The (Near) Future of Technology
An Intro to VR, AR, AI, IoT, Bitcoin, 3D Printing, Drones, Wearables, and Self-Driving Cars
Staying up to date with the latest technology can be a challenge.
An endless stream of product releases means there’s always something new on the horizon. Even if you work in tech you might have a hard time keeping up.
Wether the future of your job depends on it, or you’re just interested in learning more, I’ve assembled an easy to understand guide to the most important trends developing in tech right now.
Virtual Reality (VR)
An artificially simulated environment that a user can engage and interact with. Headsets, earphones and other devices are designed to transmit sensory information such as sight, sound, smell and touch.
While engaged, the user is fully immersed in the virtual world. Its applications are vast, but some of the more common options include education, therapy and video games.
For movies, games and computing, this means a more intense experience with a higher level of engagement. Enhanced graphics, 3D animation and an ability to physically manipulate features makes for a more immersive experience.
Because of the passive and linear nature of film, there is only so far you can go with VR before it ceases to be a film in the traditional sense. If the traditionally passive elements of the medium expand to include active participation in a film’s development, it could change the nature of film.
Augmented Reality (AR)
While it is similar to virtual reality, augmented reality enhances one’s surroundings by superimposing virtual features onto the real world, which can provide useful information about one’s immediate environment. This is usually facilitated by wearing a headset, glasses, or by looking through a phone.
For example, Hyundai created a virtual car guide that can be operated with a smartphone. All you have to do is film a portion of your car, such as your engine, and the guide will display the amount of gas, oil or engine coolant available. By selecting a specific part of the car, you’ll be told what needs to be replaced or repaired and how to do it. If you’ve never changed your oil before, no problem. The car virtual car guide has you covered.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI refers to intelligent behaviour exhibited by machines or software. This is manifested as an ability to reason, learn, process and store information, or navigate an environment in such a way as to maximize success, whatever the goal may be. Planning, perception and communication are the central problems of AI.
While it seems like a fairly new concept, AI has been around for decades. Banks use it to invest in stocks, manage property and prevent fraud. Hospitals use it to interpret medical images, monitor a patient’s condition, or in the case of companion robots, care for the elderly. It’s often found in industries where jobs are either too dangerous or degrading, or so repetitive that they are prone human error. It has also been applied to video games in the case of bots you can play against or with.
As AI develops further, computers will continue to outperform and replace humans in the job market, and while this means increased efficiency and lower costs for production, it could also lead to a higher unemployment rate.
As AI systems develop the capacity to learn, think independently, and experience emotions and feeling, it raises ethical issues. How should the law be altered to take robots into account? What is their role in society? What rights do they have? As they become more sophisticated, these questions become increasingly complex.
Internet of Things (IoT)
A network of objects with built-in software, sensors and electronics that store and share information. By integrating these devices, they are able to communicate with each other to maximize efficiency.
A common example is the integration of household appliances. By collecting and sharing information, they work together to achieve goals. For example, when it gets dark, the system may activate lights, lock the doors and increase temperature. For people with little mobility, this is extremely helpful.
Bitcoin
A digital payment system that allows transactions to be made online without the use of an intermediary (for example: a bank). It is peer-to-peer, which means users are both suppliers and consumers of information, and thus take on the responsibility of an intermediary.
As a form of currency, it can be used to measure the value of economic items such as goods, services and income. They can be exchanged or sent on their own, and are desirable because the fees are 2–3% lower than what credit card processors charge. Although many places accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, it still hasn’t caught on for retail transactions.
Despite its growing acceptance as a form of currency, many banks will not allow Bitcoin companies to open accounts due to its link to cyber crime. Bitcoin is used on the deep web and other black markets to buy illicit goods such as weapons, drugs, child pornography and hitmen. Because users are anonymous, it is ripe for criminal exploitation.
Bitcoin companies are privately owned and do not operate under the control of banks and bitcoin is decentralized, meaning it is not under the control of one central authority.
3D Printing
Refers to the mechanical process of creating a three-dimensional object, and a 3D printer is machine that does just that. By depositing material atop a foundation layer by layer, it can reproduce objects of any shape based on a 3D model or electronic data source.
Some of its common applications include car parts, apparel, firearms, medicine and structural models. Objects can be replicated in a short time, making 3D printing a more efficient alternative to assembly line production. It is open-source, meaning the license to a product’s design is free so anyone can obtain, share or modify it.
For architects, 3D printing reduces the amount of time it takes to produce models for clients. For a hobbyist interested in robotics, woodwork, or arts and crafts, it can reduce time spent searching for obscure parts, since they can now be reproduced quickly and precisely.
3D printing is also changing traditional methods of production by undermining economies of scale. Typically, companies that deal in large-scale production receive discounts by purchasing in bulk. With 3D printing, it costs just as much to produce a single product as it does multiple. Manufacturing will eventually be cheaper, more efficient, and there will be less need for human workers since machines will eventually replace them.
Drones
Also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), drones are aircrafts without a human pilot. They may be controlled autonomously with built in navigations systems or by remote control.
Usually, drones are reserved for jobs that are too dangerous or unpleasant for people. Model airplane drones are also becoming increasingly popular. It was predicted that in 2015 1.6 million UAVs would be sold as model airplanes. As a result, Congress passed a motion stating that all drones must be licensed in order to maintain air traffic control.
As the technology progresses, they are increasingly used for security, surveillance, fire fighting, 3D mapping, hurricane hunting, farming and search & rescue missions.
Wearables
Clothing and accessories that incorporate advanced electronic technology to track, record, and in some cases exchange information with other computers.
Wearables have been used for fitness tracking, healthcare, communication, navigation, and synchronization of data with other devices.
Smart wristbands that monitor vital signs or track activity such as steps taken or calories consumed were the most popular form of wearables upon the technology’s uptake. They have long been used in healthcare to monitor patients and notify staff when assistance is needed. Most recently, smart watches have gained the most popularity and widespread use.
Companies have utilized wearables to improve efficiency, collect employee data and increase safety. At Epicenter, a number of employees agreed to get a chip implanted in their hand that eliminates the need for key fobs and electronic access cards. BP global distributed Fitbit Fitness trackers to employees to promote physical health as part of an effort to reduce the cost of collective insurance policies. Truck drivers from Rio Tinto’s coal mines in Hunter Valley, Australia, have been using Smartcaps: baseball hats with built-in sensors that monitor alertness. When a driver’s attention begins to wane, it provides a warning to prevent accidents.
Autonomous / Self-Driving Car
An autonomous car is a self-operating vehicle whose control systems collect and interpret information from the surrounding environment, identify obstacles, and determine the best route.
You’ve probably seen rudimentary versions in cars with sensors that use a beeping noise to indicate proximity to an object. A more advanced example are the self-operated trains in public transit systems. With the help of lidar, radar, GPS, odometry, and computer vision, these vehicles operate independently.
With an autonomous car, age and visual impairment are no longer an issue, and there is a reduced need for traffic management systems (including traffic lights) to avoid collisions. Speed limits are less important, as cars can follow closely behind one another, which results in less traffic and a reduction in accident rates. You can literally sit back and enjoy the ride.
Outro
Leave a comment and let me know what other new technologies you’re excited about.
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Hi, I’m Daniel. I’ve founded a few companies including Piccsy (acq. 2014) and EveryGuyed (acq. 2011). I am currently open to new career and consulting opportunities. Get in touch via email.
This article was co-authored by Aaron Fox.
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