Session 9

In this session, our focus was on the emerging and future technologies. We first began by identifying what some of the drivers for the development of emerging and future technologies were. These included unmet market opportunity and need, also how new insights and discoveries would lead to previously unimagined needs where people dont realize they need it until they have experienced it. I felt that, from the video that was showed to the class, “Programmable Matter” is a very interesting concept. The idea that people might eventually be able to customize and mould future products conveniently and on-demand seems fantastical at present. But knowing that certain companies have already started research in this field makes it a really exciting prospect for the future.

The other interesting emerging technology that was discussed in class was the concept of flexible screen displays. There would be a lot of potential for this particular technology in its application to the real world. Due to its light weight and portability, this can in fact be a substitute for the use of paper in certain situations. Therefore causing a reduction in the demand for paper and the detrimental effects on the environment. As discussed in class, they could even be made into wristbands for use in a hospital. Any information that a doctor or nurse might need when treating a patient would be displayed on the bands and can also be used to alert the related medical staff in the case of an emergency. There are endless possibilities.

We have been discussing the various forms of renewable energy for the past two weeks. Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal etc. An emerging and future source of energy would be nuclear fusion as presented by Joshua. I feel that if the research in nuclear fusion has significant breakthroughs, it would definitely be a viable alternative as the renewable energy sources that we know of today often take up immense areas. If nuclear fusion is indeed a safe and very efficient method of obtaining energy and the cost to sustain a fusion reaction is reasonable, I am sure many countries would turn to this method of obtaining energy.

The video of Microsoft's future vision that was shown to the class a few weeks ago had many interesting concepts that could have been discussed in class

Personal Rating: 8/10