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Technology Predictions
A Layperson's View of Future Technology and Society
How far will technology advance in 20, 30, even 50 years from now? How will it affect our lives? Here are some technologies and scenarios predicted by science fiction writers, futurists, technology experts, me and you.
Note: This list was originally compiled on the back of a cocktail napkin at the Time Warp Bar & Grill in Sparks, Nevada. Please consider it accordingly.
Predictions with green arrow sent by visitors.
Predictions in blue link to more information.
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Intelligent machines |
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The Singularity |
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Computers that predict the future |
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Original music from software/machines |
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Computer mediators that resolve legal disputes |
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Machines/robots given rights |
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Planet sized A.I. machine |
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I-bots, or AIs that exist only on the Internet |
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Artificial animal intelligence |
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Extended/eternal life |
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Synthetic life |
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Repairing/manipulating DNA |
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Organ replacement / growing organs |
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Designer babies / designer bodies |
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Personalized drugs |
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Gene therapy/manipulation |
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Biostasis - Cryogenic sleep |
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Human cloning |
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Virtual/robot medicine |
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Instant pain relief |
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Bionic implants to allow for extreme strength |
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Morphing of the human body |
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Age reversal |
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Creation of organisms |
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Synthetic organs |
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Enhanced senses |
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Alteration of our bodies in superhuman ways |
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Bionic limbs |
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Never have to sleep or eat |
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Use genes of other animals to implant in us |
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Artificial immune system |
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Computer generated life, e.g., design a tree, generate a seed, plant it in the ground and watch the tree grow |
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Creation of new animal and plant species by genetic manipulation |
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Human/animal waste elimination |
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Gene manipulation to change eye and hair color at the salon |
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Cloning of dinosaurs |
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A capsule that can be swallowed which will cure all diseases |
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Instant hair color changer |
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Medicine that increase life of human being |
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Cloning machines |
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Genetically altered humans that can photosynthesize |
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A new sense discovered, example eyes see a new type of wave, ears hear a type of wave.....another useful sense for humans |
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Viruses that can give super powers |
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Download your memories/brain |
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Complete digital record of your life |
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Mind/emotion control devices |
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Dream control devices |
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Brain enhancement implants - memory, telepathy |
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Transfer of information into the visual cortex or subconscious mind |
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Artificial telekenesis - an implant to alter physical things with your mind. |
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Brain Transplants |
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Tapping into unused parts of the brain |
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Download training experience, e.g., someone could be able to fly a jet or guide a submarine |
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Memory/personality manipulation |
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Increasingly bulging and Grays-shaped heads |
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Replication and/or transformation of one chemical element to another |
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Super lubricant |
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Artificial spider silk |
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Matter Reformation. Taking any piece of matter and turning it into something entirely different (trash or feces into food or plastic) |
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Catoms, or claytronic atoms. Programmable matter |
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Megacities/entire world is one city |
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Moving/floating/underwater cities |
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Underground cities |
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Cities/houses could be one huge organism which can repair itself |
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Self-constructing buildings, built on demand |
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Anti-seismic buildings |
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Vertical (skyscraper) farms |
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Instant information |
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Virtual presence |
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Wireless everything |
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One small mobile device does everything |
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Virtual reality |
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Internet-connection implant |
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All media (movies, tv shows, etc.) on-demand |
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Holographic messages |
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Language translator implants |
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Telepathy |
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Phone implant |
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A house phone which is a mobile when you leave the house with it |
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Cyberspace telekinesis |
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Computers equivalent to the human brain |
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Nanoscale computers everywhere |
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Optical computers |
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DNA computers |
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Quantum computers |
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Global network |
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Computers that animals can use |
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Self editing software |
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Faster than Light or Instant Data transfer |
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Laptops built in desks |
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Computers that never crash, are impervious to all viruses, never a need to reboot |
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Mind-reading Computers (Computers able to Communicate w/Humans via Thoughts) |
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Holographic touch screen computers |
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A computer that can turn into the size of a small sticky note |
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Micro supercomputer |
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Weather control |
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Abundant food and water supply from technology |
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Eco-manipulation (deserts into forests) |
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Man-made precious materials like gold |
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Mining of Earth's mantle |
