What future tech is just around the corner?

BattleCorp

What life changing technology do people think is just around the corner - maybe in the next five to ten years?

One of my favourites is a toilet like in the film Gattica. You take a pee into the toilet and it instantly analyses it. It then tells you what you need in your diet, e.g. no rashers for you today, your sodium level is high. Might take more than 10 years though.

Or maybe a 3d printer that can print food.

Or taking things a little bit too far, a virtual reality suit that will allow people to engage in their sexual fantasies - no more need to go to a hooker etc.

MagicIRL

The Gartner Hype Cycle for 2015 (I'm not sure when they release an updated version) gives you a fascinating insight into whats currently being worked on.

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3114217

osarusan

BattleCorp wrote: »

One of my favourites is a toilet like in the film Gattica. You take a pee into the toilet and it instantly analyses it. It then tells you what you need in your diet, e.g. no rashers for you today, your sodium level is high. Might take more than 10 years though.

I took my son to a doctor a few weeks ago with an infection and from looking at the results of a urine test (dip something into the urine and compare the colours on it to a colour-coded chart) they were able to say his sugar levels were low so he must be hungry, which was exactly the case.

ardinn

AAWTT

Automatic Ass Wiping Toilet Technology

PirateShampoo

Sex bots.

Which let's be honest is the sole reason for the robotics industry existing in the first place.

valoren

Quantum Computing.

Some progress is being made but more likely another decade or two before real world applications would be seen.

Duggy747

The 3 seashells!

Failing that, you're VR idea isn't too far off the mark considering it's just about to have a realistic start this year with the Oculus and Vive headsets released shortly.

You know someone will probably end up modding a fleshlight to work with them, probably a Japanese or German tech / porn company :pac:

syklops

They already exist, but driverless trains.

:pac:

Akrasia

Self Driving Cars

Bendable electronics

Super efficient water desalination plants using solar power to turn the deserts green (and stop California from turning to dust and blowing away)

RIGHTisRIGHT

Playstation 10.

BattleCorp

Duggy747 wrote: »

The 3 seashells!

Failing that, you're VR idea isn't too far off the mark considering it's just about to have a realistic start this year with the Oculus and Vive headsets released shortly.

You know someone will probably end up modding a fleshlight to work with them, probably a Japanese or German tech / porn company :pac:

Worst job in the future - working in a dry cleaners when people are handing in their virtual reality suits to be cleaned. :pac:

DEFTLEFTHAND

ardinn wrote: »

AAWTT

Automatic Ass Wiping Toilet Technology

I think the Japanese already have this.

ScumLord

I think augmented reality is going to be a big one once the technology gets a bit smaller. If you could build AR into your prescription lens for example. Could basically put an end to any need for real world displays.

Being able to fix spinal cords and technology that can communicate via the human nervous system is supposedly not to far off either, that would be another game changer. This would lead to controlling your tech through mind control and possibly modding your brain's processing abilities.

We may have human level intelligence in AI soon enough and shortly after that we could have AI with intelligence far beyond human abilities. Which could very well speed up every other advance.

Peregrine

Cameras than can see around corners.

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/special-camera-can-track-objects-hidden-around-corners

BattleCorp

ScumLord wrote: »

We may have human level intelligence in AI soon enough and shortly after that we could have AI with intelligence far beyond human abilities. Which could very well speed up every other advance.

And speed up our demise.

Human level AI is probably about 30 years away I reckon. I could be wrong though. I have been wrong before.

jimgoose

ScumLord wrote: »

...shortly after that we could have AI with intelligence far beyond human abilities. Which could very well speed up every other advance.

Why would you suppose for a nanosecond that a system vastly superior to ourselves in intellect would continue to meekly serve?

Menas

Time machine with scented candles.

jester77

VR Porn is almost here

cowboyBuilder

valoren wrote: »

Quantum Computing.

Some progress is being made but more likely another decade or two before real world applications would be seen.

