting electricity without wires has existed for much longer than most people realize. Nikola Tesla may have perfected this technology over a century ago, had he not been plagued by poverty, bad luck, and a bit of eccentricity. Though wireless power transfer is still not widespread today, it is a fact that this technology already exists.
Wireless charging for devices has been around for quite a while and continues to advance. Companies like Witricity are working on electric hubs that could power entire homes. Their prototype, called “Prodigy,” is based on the research of MIT physicist Marin Soljacic. The system takes advantage of specific electromagnetic wave frequencies that make energy transfer between two objects resonating at the same frequency easy, even at a distance, and even if the objects are made of metal. Once perfected—many believe this will happen within the next decade—it could signal the end of batteries as we currently know them.
