timeline of emerging science and technology€¦ · dna-based data storage human organ cloning...

1
P R E S E N T P R O B A B L E P O S S I B L E Notes and acknowledgements Innovation or event Legend Conceived and created by Richard Watson and Alex Ayad with input from Chris Haley and additional input from the ‘Smarties’ at Imperial College London. Note that whilst most entries on the timeline are deeply serious, a few are less so. High resolution files suitable for printing can be obtained free of charge from [email protected] or [email protected] A3 and A1 printed wall charts can also be ordered via these addresses although a charge is applied purely to cover print, packing and postage costs. BIO-TECH DIGITAL-TECH NANO-TECH NEURO-TECH GREEN-TECH www.nowandnext.com www.imperialtechforesight.com Defined as existing now or thereabouts with at least 1,000 examples existing where appropriate Defined as occurring between 2015-2030 Defined as potentially occurring after 2030 PRESENT PROBABLE POSSIBLE DIGITAL GREEN BIO NEURO NANO DNA dating agencies Gene therapy Synthetic organisms Genetic testing for inherited diseases Scaffolds for growing stem cell body parts 3D printed orthopaedic implants Body hacking for sensory augmentation Commercial pet cloning Plastics from crops Pre-emptive medical inteventions based on genome ‘Pharming’ humanised animals for medicines Vibration energy harvesting Cheap concentrator solar Aerogel building insulation LED street lighting Electric grid-scale storage Domestic powerplants (CCHP) Demand responsive domestic appliances Smart meters Algal biofuels Ultracapacitor vehicles Community grids Consumer spot-pricing of electricity Phase-out of incandescent light bulbs Artificial photosythesis of hydrogen Synthetic jet fuels Transparent (organic)solar cells on skyscrapers Biodegradable batteries Motorway lanes for autonomous vehicles In-road inductive charging for electric vehicles Synthetic meat in supermarkets Thorium reactors Wave disc engine for vehicles Insect-burger food vans Hyper-loop mass transit systems Tokomak nuclear fusion for power generation Iron-fertilisation of oceans Satellite-beamed space solar-power Micro-scale wind & water harvesting building facades High-speed pedestrian walkways 3D-printed soil for vertical agriculture Commercial ocean thermal energy conversion Travelling wave nuclear reactors Fuel-cell powered light passenger aircraft Large scale carbon capture & storage Beamed energy for ecological monitoring & military UAVs Ambient RF energy harvesting Animal-free leather Ubiquitous bio-sensing Analytical underwear Last antibiotic discovered Personalised microbiome therapy Prophylactic antibiotics banned in animals RFID implants for personal data storage Malaria eradicated by introduction of GM mosquitos Human genetic engineering legalised Tattooed circuits (video tattoos on the human body) Cloned human being Microbe-sensing food packaging Pandemic by synthetic organism Bioluminescent household lighting Over-the-counter genome test Stem cell treatment for Parkinson’s disease 3D printed bio-nano scaffolds Artificial muscles made from spun nanotubefibre DNA-based data storage Human organ cloning Brain-computer interfaces widely supplement keyboards Routine brain finger printing of air travellers Dream imaging and recording via fMRI Communications devices widely embedded inside the human body Artificial neuro-writing of basic thoughts Brain prostheses to enhance or erase memory End of dementia Eye-tracking in mobile phones Artifical retina implants Adaptive electronic assistant to prevent information-overload Intention decoding algorithms Thought controlled wheelchair Hangover-free alcohol substitute Mood-sensing machines Hacking of implanted neuro-devices Cochlear implants Brain fingerprinting used in court Prosthetic limbs controlled by thought Neuroimaging of active brain areas Nootropic drugs for medical & recreational use Quantum computers for crypto-cracking Realtime language translation Unassisted robotic surgery Insect-sized surveillance robots Holographic data storage AI in autonomous drone-drone combat Solar flare knocks out GPS network Smartdust sensor networks Recording of entire human life from birth to death Lifelong avatar assistants Internet of things exceeds 1 trillion devices Robots outnumber human beings Warfare merges with gaming Commercial airliner highjacked via smartphone War forecasting algorithms Graphene supercapacitors Cities ban human drivers Battery-free wireless communications Autonomous electric taxi fleets Physical creditcards become obsolete Haptic clothing Lip-reading CCTV Internet of things exceeds 50 billion devices Cyberattack causes city-wide powercut Domestic fridges sense use-by dates Optical computing Quantum computers used for material design Fully autonomous battlefield robots Mobile phones outnumber people Augmented reality glasses Basic brain computer interfaces for gaming Crypto currencies Life- logging Mobile traffic dominates internet QR scannable grave stones Intercontinental robotic surgery Facial recognition CCTV Avatar girlfriends NFC fingerprints AI in GP surgeries Internet connected toothbrushes Crime prevention algorithms Antibacterial nano particles for clothing Nano particles in cosmetics and sunscreens Nanotubes for synthetic neurons and neural implants Methanol fuel cells for consumer electronics IBM makes feature film from animated atoms Autonomous self-replication of crude non-biological systems Quantum dot night vision windows Room temperature superconductors Polaratronics enables computing near speed of light Fully plastic transistors Meta material antennae Self-healing paints & surfaces Templates for protein crystallisation Quantum dot televisions Printed plastic electronic circuits Scrunchable screens and devices 100 atoms per bit data density Lab