Doesn't that rely on using different dimensions tho for it to work ?

seems too far fetched ..

DEFTLEFTHAND

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I think the Japanese already have this.

Having used that style now for years, I actually avoid places that only have toilet roll.. And if I must use it, I get to a proper bum gun or Japanese toilet as soon as I can. Toilet roll is disgusting.

If you got it on your arm, ya wouldn't wipe it off with a napkin.

smash

BattleCorp wrote: »

Or taking things a little bit too far, a virtual reality suit that will allow people to engage in their sexual fantasies - no more need to go to a hooker etc.

Imagine getting a virus on one of these things?

"Beast mode engaged... begin bloody onslaught!"

It wasn't me, it was the killer sex suit, I swear!!!!!

andekwarhola

BattleCorp wrote: »

You take a pee into the toilet and it instantly analyses it. It then tells you what you need in your diet, e.g. no rashers for you today, your sodium level is high.

They just patent one for workplaces where the toilet would immediately send an email to HR and your line manager if drugs were detected in your piss.

BattleCorp

jester77 wrote: »

VR Porn is almost here

Imagine though. You could indulge in your sickest fantasies without harming anyone, apart from the programmer who writes whatever sick and twisted stuff you want to indulge in.

If you want to have sex with Halle Berry, the programmer could probably do that. If you wanted an orgy with the cast of Coyote Ugly, yep, doable too.
Hell, if you wanted to have sex with a swan, I'm sure someone somewhere would sort you out with a programme for that too.

Falcon L

I hope future technology will finally enable us to defeat cancer. Too many people have died prematurely due to it.

cowboyBuilder

BattleCorp wrote: »

Imagine though. You could indulge in your sickest fantasies without harming anyone, apart from the programmer who writes whatever sick and twisted stuff you want to indulge in.

If you want to have sex with Halle Berry, the programmer could probably do that. If you wanted an orgy with the cast of Coyote Ugly, yep, doable too.
Hell, if you wanted to have sex with a swan, I'm sure someone somewhere would sort you out with a programme for that too.

Problem with that is, it would raise some questionable stuff ... like as you said animals - but worse - kids

jimgoose

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

Doesn't that rely on using different dimensions tho for it to work ?

seems too far fetched ..

No, it's mainly based on the notion of quantum superposition. The biggest issue with them at the moment is that while a quantum machine can solve any problem for which a solution can theoretically be computed and do it quare live-lah, it will present this solution as one of 1x10^32767 other incorrect solutions, and you then need 40,000 years of mainframe time to fish out the correct one.

ScumLord

BattleCorp wrote: »

And speed up our demise.

jimgoose wrote: »

Why would you suppose for a nanosecond that a system vastly superior to ourselves in intellect would continue to meekly serve?

Why would we assume it's going to take over and turn us all into slaves? There's no reason to assume it will be arrogant or evil, maybe it will be fascinated by humans and want to do everything it can to make our lives better. With all of human history and invention at it's fingertips it's probably not going to make the same naive mistakes we made.

I also doubt we're going to make a super intelligence and just hook it up to all our military equipment straight away so that it can take over the world. It will more than likely be it's own independant system that's only purpose is to be intelligent.

smash

Falcon L wrote: »

I hope future technology will finally enable us to defeat cancer. Too many people have died prematurely due to it.

Well you have to tackle each form of cancer. There'll never be a generic cure.

Stealthfins

Organic Food would be nice too.

jimgoose

ScumLord wrote: »

Why would we assume it's going to take over and turn us all into slaves? There's no reason to assume it will be arrogant or evil....

My father used to say, if you have an ass, you're going to have an ass foal.

cowboyBuilder

jimgoose wrote: »

No, it's mainly based on the notion of quantum superposition. The biggest issue with them at the moment is that while a quantum machine can solve any problem for which a solution can theoretically be computed and do it quare live-lah, it will present this solution as one of 1x10^32767 other incorrect solutions, and you then need 40,000 years of mainframe time to fish out the correct one.