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Recycling of everything |
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Water shortages |
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Technology is developed to help nature |
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Ability to instantly purify water so all water is drinkable |
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Carbon dioxide into oxygen |
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Universal tunnel boring machine |
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Replicate (man-made) planet Earth | |
Global Warming Stabilizer |
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Pollution clean up machines |
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Artificial oxygen and ozone layer |
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Printable/paintable/flexible/see-through electronics, screens, touch panels, solar panels |
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Invisible video/sensor surveillance | |
Holograms |
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Holographic tv on your wrist |
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Voice/brain command over computers and appliances |
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Contact lens displays/computers |
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Glasses that can see different wavelengths |
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Devices controlled by eyes (wheelchairs, computers, etc) | |
Nuclear powered devices |
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Holodecks |
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Nano devices |
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Intelligent jewelry, e.g., wristwatches that monitor blood pressure and pulse, necklace that measures brain activity. |
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Energy force fields |
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Room temperature superconductors |
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Scanners to ring up everything in a basket at once |
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Three dimensional television without need for cumbersome glasses |
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Wireless internet access points will be embedded in everyday objects |
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Self-charging electronics |
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Small remote projects a virtual touch screen |
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Holographic mobile phone |
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Powered suits that multiply human capabilities (Ironman type) |
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Voice texting |
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Ultra High Definition TV |
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Eco-friendly fuel |
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Unlimited renewable energy |
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Wireless energy |
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Alternative nuclear energy (fusion, antimatter...) |
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Eco-friendly electricity |
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Generating electricity from biomass or water |
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Free energy |
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Hyperexcited plasma. This type of plasma could be used to phase through solid objects It may also be used to provide the ability of flight.` |
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Solar mutualism. Directly taking plasma from the sun and using it to power devices |
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Using liquid metallic hydrogen, and eventually liquid metal anything, for experiments in energy |
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Resonance power |
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Ice cream that won't melt |
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Genetically modified beans could propel all of our power stations and cars and also heat our homes cheaply |
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Algea superfood that is easy to produce and is omnipotently healthy. Humans can survive on this and nothing else for extended periods of time |
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Printable/self constructing homes and buildings |
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Eternal beer fountain (Uncle Walt's prediction) |
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Smart homes |
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Self washing, drying, and folding clothes |
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intelligent/adaptable fabrics and clothing |
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Personalized ergonomics |
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Ultrasonic showers |
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Replicators |
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Hanging house |
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Pets that live forever |
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All surfaces are disinfecting and cleansing |
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Walls, ceilings, (all other room surfaces) are digital screens. Can turn room into any environment with sounds and smells |
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Soundproof rooms. Soundproof energy fields that you can walk through |
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Self-cleaning tabletop and dishes |
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Design your clothes in your computer the morning before wearing it |
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Device that cleans your mouth from sugar/cavities/smoking in seconds |
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Walls that talk |
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Clothes can change design to suit mood or occasion |
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Self-Filling Pool |
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Manipulate matter at the atomic scale |
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Custom molecules |
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Intelligent/adaptable materials |
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Self replicating machines |
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Nanoswarms/grey goo |
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Desktop nano-factories build anything |
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Frictionless surfaces |
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Artificial black holes |
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Artificial worm holes |
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Traveling faster than light |
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Invisibility cloaks |
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Zero-point energy |
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Ability to alter space and time |
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Time machine |
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Portals to other universes/dimensions |
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Super strength magnets |
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Ultraterrestialism. The ability to exist in multiple universes/dimensions at one time |
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Personal/care giving/cleaning robots |
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Nanobots |
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Robots perform majority of labor jobs |
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Robot partners (wife/husband) |
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Exoskeletons |
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Sentient robots |
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Robotic prosthetics |
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Robots controlled remotely with mind link |
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Security robots |
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Robots with a genetic code |
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Robotic cashiers/tellers |
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Robot rock bands |
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Robot pets and animals |
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Robot spies |
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Robotic flying insects |
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Rescue robots |
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Robot haircuts |
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Digital money |
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Language translators |
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Anti-technology groups |
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Transhumanism (humans merge with machines) |
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Identification/credit card implant |
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Cashless society |
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Paperless society |
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Personalized advertising |
