In terms of the development and application of new and emerging technologies, we are limited only by our imagination – and, all to offer, the lack thereof. - Gurinder Shahi
This week we talked about emerging technologies and the many capabilities and gadgets we can expect to use in the near future. The above quote by Prof Shahi is very true, and wasn’t it Napoleon Bonaparte who once said “Imagination rules the world”? I’m guessing his imagination wasn’t running at full capacity during the Battle of Waterloo though haha. But I digress. Emerging technologies is a tremendously interesting topic as most of them are very intriguing and mind-boggling. First let me start off with an analysis of one of the articles in the reading list.
The article I perused was the one on Mike Adam’s take on the 10 emerging technologies he thinks will have a large impact on the future. The 10 emerging technologies are:
1. Global electronic library
2. Hydrogen fuel economy
3. Augmented reality
4. Practical robots
5. High density portable power (battery)
6. Fuel cell vehicles
7. Genetic engineering of humans
8. Computer/human system interface
9. Vibrational medicine
10. Superlearning systems
Mike Adams made a point about how we are not going to rely so much on pure intelligence but on our ability to identify and organize important date as all the information will be in the global electronic library. The article was interesting and provided some insight into why he thought some of the technologies would be important in the future. Another point which I thought was interesting was his take on computer/human interfaces. He talked about how there should be a change in the interface as the old ways are just too slow. I am perfectly fine with using the mouse to point and click however what Mike Adams says does have some sense. He said that much of the technology to advance has been proposed firstly for those with disabilities. For example using the sensor attached to the head to control the cursor, thus cutting out the use of a mouse – making it hands free. However Mike Adams believes one day we will be able to just look at a folder and be able to open it by our brain activity alone. I think that would be extremely cool and would be a godsend for those who are paralyzed. Most of his points are pretty sound, and he had some views about nanotechnology which I thought was very intriguing. The only bad thing I can say about this article was the topless picture of him near the bottom of the page, he kind of lose some credibility in my eyes O_o. One of his points which ties in with one of the presentations was the one about practical robots. I sincerely believe robots will be used extensively in the future, with menial tasks and then higher level jobs being assigned to them as technology advances. There have been many shows which have played out this scenario whereby robots are common in society. I believe that there is a place for them and they can and will make our lives easier. As for my classmates presentation about love with robots though, I am not quite sure of that. Would a robot be able to get my puns, wittiness, sarcastic comments and quips even if their chips are state of the art? (or could it be that no one gets me at all……) On the other hand, I guess love is blind, and if there are really people out there who plan to marry robots, I don’t see why they should be stopped.
Moving on, we also talked about wireless technology whereby electrical appliances can be charged without the need for wires. I think this is absolutely wonderful especially if charging electric cars on the move could be implemented. In fact even if they could not be charged on the move and had to be stopped on a certain platform but all done without the hassle of wires I am sure that the sale of electric cars would be sky high, however the battery of the car also has to be sufficiently advanced to give the car some distance to the watt. In addition, Prof showed us a video on Claytronics, which really blew my mind. The ability to mold material like that to fit anything we want really can change our world. The video speaks for itself and the possibilities are endless. Lastly, a presentation was done on Metamaterials and invisibility. I think invisibility can be used for much good, however the possibilities that it can be used for evil is substantial as well. The military could apply it to many things and also it could be used by all sorts of lowlifes in society for criminal purposes.
In conclusion, the lesson on emerging technologies was the most interesting lesson so far and I was really captivated by the many new and exciting technologies that we went through. I give the lesson a 9/10 and I look forward to more lessons just as interesting.
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