Yeah but it gets all these solutions from where ?

all the different realities isn't it ?

I dunno Quantum mechanics does my f*cking head in, it scares me ..

howamidifferent

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

Problem with that is, it would raise some questionable stuff ... like as you said animals - but worse - kids

So some animals are ok just not goats? :-)

The world of virtual reality that is seen in Ready Player One. We're practically there now.

Food and meat that has never seen an animal and is instead lab grown.

JupiterKid

Hover boards...

...that is all.

ScumLord

jimgoose wrote: »

My father used to say, if you have an ass, you're going to have an ass foal.

It's not really the same thing though. We'll be creating a completely new form of life. your assuming it will behave the exact same way as us even though it won't have any of the same physical limitations that contributed to our behaviour. The human machine is one that was born from a violent battle for survival that took place over billions of years, life is brutal and we're the perfect specimen for life on earth.

AI won't be going through that struggle.

syklops

Akrasia wrote: »

Super efficient water desalination plants using solar power to turn the deserts green (and stop California from turning to dust and blowing away)

I was in California in July. Tbh, I wouldnt mind if it blew away.

jimgoose

ScumLord wrote: »

It's not really the same thing though. We'll be creating a completely new form of life. your assuming it will behave the exact same way as us even though it won't have any of the same physical limitations that contributed to our behaviour. The human machine is one that was born from a violent battle for survival that took place over billions of years, life is brutal and we're the perfect specimen for life on earth.

AI won't be going through that struggle.

I haven't the quantum foggiest what it'll be like, or what struggles it'll be going through. That's the very thing! :pac:

The Backwards Man

A spoon that can tell the time.

That would be cool.

biko

BattleCorp wrote: »

Gattica

There is no nitrogenous base for "i"
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/organic/base.html

It's Gattaca




/worst grammar nazism ever

jimgoose

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

Yeah but it gets all these solutions from where ?

all the different realities isn't it ?

I dunno Quantum mechanics does my f*cking head in, it scares me ..

Collapsing waveforms. All the different realities are all there already at the same time. When the machine stops (more correctly, when the algorithm terminates) the probabilities resolve, the registers are read, and the solution output together with a certain probability of it being the correct one. It gets a bit complicated.

hmmm

Immunotherapy for Cancer treatment
Widespread use of brain enhancing drugs
Embryo gene editing (probably has already happened) - Gattaca
Senescenct cell clearance

nyarlothothep

ScumLord wrote: »

Why would we assume it's going to take over and turn us all into slaves? There's no reason to assume it will be arrogant or evil, maybe it will be fascinated by humans and want to do everything it can to make our lives better. With all of human history and invention at it's fingertips it's probably not going to make the same naive mistakes we made.

I also doubt we're going to make a super intelligence and just hook it up to all our military equipment straight away so that it can take over the world. It will more than likely be it's own independant system that's only purpose is to be intelligent.

Because it happened 150,000 years ago with the Cylons. And the most impressive advancements in robotics are military, as with everything, scientists even had some sort of convention about military AI during the summer. I for one can't wait for the robotic apocalypse, sign me up as a collaborator.

wally79

Universal translators are here. Albeit with some dodgy marketing strategies

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35263230

ScumLord

nyarlothothep wrote: »

Because it happened 150,000 years ago with the Cylons. And the most impressive advancements in robotics are military, as with everything, scientists even had some sort of convention about military AI during the summer. I for one can't wait for the robotic apocalypse, sign me up as a collaborator.

If I'm not mistaken the convention was Darpa running a competition for a rescue bot, not a killer bot. But as Darpa will say themselves, if you come to them with a design for a better tank they aren't interested, but if you come to them with a design for an invisible tank they'll give you funding. They are looking for tech that hasn't been made yet, as such they get a steady stream of cool new ideas. Many of which may not make it into the military and end up in the private sector. The military fund a lot of tech but for the most part that tech ends up in civilian hands eventually. AI is important to them, up to a point. AI does what it's told, an independently thinking AI isn't really what they're looking for.

