The following are all things I’ve heard about companies or research universities developing.  Essentially future technology that has money going towards it right now.

Nanotechnology uses the controlled structure of matter on an atomic or molecular scale. I think if developed and cheap enough to manufacture, this would be the next biggest tipping point in our technological history.  Like the renaissance, the industrial revolution or the advent of the integrated circuit. How would you see it? The foremost and most valuable would be medical applications, nanobots traveling through your body, clearing out clogged arteries, scrubbing your black lungs, helping you sleep or even getting you high. Nano-blood that works a hundred times more efficiently, maybe taking a single breath and holding it under water for 4 hours. As it develops into other marketable aspects, imagine nano-paint in your home, that you could dial to any color. A general utility fog; objects that conjure themselves out of thin air occupied by a microscopic nanofog, that when commanded come together to provide you with pants.  timeframe: 20 years

Blanket Internet/Electricity Imagine no wires, no plugging things in, no charging of batteries. Not worrying about bandwidth or lack of bars. The first round of questions on this topic go like this: 1) Is it safe? Yes, Thank you young Dustin Hoffman! 2)Can you make it small? The technology is already small enough to fit in cell phones 3)Why don’t we have it yet? Well, who will pay for this?  That’s the biggest problem. The technology exists now, but infrastructure on the other hand is essentially nonexistent. Until then, we won’t see it. timeframe: less than 10 years

Real Time Universal Communication forget long distance, forget regions. A device that lets me see and talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime, in any language. All from the price of the hand held device. No carriers. No minutes. No bullshit. Technology nearly available with addition of (See:Blanket internet.) Almost there on the translation technology too. Just need to clear with the FCC and keep companies like AT&T from shutting it down. For it would certainly be their doom.  timeframe: less than 5 years

Augmented Reality is one of those that I can see becoming integrated with life-per-usual quickly and easily because of how much money can be made from it. Think advertising dollars and opt-in/opt-out campaigns. In a sense, we already have some forms of augmented reality.  Watching sports events live on TV is an obvious example.  The scores, player information, all sorts of data and additions to the game are displayed on your screen, usually right on top of the field of play.  I’m not really balls deep for sports though, so what I am talking about is I guess is called ADVANCED augmented reality.  Most likely coming in the form of goggles or contact lenses.  Where you can experience all aspects of your world with many additional streams of relevant information displayed appropriately.  A heads up display or H.U.D. can be used to push you emails, twitters, Facebook updates.  Display your grocery list and sale or nutritional information while you shop for food.  News, wiki or reference information on an indefinite number of visible subject matter.  It could display a clock, or biometric information about yourself like your blood pressure or insulin level. I could imagine it being controlled by eye movements or hand gestures. timeframe: less than 10 years

Planetary Engineering Mars, the moon, or our own fucked up planet once the ice caps melt. The goal in terraforming is to modify the atmosphere, temperature and surface topography of a planet. Using it to generate an ecology similar to that of earth, or that would support human life. I think the need for this will develop on earth first, methods of controlling our weather and correcting any uninhabitable state we might put earth into. timeframe: 80 years

Sex robots; No, really. Imagine celebrities selling off their likeness to make a manufactured robot that you can fuck. “Yes, I’ll take two Tila Tequilas and an Ashton Kutcher… to go.” timeframe: 15 years

I’m am pretty much in support of all of these. So much in fact, it’s kind of sexual. I think I have pretty realistic views of their applications and potential. Nothing will really take off until there is a way to make it profitable. That needs to be the first thing accepted.  You say “Safety?” “Would I let a robot anywhere near my naughty bits?” Probably, it’s probably safer than letting them near any living woman. Beyond the technological development, will be the moral an ethical applications getting in the way of all this crap too.  But I anticipate that those too will be surmounted.  Especially once the youth gets a hold of them.

09/22/09
on a tip from: immortality only 20 years away