The impact of emerging technologies is ubiquitous. There is not one aspect of our life which cannot be affected in some way, whether health, education, travel, leisure or business
The range of technological advance is bewilderingly wide but five main trends can be identified that are likely to impact heavily on designed products and services.
Devices with sensors, actuators, in-built intelligence and communications capability are becoming ever smaller. Compare a palmtop computer to a room-sized mainframe computer 30 years ago. Compare the capabilities of a DVD player with a record player for vinyl records. And now MEMS and nanotechnology devices are emerging that can add functionality at close to the molecular and atomic levels. Almost any product that we are familiar with will be able to incorporate new features, some useful, some merely gimmicky, using such technologies.
Familiar broadcast and telephone services are being outstripped by high speed and cheap communications able to handle voice, pictures and all kinds of data. When coupled with wireless technologies and the miniaturisation trend there will be a new range of possibilities for truly portable and personal information and interaction with services.
Medicine has been dominated by chemistry and surgical intervention but we are now able to act precisely on living cell mechanisms and on the genetic material itself. Coupled with the digital and miniaturisation trends there will be a new generation of health diagnostics and treatment methods available.
Pervasive computing is based on the integration of mobile communications, ubiquitous embedded computer systems, consumer electronics, and the power of the internet. Essentially, it allows devices to communicate with other devices, sharing information and performing tasks without conscious human intervention. These devices are so embedded in the environment, and so natural to use, that they essentially become invisible to the user. During the next five to ten years, ubiquitous computing will come of age and the challenge of developing ubiquitous services will shift from demonstrating the basic concept to integrating it into the existing computing infrastructure and building widely innovative mass-scale applications that continue the computing evolution.
Aspects of the above trends and possibilities can be incorporated into many kinds of materials, such as plastics in consumer products, clothing, building materials, structures in vehicles etc. Thus the material will fulfil its normal function of giving strength or packaging, or decoration or insulation, while performing additional roles.
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