I believe the technologies of the future are a continuous building upon the present. At times inventions may appear to be huge leaps, but in reality they are logical progressions of existing ideas or novel combinations of both existing and new.
The iPhone, for example, can seem extremely ahead of its time (it was, of course, as compared to the competitors), but even that device was a combination of existing tech. As Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007, he said it was a:
- Widescreen iPod with touch controls,
- Revolutionary mobile phone, and
- Breakthrough internet communicator
MP3 players, mobile phones, and the networks required to communicate over the internet all existed before the iPhone. But the iPhone brought them together in novel ways.
The "problem"
- We are dependent on physical screens to access our digital world. TV's, computer monitors, and smartphones all have screens. They are a fixed size, and TV's and PC monitors generally are fixed to a single location. Even with laptops and smartphones, moving around while looking at the screen requires coordination and one or both hands.
- With these many devices comes different data stores and modes of authentication. At your PC you may store documents, photos, etc. While your Xbox is used for gaming, and your smartphone for apps. Each one is registered to you in some way, usually authenticated by some form of a password.
The problems listed above may not seem like problems to you, but to me it seems inefficient to depend on so much physical hardware (especially screens and monitors).
My present-day connectivity is intermittent, bouncing between all devices. Here is a typical weekday:
- I wake up and check for any important messages on my smartphone.
- I arrive at work and utilize that PC for work in my office.
- I come home and use my laptop for browsing the web and other personal work. Maybe watch something on TV as well.
- While throughout the day I may have several brief interactions with my smartphone.
Each bullet above requires actively seeking out, authenticating, and differentiating the devices for specific tasks.
My prediction: hyper fluidity
Like the iPhone, my prediction builds on and combines many existing technologies:
My prediction: hyper fluidity
Like the iPhone, my prediction builds on and combines many existing technologies:
- Wireless hard drives. These devices allow you to connect your data to any device over Wi-Fi. This is useful as it removes the need for wires or complicated connections requiring software, drivers, etc.
- Smartphone to laptop. This invention allows you to turn your smartphone into a laptop (kind of). Plugging the phone into a special laptop gives you essentially a full laptop experience running off the phone's software.
- Authentication apps and tech. These allow you to authenticate with other services using a two-factor approach or your fingerprint, eyes, etc.
- Voice and gesture control. Think Amazon Echo and Xbox Kinect.
- The cloud. Software as a service through cloud providers is key as it reduces the need for both hardware and software at every endpoint.
- Drones (of course). Drones are getting quite sophisticated. They can stick to walls and ceilings, and can even coordinate among themselves.
My vision is one of hyper-fluid connectivity. Where your data, files, etc. are always within "reach," but you do not use your hands. Where authentication is seamless. Where moving from business to personal is instant. And where you are not tied to a specific location.
Imagine having a cup of coffee at your kitchen in the morning, and wanting to see the news. Why lug your laptop over? Why pull out your smartphone? Why not be hands-free and have your super-quiet smart drones do it? And they'll do it in a way which ensures proper posture by putting a display at your exact eye level.
Here's a concept sketch -- note that the screen in this is not a typical monitor simply being held up by the drone, rather it could be a projection or other type of light-weight and re-sizable display medium.
Here's a concept sketch -- note that the screen in this is not a typical monitor simply being held up by the drone, rather it could be a projection or other type of light-weight and re-sizable display medium.
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| Illustration by Empty Bee Artwork & Photography |
The Smartphone to Laptop idea listed above demonstrates the desire for people to need just one device for everything. My prediction is that one device will turn into something which can help authenticate and connect to a fleet of drones. It will be the bots who know who you are and which apps, files, etc. you have access to. There be significantly less need for traditional physical screens or monitors. A display will be able to appear anywhere the necessary amount of drones can go.
Our phones may get smaller, and used simply for as a secondary authenticator. Allowing us to connect to drones and other bots as needed. The drones will learn our preferences, styles, and eventually be able to predict what we want. It may not just be displaying the news while drinking coffee, but also making the cup of coffee.
Will I buy a new TV soon? Yes, probably. But I am hoping soon after I will just need to buy 4K-capable projection drones with internet connectivity, authentication, and swarm capabilities to coordinate between my other ultra-smart drones.
UPDATE (10/24/16): I feel like we are one step closer to the vision above based on this amazing research done by the Ishikawa Watanabe Laboratory in Tokyo. Their image projection technology can keep an image stable even with a moving target object as the screen. Here is their video:
UPDATE (10/24/16): I feel like we are one step closer to the vision above based on this amazing research done by the Ishikawa Watanabe Laboratory in Tokyo. Their image projection technology can keep an image stable even with a moving target object as the screen. Here is their video:
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