demo of optical meta material cloaking Next generation super lightweight composites Graphene supercapacitors Periodic hypertable Nanotubes for synthetic neurons & neural implants Nanoparticles for cancer imaging & treatment Drone delivery pizza :) DNA dating agencies Gene therapy Synthetic organisms Genetic testing for inherited diseases Scaffolds for growing stem cell body parts 3D printed orthopaedic implants Body hacking for sensory augmentation Commercial pet cloning Plastics from crops Pre-emptive medical inteventions based on genome ‘Pharming’ humanised animals for medicines Vibration energy harvesting Cheap concentrator solar Aerogel building insulation LED street lighting Electric grid-scale storage Domestic powerplants (CCHP) Demand responsive domestic appliances Smart meters Algal biofuels Ultracapacitor vehicles Community grids Consumer spot-pricing of electricity Phase-out of incandescent light bulbs Artificial photosythesis of hydrogen Synthetic jet fuels Transparent (organic)solar cells on skyscrapers Biodegradable batteries Motorway lanes for autonomous vehicles In-road inductive charging for electric vehicles Synthetic meat in supermarkets Thorium reactors Wave disc engine for vehicles Insect-burger food vans Hyper-loop mass transit systems Tokomak nuclear fusion for power generation Iron-fertilisation of oceans Satellite-beamed space solar-power Micro-scale wind & water harvesting building facades High-speed pedestrian walkways 3D-printed soil for vertical agriculture Commercial ocean thermal energy conversion Travelling wave nuclear reactors Fuel-cell powered light passenger aircraft Large scale carbon capture & storage Beamed energy for ecological monitoring & military UAVs Ambient RF energy harvesting Animal-free leather Ubiquitous bio-sensing Analytical underwear Last antibiotic discovered Personalised microbiome therapy Prophylactic antibiotics banned in animals RFID implants for personal data storage Malaria eradicated by introduction of GM mosquitos Human genetic engineering legalised Tattooed circuits (video tattoos on the human body) Cloned human being Microbe-sensing food packaging Pandemic by synthetic organism Bioluminescent household lighting Over-the-counter genome test Stem cell treatment for Parkinson’s disease 3D printed bio-nano scaffolds Artificial muscles made from spun nanotubefibre DNA-based data storage Human organ cloning Brain-computer interfaces widely supplement keyboards Routine brain finger printing of air travellers Dream imaging and recording via fMRI Communications devices widely embedded inside the human body Artificial neuro-writing of basic thoughts Brain prostheses to enhance or erase memory End of dementia Eye-tracking in mobile phones Artifical retina implants Adaptive electronic assistant to prevent information-overload Intention decoding algorithms Thought controlled wheelchair Hangover-free alcohol substitute Mood-sensing machines Hacking of implanted neuro-devices Cochlear implants Brain fingerprinting used in court Prosthetic limbs controlled by thought Neuroimaging of active brain areas Nootropic drugs for medical & recreational use Quantum computers for crypto-cracking Realtime language translation Unassisted robotic surgery Insect-sized surveillance robots Holographic data storage AI in autonomous drone-drone combat Solar flare knocks out GPS network Smartdust sensor networks Recording of entire human life from birth to death Lifelong avatar assistants Internet of things exceeds 1 trillion devices Robots outnumber human beings Warfare merges with gaming Commercial airliner highjacked via smartphone War forecasting algorithms Graphene supercapacitors Cities ban human drivers Battery-free wireless communications Autonomous electric taxi fleets Physical creditcards become obsolete Haptic clothing Lip-reading CCTV Internet of things exceeds 50 billion devices Cyberattack causes city-wide powercut Domestic fridges sense use-by dates Optical computing Quantum computers used for material design Fully autonomous battlefield robots Mobile phones outnumber people Augmented reality glasses Basic brain computer interfaces for gaming Crypto currencies Life- logging Mobile traffic dominates internet QR scannable grave stones Intercontinental robotic surgery Facial recognition CCTV Avatar girlfriends NFC fingerprints AI in GP surgeries Internet connected toothbrushes Crime prevention algorithms Antibacterial nano particles for clothing Nano particles in cosmetics and sunscreens Nanotubes for synthetic neurons and neural implants Methanol fuel cells for consumer electronics IBM makes feature film from animated atoms Autonomous self-replication of crude non-biological systems Quantum dot night vision windows Room temperature superconductors Polaratronics enables computing near speed of light Fully plastic transistors Meta material antennae Self-healing paints & surfaces Templates for protein crystallisation Quantum dot televisions Printed plastic electronic circuits Scrunchable screens and devices 100 atoms per bit data density Lab demo of optical meta material cloaking Next generation super lightweight composites Graphene supercapacitors Periodic hypertable Nanotubes for synthetic neurons & neural implants Nanoparticles for cancer imaging & treatment Drone delivery pizza :) Timeline of Emerging Science and Technology

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Page 1: Timeline of Emerging Science and Technology€¦ · DNA-based data storage Human organ cloning Brain-computer interfaces widely supplement keyboards Routine brain finger printing

P RE

S

EN

T

P R OB

A

BL

E

P OS S

I BL

E

Notes and acknowledgements

Innovation or event

Legend

Conceived and created by Richard Watson and Alex Ayad with input from Chris Haley and additional input from the ‘Smarties’ at Imperial College London.

