Without a doubt, technology is advancing more rapidly than it ever has, a lightning speed industry that sees constant innovation and upgrades. It has seen a more efficient and impressive evolution in the past few decades than it has in centuries before. Trends and experts seem to agree that this already-intimidating speed will continue increasing in the following years.
With such rapid progression, we are looking into the future and attempting to predict how our lives will change in the coming five years. Looking at existing technology and its potential, we can make a few safer bets on where we will end up and how its role will evolve in our lives.
1. Everything Will Be Connected.
The world is fully immersed in the Internet of Things (IoT), and the excitement keeps climbing each year. Everything within our house, from our garage to our thermostat and TV, will be connected and easily controlled through our phone. The Google Play Store is rapidly growing, and more apps will be developed in the next five years that will complement the new technology. Sensors and meters will be able to aid our lifestyle, making every activity faster and more accommodating. At the moment, this bit of futuristic technology is still slipping into our lives.
Not everyone has embraced the IoT, but it will become the norm in the next half a decade. The main reason is its accessibility and the fact that the process will be simplified. Everything will be indeed at our fingertips, but it will be simpler. Devices will analyze our behavior and comprehend our feedback. The technology will become more “social”, more “human”, and, in turn, it will blend more seamlessly into our lives.
2. Our Transportation Will Be Autonomous.
Google may have become the face of the autonomous vehicle industry, but self-driving cars have become the aim of numerous big brands such as BMW, Mercedes, Chevrolet, and countless others. Within five years, it’s expected that they will become a normal sight on the streets, at the very least on the level of transportation. Spacious trucks and even taxis could remove the human element and instead drive themselves with the help of GPS systems, sensors, and proper instructions from the passenger.
It appears settled that self-driving cars will be here in five years, and Ford seems to be a strong believer in its potential. The benefits are considered endless, especially in the safety department as they are said to dramatically decrease the number of fatal accidents. A majority of vehicle collisions are said to have human error at fault. So, by removing that particular volatile element from the experience, autonomous or even semi-autonomous cars will make our roads much safer. The sensors will never become reckless, inebriated, or fall asleep at the wheel.
3. Virtual Reality Will Become Our Reality.
The New York Times have shown that news delivered through virtual reality is possible. The gaming industry has already been taken by a storm with the launch of Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, and there are many to follow. It seems that virtual reality is here to stay and will encroach on more aspects of our lives than we believe. The entertainment industry will not be the only one that finds an exceptional use of this technology to bring us into the new age of information.
Medicine, education, architecture, engineering, and several others will find beneficial uses in the next five years that will turn virtual reality into a wonderful tool for their advancements. It’s easy to picture. Med students will be able to practice on virtual bodies to study human anatomy in-depth and train as surgeons like no other generation before. Architects will be able to see a virtual representation of their building and analyze every angle as if stepping into their creation. Children in schools won’t have to be told or explained certain concepts outside their reach. Instead, they will be shown.
Visuals are more impacting, and we will be able to access information like never before with the help of virtual reality.
4. Solar Energy Will Be Common and Cheap.
Climate change is a major issue that plagues the fate of our planet, and numerous nations are now fierce advocates of stopping fossil fuels from being a main source of energy. A shift is needed, and we have been offered numerous options that will benefit the health of our world. Among all of them, though, solar energy will take over in the next five years due to its accessibility and low costs that are gradually decreasing. Installation of solar panels has doubled in the past year and yet the prices have gone down by 20%.
The pattern would suggest that they will be infinitely more popular, and the costs might actually be halved by 2021. Furthermore, experts have estimated its potential and claimed that it would be able to fulfill 100% of our world’s energy needs. If matters progress, it might just become free of charge by 2035, or at the very least, it will come at the incredibly low prices of today’s phone calls. Solar panels will no longer be a luxury for those concerned with climate issues. In five years, they will become a must-have, cost-effective, and green solution for every home in the world.
5. Less Talking and Typing, More Thinking.
Keyboards are still a staple today, and they will continue to have a significant role in our life. Speech recognition was next, now integrated into apps and operating systems, with names such as Siri and Cortana at the forefront of people’s minds. What will follow in the next five years is the development of technologies that will no longer wait for our voices for input, but simply follow our thoughts. It may be a frightening concept for some, but it’s a potential lifesaver for millions of people who are otherwise unable to communicate.
Companies such as Emotiv and BrainGate have already started creating devices that “listen” to the thoughts of users. While one focuses on developing brain-computer interfaces, the other uses the same wireless technology to aid paralyzed patients with their disabilities. These two extremely different branches have already found a use for software that will enrich or improve our lives by letting it read our minds and comply with commands. In five years, we will see this futuristic technology on the market, more efficient than now and perfected to a point.
In the half a decade, we will witness a rapid evolution of technology, one that will lead us into the future of the age of information and continue for the coming years. It will advance and adapt to our needs, venturing into fields such as robotics and 3D printing that will likewise turn from commodities and novelty to necessities and daily encounters.
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