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Compatibility testers |
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Mental entertainment |
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Bio-identification |
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People can encode themselves and live in a computer's memory/program (matrix) |
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Total elimination of warfare and its causation |
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Unemployment rates sky high due to robots replacing people in the workforce |
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World peace |
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Insight into the post-death experience |
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Everyone does what they want but only in dreams |
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New sports |
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Everyone is connected |
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People will work to enhance their mental skills (to increase their IQ and EQ levels) in place of working for money |
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Celebrity scientist teams |
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World destruction by humans or technology |
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Instead of working for money, people take up a hobby they enjoy and focus on excelling in that |
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Using technology to become a real life super-hero or super-villain |
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Futuro-Collectivism. We will all move beyond capitalism one day, because if we evolve, we'll become a collective. |
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Space elevator |
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Alien contact |
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Colonizing space |
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Planetary/terra formation (creating planets) |
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Orbital stations |
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Solar sails |
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Mining of the moon/planets/asteroids |
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Starships |
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Life on Mars |
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Control the rotation of the planets |
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Travel to other galaxies |
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Black hole generator |
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Space tourism |
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Alien invasion |
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Interplanetary trade |
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Duplicate planet Earth |
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Creating man-made suns |
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Rail-gun space stations used to shoot projectiles, drones, etc. into deep space |
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Shipless Space Travel |
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human alienism, or advanced humans visiting a primitive alien planet |
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Galactic alliances |
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Using genetic manipulation to create aliens to live on alien planets |
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Universe creation/destruction |
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Self-driving cars on smart-highways |
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Flying cars - Anti-gravity devices |
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Teleportation |
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Time machine |
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Inertia dampeners, anti acceleration or anti breaking devices |
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Ion or electromagnetic propulsion |
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Flying boots |
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Boots with turbo and wheels |
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Underground highways |
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Unmanned cargo ships |
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Transforming transportation, cars that fly, planes that swim, boats that go on land |
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Warp speed (traveling faster than light) |
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Use clothes to fly. Clothes fly to laundry. |
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Vehicles respond to environment (car lights automatically dim when another car's lights approach) |
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Plasma Engines |
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Satellite controlled cars |
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Electric cars that don't need recharging |
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Solar powered cars |
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Transporter |
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Submarines will be equipped with air recycling technology that will allow them to stay under water for longer periods of time |
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Vehicles move along an internet signal |
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Visitor Comments
08.07.10
House able to link to GPS of residents and know when each arriving home. All heat/air turned off when no one home, but can turn on in time to cool or heat before get home as it would be able to tell when someone would be arriving. - Anonymous
08.05.10
window tint adjusts from opaque/dark at night to shades lighter as needed during the day, with voice command overrides as needed - Anonymous
07.29.10
May be the roof of smart house also has artificial chlorophyll as an oxygen generator :) Just an idea. - Andry
FAB TREE HAB
Image courtesy of Mitchell Joachim
This symbiotic home concept proposes a method to grow life sustaining homes from native trees. It is one of many futuristic and environmentally friendly designs that can be found at terreform.org.
Engineering the Smart Home
In creating the home of the future, engineers seek to understand what technologies are best suited for the home and how much technology its residents can tolerate.
Research is mainly being done in these areas:
Health - Monitoring your health, with emphasis on assisting the elderly.
Networking - Connecting occupants and everything else in the house together
Interfacing - You and technology living with each other in harmony.
Pervasive Computing - Tiny processing devices everywhere.
Environment - Reducing environmental impact.
Energy - Every home produces its own energy.
Robotics - Robot assisted living. Cleaners, caregivers and companions.
One way researchers test futuristic home ideas is to build a smart home, then invite people to live in it. Technologies for the smart home are being tested in living laboratories like these:
Smart Home Dorm Opens Its Doors
Future Home Articles, Blogs and Web Sites
All Links open in a new window. Bold = Recommended. Links do not imply endorsement.
| Title | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Twenty top predictions for life 100 years from now | BBC | 01/12 |
| 'Roll it' turns compact housing on its head | Gizmag | 07/11 |
| Talking to the Wall | Technology Review | 06/11 |
| Buildings Made with a Printer | Technology Review | 04/11 |
| The "Smart Home" Is Finally Here, Says One Expert | CBS News | 01/11 |
| Latest in technologies will be part of sustainable smart home | IFP | 06/10 |
| Smart homes to tell you if elderly relative has had a fall | Daily Mail | 06/10 |
| Your Future Home's Roof Will Be Eco-Friendly Too | Fast Company | 10/09 |
| Tricked-Out Inflatable House Provides Instant Survival | Wired Science | 11/08 |
| Organic dye lets window panes harvest the Sun | New Scientist | 07/08 |
| Is there a smart home in your future? | CNET | 08/07 |
| Chasing a Habitable Home of the Future | NPR | 05/06 |
| Bendable Concrete | University of Michigan | 05/05 |
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Built Green | Green home building program |
| Counter Intelligence | MIT Media Lab |
| Heat reactive paint | Alsa Corp. |
| How Smart Homes Work | How Stuff Works |
| Interactive Architecture | InteractiveArchitecture.org |
| Monsanto House of the Future | Yesterland |
| Reinventing the Home Appliance | Microsoft |
| SmartHome | ABC News |
| Smart Home: Green + Wired | Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) |
| Description | Sources |
|---|---|
| Advanced Neighbourhood (futuristic architecture artwork) | MocoLoco |
| Future Home Displays Comforts of Tomorrow | YouTube |
| Future Kitchen | Flickr |
| Future Kitchen | Flickr |
| GE future concept for kitchen | YouTube |
| H-P's Home of the Future | YouTube |
| Inside Microsoft's Future Home | YouTube |
| Kitchen of the Future | YouTube |
| Microsoft's Future Vision in HD Windows Home Concept | YouTube |
| Sony House of the Future: Select Reviews | YouTube |
| South Korea's home of the future | YouTube |
| Article | Sources |
|---|---|
| Smart Home | Article by ffa Image licensed from istock - do not copy |
Warning:
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