More now than ever, technology consumes our daily lives and interactions. We are making history to an extent we may not even be able to imagine. Additionally, that history will be more readily accessible via technological archives and decay-proof websites.
Read the table below to compare technologies from 30 years ago to the technologies that lie ahead, 30 years into the future. Much of the information below was presented in Michio Kaku‘s book Physics of the Future
Glasses and Contact Lenses
…From the past…
30 years ago, glasses were made with large, plastic frames with the sole purpose of bettering eyesight.
A little over 30 years ago, developments were also made in the chemistry of contact lens care. Rigid lenses, composed of polymethyl methacrylate, did not easily allow oxygen to pass through to the cornea, causing several clinical issues.
Rigidity issues persisted for a number of years; true progress in the field of eyewear–specifically with relation to contact lenses–was not made until just around 15 years ago with the development of silicone hydrogels. These have the extremely high oxygen permeability of silicone but also the performance quality of conventional hydrogels used with rigid lenses.
Since then, there have not been many other significant eyewear advances, with the exception of sunglasses. Many sunglass brands have introduced new and improved polarized technology in which lenses are injected at high pressures to increase optical clarity and decrease distortion. This improvement has resulted in glare-reduction.
…To the future…
Fast forward 30 years. Glasses and contacts better your eyesight–they’re helpful, but now they’re also intelligent. With the blink of an eye, you can browse the World Wide Web, watch a video, phone a friend, and more. This is made possible by minuscule computer chips that are to be placed inside glasses and contact lenses. Images, triggered by a handheld device, are flashed from our glasses to our retinas. One can also translate any information into different languages and render subtitles when speaking to a foreigner. This does, however, pose problems to students in schools who would presumably have a much easier time cheating as a result of a more readily accessible, even omnipresent Internet. So far, Google has made a prototype of computerized glasses called Google Glass. Simply put, these glasses act like a computer built into lenses. Google Glass will be available to consumers in 2014, so keep your eyes open for a pair! Watch the video below for a perspective on life from a Google Glass wearer! (Editor’s note: It’s a must-see.)
Television Technology
…From the past…
30 years ago, there was an explosive boom in the video and television industry. More TV channels and programs arose; picture quality skyrocketed; HD was created to increase the clarity of these now-compact bundles of entertainment. More recent 3D technologies offset images in order to create the illusion that on-screen images extend beyond the pixels of a monitor and into real life. Some 3D TVs call for glasses that split images; some go au naturale, using a light source to split images directionally so that the 3D phenomenon can be enjoyed without any props.
…To the future…
Fast forward 30 years. Televisions are thinner and lighter than ever. They are now known as “wall screens.” We easily conduct meetings from home, chatting via our wall screens, which promote a sense of “interactivity.” Remember video chats and teleconferences? They’ve been replaced by telepresence: the images and sounds of coworkers are present in glasses or contact lenses. You can virtually interact with people across the globe to an even greater extent than before. Additionally, family gatherings and vacations are planned via the wall screen. Remember Match.com? Tinder, even? Throw that all away, for you can now find a date or meet new people through your TV at home, as you might do now through the World Wide Web.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Paper
…From the past…
Paper was paper, and it was the same as it is now despite the progressive domination of typing over handwriting. Do you ever even think of paper as utilizing technology? Maybe you see it as an example of a lack thereof, but when it’s used to share Luther’s 95 Theses, for example, it’s pretty powerful technology, comparable to today’s high-tech world of social media.
…To the future…
Paper will be a figurative term, flexible and electronic in reality. Using OLEDs, “paper” is extremely optically and technologically stylized. These screens are paper thin, and you can turn one “sheet” into a an iPad-sized device or even a flat screen TV. Laptops and desktop computers are embarrassingly outdated, as we can now use this foldable paper for the same purposes. In the near-to-distant future, scrap paper will evolve into scrap computers. Computer chips will render many, many things “intelligent,” and they will not drain your wallet like they do in today’s electronic industry.
Medical Care
…From the past…
30 years ago, medical care was very much in development. Currently, new medicines and cures are being sought out for the greater good and general well-being of people.
…To the future…
You won’t worry about going to the doctor for an annual physical. But of course, when you do go for a checkup, you don’t physically travel. Robotic software, programmed throughout your bathroom or on your wall screen, keeps track of your health. Because everything is artificially intelligent, medical records are kept through what you eat, the activities that you do, etc. “Doctor” software has a complete record of your genes and can recommend medical treatments and a lifestyle that best suit you. As a result, your risk of developing diseases will be significantly lower. For example, if you are going to have cancer, your “intelligent doctor” can recognize it years before the development of anything malignant. This way, cancer has disappeared from the human language…
Unprecedented developments in technology are being made at this very moment at exponential rates, and the progress that is to be made within the next couple of decades may surprise you just as the progress of our generation would shock our predecessors. To learn more about future technology and inventions, take a look at Michio Kaku‘s book Physics of the Future!
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