January 1st 2014…. If the Back to the Future trilogy is correct, we are just a year away from flying cars and Hoverboards! Taking a step back to reality, we’re not quite there yet, but with the technology evolution snowballing into overdrive; it shouldn’t be too long before someone posts a Kickstarter to fund one.
The movie industry helps drive our imagination, in some cases when it comes to future technology, they get it right when we look at things like hand held communications devices, but other concepts such as flying cars and Hoverboards are way off the mark. I found this infographic on the web that I thought was pretty cool.
So what will 2014 bring us?
CES 2014 is currently running over in Las Vegas. A yearly tech conference and exhibition showboating new gadgets and technology innovation for the future. I unfortunatley won't be visiting, but in the spirit of technology evolution, I'd like to share with you some of the emerging technologies and concepts that I believe will quickly become a part of everyday life for all of us.
The next big things!
So here are a few things that I believe will continue to gather momentum over the next 12 months, and start to become more accessible to everyone.
3D printing
3D printing has in fact been around since the 1980’s but up until recently it has been extremely expensive, the machinery was as big as a sofa, and it was not particularly easy to operate. A few years back, the open source movement started building low cost 3D printers that were hundreds of pounds rather than thousands, as they used general bits of hardware, easily available electronics and some open source software to drive it. However, due to their complexity, building and using these were generally limited to the hard core makers and enthusiasts.
The father of the open source self-replicating 3D printing movement was Adrian Bowyer, the creator and owner of the RepRap Open Source 3D printer. Recently, they have started offering 3D Printer kits which can be constructed and up and running relatively quickly. We in fact built one here at DesignSpark. Companies like Makerbot also came along with productionised 3D printers based on this technology, meaning that now anyone who could use an inkjet printer, could use one of these. We also got our hands on a Makerbot and enjoyed playing with it. You can read our interview with Adrian here, and you can also read more about our experience in building a RepRapPro 3D Printer in our blog, as well as Andrew Back's
3D printing is an amazing technological revolution and there’s already printers that can print in metals and even some that can print food. There was a fascinating story run by the BBC last week that reported how RAF Tornado Fighter Jets are using 3D printed parts.
One day soon we will all probably have them in our homes, printing everything from spare parts for items found around the home to printing out our breakfast cereal. However, 3D Printing has raised cause for concern for some who see a dark side to the accessibility of 3D printing that could create a form of “Digital Terrorism” as the technology can be used to print out firearms from open source files posted on the internet. Yes it’s a problem, but many would argue a computer and an internet connection with malicious intent could cause as much damage…
The Internet of things
The concept of the Internet of Things is a massive network of Intelligent everyday objects embedded with electronics that can talk and interact with one another locally or across the internet. There are already applications on the market for things like Smart Homes where we can control our Set-Top Boxes, lights, heating and security over the internet, but also imagine applications like a smart umbrella that reads the weather forecast and lets you know on your way out of the door to pick it up as there’s a good chance of rain today.
Most of us have smart phones; my own may as well be surgically connected to me as I’m rarely more than a few feet away from it. Smartphones are fast becoming little hubs to our own personal internet of things that will communicate to the gadgets around us, including our clothing and vehicles. For those who have implants such as pacemakers, the internet of things will help monitor our personal wellbeing. JkVasan posted an interesting article last year about the medical industry and the concept of the Internet of things.
There is a growing popularity with sites like Xively, a public cloud for the Internet of Things. This has not only enabled many hobbyist and Hackers to control and monitor their own applications, but is also now being adopted by companies. With services like this, we are well on the way to building an ecosystem to support a global Internet of Things. However, one things lacking is a proper level of standardisation. The good news is many large corporations such as Cisco are working hard to promote and drive a common standard.
Wearable Tech
This concept isn’t new. I had my first digital watch in the late 70’s. Since then, the humble digital watch has evolved into things like GPS running watches. There are lots of examples of wearable tech, but my favourite by far is Google glass, which is effectively a voice activated heads up type display that connects to your smart phone. There are also amazing developments in smart fabrics, embedded with electronics that have all sorts of applications from military to leisure and the of monitoring of our well being.
Open Source
The world of Open Source is not just for hackers, many commercial organisations are starting to adopt elements of open source hardware and software into their products. Open Source is growing in popularity and is all about sharing IP. Users can save valuable time or take advantage of work created by more skilled engineers. Open Source also gives users the opportunity to take or modify code or designs that are already available and use them in their applications. Open Source is also a fantastic platform for people to collaborate on projects. A great example of this is the Open Releif project, a low cost open source project to deploy technology to help in disaster areas.
Learn more about Open Source in our Open Source Design Centre
So, these are a few technologies to keep an eye out for, and if anyone spots a Kickstarter for a Hoverboard, make sure you let me know!
Anything big things you think i've missed? Feel free to comment
Happy New Year!
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