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This Blog will explore and explain the way technology is developing around us and how it will have effects on our futures and that of future generations.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Writers Memo

For me this Inquiry Three project was by far my favorite Inquiry of the year. I felt that this allowed for me to express my own ideas and interests with technology of the future and how it will effect our everyday lives. I struggled the most with trying not to be biased on different technologies and tried to just explain what they did and how they can have a positive effect on the future generations. It was hard for me to not show that i appreciate one idea over the other and not spend too much of my blog on that one topic. Along with this another struggle i had was with creating the blog. At first i had a hard time setting up the blog the way that i wanted however, once figured out the whole blogging thing i really began to appreciate that i chose to make a blog over some other ideas that i had in the beginning. On the other side i enjoyed my topic of futuristic technologies because it is something that has interested me and allowed me to further examine these technologies and allowed for me to write about it. I would definitely say that this was over all so far my favorite inquiry and allowed me to examine the things i am interested in.

3-Dimensional

Three-Dimensional movies are becoming more and more popular and are moving from the movie theaters into the houses of people like you and I. 3D is becoming ever more popular because of the interactive feeling one gets when the movie or video is popping out at them and feels as though is about to touch them. 3D however is moving from more than just TV's but to video games and even cellphones of tomorrow.
The TV's of today are starting to allow for the viewing of movies in 3D and and even cable is now being able to be viewed in 3D. Video games are also starting to make games that incorporate the third dimension into their games. The Nintendo 3ds is soon to be released which allows for mobile 3D gaming on a handheld device with no need for 3D glasses. 
Another company, Hasbro is creating goggles which adapt to the iphone and allow for the three dimensional use  of iphone apps. However these goggles are not quite as pleasing on the eyes as other three dimensional goggles but this is only the beginning to the third dimension in cell phones and the house. 

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Computers vs. Human Brains

Computers today are be coming quicker and smaller than ever. The Macbook air is one of the slimmest lightest computers available today and is able to fit in a manilla envelope. Tablet computers are becoming even more popular, a computer that is touchscreen and a larger version of touchscreen cell phones that are being created today. Tablet computers are becoming more popular because they are portable and make presenting much easier.
However computers are not only getting smaller and smaller but supercomputers are becoming smarter and smarter. The IBM computer "Watson" is a supercomputer that participated on the show Jeopardy. A chinese supercomputer has now been created with capabilities far beyond those of any other supercomputer. The development of computers with capabilities past that of the human brain is becoming more and more evident.

Weapons of Tomorrow

One of the most developing technologies of the future focuses on weaponry. The weapons being designed right now for the future are designed on the basis of making it safer for soldiers to operate. Soldiers safety is the most important aspect of designing weapons for the future. From guns which allow you to shoot from around a corner to planes that do not require pilots the opportunities are endless. 
Drones are being designed today to not only observe areas behind enemy lines without a pilot but even carry weapons to fire without being piloted from the plane. These drones are becoming more and more a part of the future because they limit the risk of pilots to be killed in action. The use of pilotless planes allows for the pilots to pilot the planes from thousands miles away and not behind enemy lines. On the other side of this technology the Boeing corporation has began creating a laser that can be mounted to a Hummer which is able to fry the computer system of a drone plane.


Engineers are now even creating remote control vehicles that are able to entire hostile environments prior to the entrance of soldiers. These remote control vehicles are not only equipped with cameras for surveillance but are now being equipped with weapons and robotic arms for bomb control. These vehicles allow for the soldiers to observe what is behind the door they are going to walk into and even take action with the vehicle before they enter. 
Nearly all of the weapons being created for tomorrows wars are being created to make soldiers jobs easier and safer limiting the amount of casualties. These weapons are changing the way wars are fought and will be fought tomorrow. 

Monday, April 11, 2011

Robots Everywhere

The idea of having robots in every household scares many people. However many people are not aware of the use of robots in todays world and how robots are developing everyday. Robots are using in nearly every factory around the world in assisting humans in their daily jobs. However the use of robots only in manufacturing is likely to change. Futurists and engineers are working together to create robots which will be able to aid humans in everyday tasks from cooking to cleaning. The use of self maintained vacuums has been around for years already but the possibilities of robots which can do more than one defined task is evolving everyday.

Honda has created Asimo which is one of the most developed robot that is able to be purchased today. Asimo has the ability to walk and communicate with its owner to do simple tasks. Though not able to cook or clean Asimo just shows the way in which technology involving robots is developing everyday and the possibilities are endless.

Touch Screens Galore

The use of touch screens is becoming more and more popular in todays world. The first touch screens were small and now could be considered archaic. However, the development of new technologies allows for the use of touch screens on a much greater scale, cheaper, and more responsive than ever before. The use of touch screens is developing at a logarithmic rate and in the near future it is likely that the use of touch screens will be incorporated more and more into our daily lives. Today smart phones are being developed with no longer having a key pad but simply a touch screen display. However engineers are developing new touch screens which are much larger and more productive. The Emulator as seen above is a touch screen display which is clear and uses a projector located some where else. This concept is being distributed around the world and has more uses than simply DJing as seen above.

The use of these clear touch screen displays in likely to be incorporated into our everyday lives from ordering our food to driving our cars. With the ability to project a display onto a glass window and simply touch what you are looking at the possibilities are endless. When you walk into McDonalds or any other restaurant the menus will be touch screen and simply touch whatever you would like to order off of the menu being displayed on a glass screen.

The possibilities of the use of TV's and touch screen displays are endless and engineers around the world are constantly working to create bigger and better displays to aid people in their everyday tasks. 

Chevy Mi-Ray Roadster Hybrid

One of the most recent concepts of the future is our concern of the pollution of Ozone and the use of gasoline. Today car companies are working towards making cars that do not require the use of gasoline and that use alternate fuel sources. Concepts are being created and debuted all around the world and using alternate fuel sources such as water, electricity, and hydrogen instead of gasoline which is the most common fuel source and leading to pollution around the world. The Chevy Mi-Ray Roadster is one of the many concept cars of the future which focuses its use on an alternate fuel source in attempt to exclude the use of gasoline. The Chevrolet Mi-Ray still uses gasoline for long distance trips but its focus is on the two electric motors which power the front two wheels for use in urban environments to reduce harmful gasses released from the exhaust.

Chevrolet however is not the only company working towards this goal of reducing the use of gasoline in transportation of the future. Nearly all car company around the world has engineers focused on a common goal of ridding the need of gasoline in their vehicles. From toyota to BMW nearly every car company is beginning to produce hybrid cars, but hybrid cars are only a start as companies are beginning to design concept cars which will no longer need gasoline and run only on alternate fuel sources.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110331/CARNEWS/110339989