10 Ways the Next 10 Years Are Going To Be !

We are living in an extremely exciting time in terms of science and technology. Things that have always been considered science fiction are becoming normal day-to-day components of our lives. And while we have been seeing invention breakthrough over and over in the last couple of decades, the next ten years is going to blow everything else out of the water. To give you an idea of the magnitude of this reality, here are 10 amazing innovations to different sectors of life.

1) Architecture

Revolving Tower in Dubai

While Dubai is currently known for it’s ridiculous extravagance, developers in the region are building a tower that has fancy and extremely practical applications.

This beautiful building is going to be made of 59 independently rotating modules/floors so that inhabitants will have a constantly shifting view of the outside world. Each floor will rotate at approximately 6 meters per minute so that the inhabitants will not notice the movement. The independent rotations will also give the building an ever-changing exterior that can warp into very complex designs.

All of that aesthetic stuff is great and all, but the real innovation comes from the wind turbines built in between each floor. The resulting pollution-free energy will be enough to power the tower and several buildings in the surrounding area. Just Wow.

2) Bio Technology

Bionic Hand controlled by brain signals

It doesn’t let you crush rocks like you would think, BUT it does allow people without fingers to have fully functional hands that can pick up and handle delicate objects. It is completely controlled by the brain and requires no surgery. Touch Bionics, the company the produces the Pro Digits hand, is able to install the hand complete with “living skin,” a plastic covering resembling human skin, for under $50,000.

3) Cars and Fuel

Electric Car to Power Your Home

There are tons of different fuel-types for the “automobiles of tomorrow” but the only kind that seems to have any realistic chance of actually being used by the masses in the next ten years is electric. A new charging station for the all-electric Nissan Leaf allowing users to pull power from the car to for use in their home.

It allows power to flow in both directions so that the house can power the car and the car can also power the house. This kind of interconnected smart technology that only uses the power it needs and actually gives back some power that it doesn’t need is truly remarkable. It’s something that’s been talked about for years and is finally coming to market.

4) How We Interact With the World

Google Glasses With Virtual And Augmented Reality

Google is expected to start selling eyeglasses that will project information, entertainment and many more information onto the lenses. These glasses will have the combined features of virtual reality and augmented reality. The glasses are not yet for sale. Google will, however, be testing them in public.

The Google Glasses can use a 4G cell connection to pull in information from Google’s mountain of data and display info about the real world in augmented reality on the lens in front of your eye. As you turn your head you’ll get information about your surroundings and nearby objects from Google Goggles, info on buildings and establishments from Google Maps, even your friends nearby check-ins from Latitude.

Google glasses are basically wearable computers, that will use the same Android software that powers Android smartphones and tablets. Like smartphones and tablets, the glasses will be equipped with GPS and motion sensors. They will also contain a camera and audio inputs and outputs.

Project Glass is one of many projects currently being built inside the Google X offices, a secretive laboratory near Google’s main Mountain View, Calif., campus where engineers and scientists are also working on robots and space elevators.

5) Energy

Sandia’s solar cells

Solar energy will soon leave fossil fuels and inefficient wind farms in the dust. According to Kurzweil, “the cost per watt of solar energy is coming down rapidly and the total amount of solar energy is growing exponentially. It has in fact been doubling every two years for the past 20 years and is now only eight doublings away from meeting all of the world’s energy needs.”

Emerging technology from a company called Sandia is making the reality that much closer.

Sandia’s solar cells are made of 100 times less material than the current top solar cells while operating at the same efficiency. Since the biggest hurdle in the path of solar power is the expensive and large nature of solar panels, these new microscopic cells will make a huge difference. For example, current panels are massive and require large motors to move them to track the sun. Sandia’s cells, on the other hand, would only need to be moved a fraction of a millimeter to track the sun efficiently while weighing next to nothing.

Even more amazing, they can be suspended in liquids and printed on flexible materials, allowing the cells to be places on any surface

6) Health

A company called Organovo has developed the first commercial 3-D bio printer that builds custom organs cell-by-cell. Each individual cell is based upon sample cells from the body of the customer. Organovo reports that veins and arteries will be available in 5 years, and more complex organs like hearts and livers in 10.

On a more general note, nanotechnology is revolutionizing the health world. The awesome combination of a higher understanding of how DNA works and the ability to create very small cellular parts is painting a very bright future for medicine.

Scientists are finding specific sequences of DNA that code for conditions like schizophrenia, autism and even aging. The cures are actually in sight.

7) Computer Speed, Size and Usability

Most people know of Moore’s Law from 1965 (the number of transistors we are able to cheaply put in computer chips doubles every year, thereby doubling the speed). However, most people don’t know that Moore, himself, came out and said his law will most likely fail finally in 2020 where the number of transistors we can put on chips will be limited by the laws of physics. Does this mean the exponential rise in computer processing speed will come to a halt in ten years?

Not a chance, says Jim Tully, chief of research for semi-conductors at Gartner. “The technology which will replace this is a bottom-up approach, where chips will be assembled using individual atoms or molecules, a type of nanotechnology.”

Ray Kurzweil, a well-respected Futurist, stated when this molecular computing technology comes out in 2020, computers will have the intellectual capability of human beings.

That Macbook Air, so thin, in fact, that it makes you wonder if physical computers will even exist in 2020. Well according to developers at Intel, the keyboard and mouse surely won’t. Who needs QWERTY when you can control a computer with your mind?

“We’re trying to prove you can do interesting things with brain waves,” said Intel researcher Dean Pomerleau. Eventually people may be willing to be more committed to brain implants. Imagine being able to surf the Web with the power of your thoughts.

8) Clothing

Nanotechnology in Clothing

Nano-fibres will make garments tremendously more comfortable and durable. By this process the textile products can be made more attractive, strong and responsive to customers’ choice.

Fiber-based nanogenerators will build up electrical energy in clothing from physical movement, ultrasonic waves and even blood flow. If we can combine many of these fibers in double or triple layers in clothing, we could provide a flexible, foldable and wearable power source that, for example, would allow people to generate their own electrical current while walking.

Extremely hydrophobic (water-resistant) nanofilaments allow for completely waterproof clothing. It can be submerged in water for two months and still remain dry to the touch.

9) Success and Popularity Accessibility

The internet is the perfect tool for capitalism, entrepreneurship, and dreaming. Whatever you can dream up, you can make possible on the World Wide Web

The ability of a 'Nobody' to come from nowhere and suddenly gain recognition and become a well known someone. The internet has been continually leveling the playing field so that you don’t need million in capital or marketing to get your ideas, creations and business into the spotlight.

Many 10 year-olds are making thousands off their viral YouTube videos. Anyone with a business idea can start a website and get going for little to no capital. Even Twitter can launch people into the spotlight if they can work the system in the right way.

Many people are getting huge jobs because companies are seeing how well their content does on the web. For example, Fede Alvarez, a director from Uruguay, recently had this short film go viral and was offered $30 million from a Hollywood company to direct a film for them.



10) Robots

The first decade of the 21st century has been a remarkable time for innovation in robotics. Recently a robot was able to teach itself human facial expressions by randomly contorting its face and receiving feedback on what resembled real expressions.

Bipedal version of BigDog that walks heel-to-toe just like humans do. Again, it can regain balance when shoved.