I am asked now and again what the “next big thing” will be. Some friends and acquaintances must think I have a crystal ball. I actually do have a crystal ball, but it doesn’t tell me a darned thing… I think the “next big thing” – things – will be small things and esoteric things that will change the life of the ordinary person. Here is what my I see – the next eight “big things”:
- Miniature medical devices – medical sensors and diagnostic apparatus that will be the size of a vitamin pill – highly miniaturized.
- Household power generators – methane processors and collectors (garbage in – gas out); home-solar and home-wind generator systems.
- Self-learning systems – new software-based devices and applications with a behavior that changes over time based upon your use and feedback.
- Personal transportation systems – more mopeds; new kinds of Segway-like devices, electric unicycles, portable motorized wheelchairs, single passenger cars.
- Electronic brain interfaces – you, too, may have telepathic abilities; and who needs a movie theatre or 3D glasses when you can just “push play” and step vividly into the action and even play an active role.
- Software agents – tiny and focused software applications that work in the background to do something for you automatically; you define the trigger, you define the task, and you put it on “autopilot”.
- Changeable and adaptable surface materials – self-repairing paint makes any scratches disappear overnight; smudge-immune window glass that never needs a spray of Windex™; self-cleaning toilet bowls and sinks that stay germ-free; active realtime texture control (from sandpaper to smooth dimples at your command).
- New battery chemistries and construction methods – an order of magnitude more capacity per unit volume – or even better than that is essential; hydrogen energy cells on a miniature scale (for your car or home, perhaps); until battery chemistry and construction methods improve capacity ten-fold or more, electronic cars and wind/solar power generators will only enjoy limited success, and disposable batteries will continue to be consumed and thrown away by the billion…
The next big thing won’t be “Big” – it will be “Huge” – but you may not be able to see it from a distance – or see it at all…
Stay Tuned for More!
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