Top Emerging Technologies

Today, we'll take a look into emerging technologies.  

Prompt: Come up with a list of 10 emerging technologies, and pick out three to go deeper in. 

Source: Unsplash


Ten Emerging Technologies

Not ranked in any particular order. 

  1. Satellite Internet - The ability to access the internet from anywhere - even in places where fiber and broadband simply don't exist. Could be the key needed to connect rural communities together. 
  2. Cloud Technology - Removing the need to buy hardware, and the transition over to SaaS and IaaS (software as a service, infrastructure as a service)
  3. 3D Printing - We can already print medical grade components for some use cases. Gone are the days where our best 3D printers make sloppy, fragile plastic toys - 3D printing is rapidly evolving and will only continue to grow. 
  4. 5G / Mobile Connectivity - At the moment, I honestly don't see much of a difference/improvement with 5G, and if anything more controversy than with previous cellular data generations. However, it does look promising, and will likely become more mainstream as time passes. 
  5. AI + ML - Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are two very buzzwordy topics, but they do genuinely have potential to transform some industries. They involve building "smart" machines capable of performing tasks that are normally only possible by humans. 
  6. Lab-Grown Meat - Also known as "cultured meat", this was what many of us thought of as the replacement for meat before plant based "meat" gained traction. Speaking of which...
  7. Plant Based Meat - The opposite site of lab-grown meat. It turns out that making this is surprisingly easier (and with less regulatory hurdles!) than lab-grown meat, both of which are reasons why it's gaining popularity quickly. 
  8. Gene Therapy - Using tools such as CRISPR, we may be able to finally cure genetic diseases. 
  9. Augmented Reality - The concept of overlaying computer-generated information on top of what you see in the real world. A combination of virtual reality and reality - normal reality is "augmented" with more information. 
  10. Drones - Drones may be used for a variety of purposes in the future. They may be used for faster, automated deliveries, access to areas previously inaccessible to humans, and more. 

 

Top 3

Satellite Internet

Have you heard of Starlink? While satellite internet is nothing new, it has historically been slow and expensive. Remember the controversy over Xfinity's 1TB data cap? Many existing satellite internet companies have caps between 10-100 GB, a fraction of what Xfinity's broadband internet cap is. (Note: I'm not saying this in support of Xfinity - simply giving a reference of something to compare to.)

5G

Touted as a "new kind of wireless network", 5G promises better mobile connectivity in every aspect. Better data transfer speeds, lower latency, and greater amounts of coverage. While adoption is slow - with Android devices only supporting it a year or two ago and the current iPhone generation (being the iPhone 12 series) being the first Apple devices to support it - it has a lot of potential for future growth. The first 4G service was publicly available in 2009 after all; it took quite a few years before 4G become widely adopted and used! 

Drones

Drones are the source of a lot of ethical dilemmas, especially autonomous drones. This can then be taken one step further to the concept of autonomous fighter drones - a discussion for another time. 

Outside of its ethical issues, drones can theoretically disrupt quite a few industries. One of the biggest ones is the shipping industry (specifically, the final portion that's typically done by a person right now). Amazon has ben working at this since 2016! We could very well see 30-minute deliveries in large cities within the next decade at this rate. 

Sources

Wikipedia for surface information (info on "ten emerging technologies")

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 1, 2021 at 2:27 PM

    I like that you mentioned 3D printing, I think 3D printing will become one of the main ways the world makes products and maybe even computer parts.
    I enjoyed reading it.

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