Motherfuckin' Robots: FOCUS: What other science fictiony technological advancements do you expect to come out within the next decade? What technologies do you hope (be reasonable) to have?
NB: I changed the thread title to something more appropriate. Anyway I was about to be jaded and enjoy a PB&J while fast forwarding through this video, but I watched it and then teared up about halfway through. In the next 10 years I anticipate that 40% of the North American GDP will be generated by World of Warcraft and Farmville, so technological development will probably otherwise grind to a halt. Except perhaps in the area of coffeemakers.
However, construction technology will progress to a state where the basic house is able to be built in 8 seconds. Further, each successive renovation will take progressively longer until you have to knock your neighbour's house down to be able to obtain the materials.
TED always fucks with me. So it fucks with you even more. I can only speculate with the shit the can imagine these days.
In the next 10 years: -A 100 Petaflop computer will be built -(Real) 4G speed will become the standard -Physical media will be almost fully be replaced with digital -The Wooley Mammoth will be resurrected -Life-like CGI will be rendered -AM radio will be discontinued -Medical nano-bots will be developed -
In the 10 year range? Not that much actually. We'll get more powerful versions of the iPhone and iPad, faster, lighter laptops, better TVs. 3D technology will be put back on the shelf, stuff like the Wii, I could also see that being a fad, and we'll go back to normal game controllers, just like with the Duck Hunt gun. But, I think there will be one advancement that could really change the world down the road, a midsize car that gets 40 mpg highway.
If you were being sarcastic, then I missed it. I'm not very bright. However, I don't understand why people keep thinking that more fuel efficient cars will be better. Gas prices will just go up and it'll still cost about the same per mile. Instead of $3.50 / gal and a car that gets 25 mpg, it'll be $5.60 / gal for a car that gets 40 mpg.
If you had a choice between traveling 400 miles on a ten gallon tank or 250 on the same tank at the same price of 56 bucks, which one would you choose? What am I missing here? I think youre expecting the ratio of gas price to MPG to stay the same. I honestly think that if oil prices rise and stay there and the middle east is truly unstable for the next decade, at least more unstable that it normally is, then there will be a big enough push to find alternative energies that at least one area will have a major breakthrough(cars, energy production,ect).
That's the cool side of robotics. Pretty neat exoskeletons but they don't have shit on the iRobot/MIT folks. I've been there numerous times as a guest and consultant for industrial applications. I've tried on a robotic sleeve that weighed no more than 7lbs over all (not including backpack power supply) and allowed me to curl, press, and articulate objects 3x heavier than I normally could. Micro motors and kevlar cable technology is advancing at an incredible rate. Its easy to imagine where lifting 3x the material on a worksite w/ zero wear and tear on your human parts would be valuable. The integration with nerve endings is going to be the area where there is significant progress over the next decade. There are sooooo many soldiers that are volunteering for implant procedures despite the risk and "work in progress" technology that exists.
No, I wasn't expecting that, I was only basing my comment on my own experiences. (Although, I did preface that by saying I wasn't very bright . . .) But, I have never owned a vehicle with only a 10 gallon tank. So, for long trips, I would want to get out, stretch my legs, get a drink about the same time my tanks runs out now - the extended range wouldn't be that important to me. For around town driving, the reduction in number of fill-ups wouldn't be that important to me. I think better fuel efficiency is fine, and there are some advantages. It's just that most of the time, I hear the argument that better mpg will either reduce gas prices, or cut our dependence on foreign oil. In my limited understanding, I don't believe either one of those - the former as I previously indicated, and the latter doesn't seem to be the real issue. Like, I don't think the general public cares the volume of oil we get, but the cost of the oil we get. And, I simply do not believe better mpg will impact that.
Not that I'm holding my breath for it, but affordable cars that drive themselves would just be the bees knees. Too hammered to drive home? No problem, the car can take your drunk ass back risk free! Long road trip and you feel like sleeping/watching movies/playing video games? No more arguing about who's turn it is to take the wheel, shit you could all get hammered in the comfort of your car and drink the trip away! Need to get into the city but don't want to pay for parking? No fucking problem, have the car drop you off and program it to park itself somewhere free, then call it back when you're ready to go!
I remember a video from a year or two back that demonstrated another exoskeleton. It was more reminiscent of the ones from Matrix:Revolutions in overall appearance, but not nearly as large. Military tech will have massive growth in the next few years. We already have DEWs (Directed Energy Weapons) that work, it's just a matter of making them feasible for use in battlefield conditions and on a large-scale. Two decades from now, our naval ships are supposed to have railguns. We already have working railguns, we just need to find a material to build them with that can withstand the heat and energy generated by the weapon. So, to the focus, I see the existence of fully functional versions of currently existing, but limited-in-use weapons. Also, I wouldn't be shocked to see a cancer cure in my lifetime. Research has led us to the point where we can cure it in mice, and the last I had heard it was now an issue of finding a way to convert it into something that would use the same basic idea to work in humans. Not that this would be affordable to any but a few, but just having such a capability would be astounding. Oh, and regarding the "car with x MPG" debate: We already have them. Someone on this board recently linked to an article discussing the disappearance of a 50 or so MPG engine, and moving away from fact I remember a rumor that Ford developed a 50-60 MPG car, but decided against rolling it out because of some issue they believed would prevent good sales (not performance).
Lots of variations of a 50+mpg motor exist the problem is that many of the engines are turbo diesel which has HUGE negative connotations with the American general public. They think trucks, buses, old smoggers belching black smoke and stink. Chances are they've seen plenty of modern turbo diesels but don't even realize it. The 2009 BMW 320d gets better than 57mpg while delivering a very drivable car. The EfficientDynamics packaged car which is specifically designed for low emissions and fuel consumption clocks nearly 69mpg. BMW 320d review
The problem with the exoskeletons is the same problem they are coming across in many other places. You won't see those exoskeletons in actual practice because there is no power source that is efficient enough, powerful enough, and portable to fit on the same skeleton. It's the same problem for Space Travel, for Alternative Energy Automobiles. To get a craft into space we need to sit astronauts on millions of pounds of fuel (explosives) which too often, but not unexpectedly explode. We are figuratively inventing the air plane before we have a motor. And we're not even stopping to try to invent the motor, we keep inventing things like cars, motorcycles, motor boats, all of which are utterly useless without a motor. None of these cool technologies will get anywhere until we have a Tony Starkesque Arc Reactor.