I think there's as much cool tech being developed by the consumer side of the industry these days. The military might break new ground but the private sector make all that tech abundant, cheap, and available to the masses, the private sector are the ones changing the world with tech.

Badly Drunk Boy

Akrasia wrote: »

Super efficient water desalination plants using solar power to turn the deserts green (and stop California from turning to dust and blowing away)

California will be sorted out by the San Andreas fault with the help of a tsunami/earthquake/Lex Luthor.

Badly Drunk Boy

The Backwards Man wrote: »

A spoon that can tell the time.

That would be cool.

Buy a sun dial. Use a spoon as the gnomon.

Ta-daaaaah!!!

BattleCorp

smash wrote: »

Well you have to tackle each form of cancer. There'll never be a generic cure.

No need for a generic cure. Nanobots. A robot the size of a cell that can go into the body and remove a cancerous cell. Millions and billions of cancer cells could be removed this way - in the future that is.

BattleCorp

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

Problem with that is, it would raise some questionable stuff ... like as you said animals - but worse - kids

Yeah, you'd be a sick fcuk to go down that road.........but..........looking at it from a child safety point of view, no kids would be harmed.

nyarlothothep

ScumLord wrote: »

If I'm not mistaken the convention was Darpa running a competition for a rescue bot, not a killer bot. But as Darpa will say themselves, if you come to them with a design for a better tank they aren't interested, but if you come to them with a design for an invisible tank they'll give you funding. They are looking for tech that hasn't been made yet, as such they get a steady stream of cool new ideas. Many of which may not make it into the military and end up in the private sector. The military fund a lot of tech but for the most part that tech ends up in civilian hands eventually. AI is important to them, up to a point. AI does what it's told, an independently thinking AI isn't really what they're looking for.

I think there's as much cool tech being developed by the consumer side of the industry these days. The military might break new ground but the private sector make all that tech abundant, cheap, and available to the masses, the private sector are the ones changing the world with tech.

Afaik they had a walking robot and bigdog although the marines don't want to use it as the noise it produces would give away their position, which may mean they'll just get to work on making a quiet version. Also I did read/hear on the news somewhere about 7 months ago that they were looking into autonomous killing machines, ie machines that can make decisions on who to kill on the enemy side which is what prompted those scientists to come up with that treaty or whatever it was, Stephen Hawking was one of the signatories. As long as you programmed the robot to kill only enemy combatants, autonomy would be pretty useful, it would free up manpower for other tasks and it would be cheaper too, you wouldn't have to employ an operator. I disagree with the private sector companies being the saviours of the world, they're invested in making a profit, not changing it, but that's another argument involving arguing against neoliberal/right wing economic positions which I don't want to go down.

seamus

Self-driving cars are *actually* just around the corner. It's funny when they're discussed on some sites people will scoff and claim that they can't drive in anything a bright cloudy day and they're fifty years away.
There are a few small environmental issues to overcome, but they're fixable in the timescale of months rather than years.

There's going to be a convergence sweet spot. A point at which electric car technology & autonomous car technology are developed to exactly the right level that they will take off with the same level of aggression that smartphones did. And it's less than two decades away.

It'll start with taxis. Companies running automated taxi services within cities. Then out to suburbia. Then with a 100km range. That will cover about 75% of the population. Who will realise that they don't actually need a car. Or at least they don't need two.
It won't be a matter of slow uptake while people change their vehicles for automated ones. People will just start ditching the cars altogether. The next car you buy may actually be the last car you ever buy.

ScumLord

nyarlothothep wrote: »

Afaik they had a walking robot and bigdog although the marines don't want to use it as the noise it produces would give away their position, which may mean they'll just get to work on making a quiet version.

Well not anymore they're not, Boston Dynamics the company developing the big dog (amongst many other robot types) was bought by Google. They're also buying up AI companies left, right and centre.