Note that whilst most entries on the timeline are deeply serious, a few are less so. High resolution files suitable for printing can be obtained free of charge from [email protected] or [email protected]

A3 and A1 printed wall charts can also be ordered via these addresses although a charge is applied purely to cover print, packing and postage costs.

BIO-TECHDIGITAL-TECHNANO-TECHNEURO-TECHGREEN-TECH

www.nowandnext.com

www.imperialtechforesight.com

Defined as existing now or thereabouts with at least 1,000 examples existing where appropriate

Defined as occurring between 2015-2030

Defined as potentially occurring after 2030

P R E S E N T

P R O B A B L E

P O S S I B L E

DIGITAL GREEN

BIO

NEURO

NANO

DNA datingagencies

Gene therapy

Synthetic organisms

Genetic testingfor inheriteddiseases

Scaffolds for growingstem cell body parts

3D printedorthopaedicimplants

Body hackingfor sensoryaugmentation

Commercialpet cloning

Plasticsfrom crops

Pre-emptivemedical inteventionsbased on genome

‘Pharming’ humanisedanimals for medicines

Vibrationenergyharvesting

Cheapconcentratorsolar

Aerogelbuildinginsulation

LED streetlighting Electric

grid-scalestorage

Domesticpowerplants(CCHP)

Demandresponsivedomesticappliances

Smartmeters

Algalbiofuels

Ultracapacitorvehicles

Community grids

Consumerspot-pricingof electricity

Phase-out ofincandescentlight bulbs

Artificialphotosythesisof hydrogen

Syntheticjet fuels

Transparent(organic)solarcells on skyscrapers

Biodegradablebatteries

Motorway lanesfor autonomousvehicles

In-roadinductivechargingfor electricvehicles

Synthetic meatin supermarkets

Thoriumreactors

Wave discengine forvehicles

Insect-burgerfood vans

Hyper-loopmass transitsystems

Tokomak nuclearfusion for powergeneration

Iron-fertilisationof oceans

Satellite-beamedspace solar-power

Micro-scale wind& water harvestingbuilding facades

High-speedpedestrianwalkways

3D-printed soilfor verticalagriculture

Commercialocean thermalenergy conversion

Travelling wavenuclear reactorsFuel-cell powered light

passenger aircraft

Large scalecarbon capture& storage

Beamed energy forecological monitoring& military UAVs

Ambient RFenergyharvesting

Animal-freeleather

Ubiquitousbio-sensing

Analyticalunderwear

Last antibioticdiscovered

Personalisedmicrobiome

therapy

Prophylacticantibioticsbanned inanimals

RFID implantsfor personaldata storage

Malaria eradicatedby introductionof GM mosquitos

Human geneticengineeringlegalised

Tattooed circuits(video tattoos onthe human body)

Cloned humanbeing

Microbe-sensingfood packaging

Pandemicby syntheticorganism

Bioluminescenthousehold lightingOver-the-counter

genome test

Stem cell treatmentfor Parkinson’sdisease

3D printed bio-nanoscaffolds

Artificial musclesmade from spunnanotubefibre

DNA-baseddata storage

Humanorgan

cloning

Brain-computerinterfaces widely

supplement keyboards

Routine brainfinger printing

of air travellers

Dream imaging andrecording via fMRI

Communications deviceswidely embedded inside

the human bodyArtificial neuro-writing

of basic thoughtsBrain prostheses

to enhance orerase memory

End ofdementia

Eye-trackingin mobile phones

Artifical retinaimplants

Adaptive electronicassistant to prevent

information-overload

Intention decodingalgorithms

Thoughtcontrolledwheelchair

Hangover-freealcohol substitute

Mood-sensingmachines

Hacking ofimplantedneuro-devices

Cochlearimplants

Brainfingerprinting

used in court

Prostheticlimbs controlled

by thought

Neuroimagingof active brainareas

Nootropic drugsfor medical & recreational use

Quantum computersfor crypto-cracking

Realtimelanguagetranslation

Unassistedroboticsurgery

Insect-sizedsurveillance

robots

Holographicdata storage

AI inautonomousdrone-drone

combat

Solar flareknocks out

GPS network

Smartdustsensor

networks

Recording ofentire human

life from birthto death

Lifelongavatar

assistants

Internet of thingsexceeds 1 trillion

devices

Robotsoutnumber

human beings

Warfaremerges with

gaming

Commercialairliner highjackedvia smartphone

War forecastingalgorithms

Graphenesupercapacitors

Cities banhuman drivers

Battery-free wirelesscommunications

Autonomouselectric taxi fleets

Physical creditcardsbecome obsolete

Hapticclothing

Lip-readingCCTV

Internet ofthings exceeds

50 billiondevices

Cyberattackcauses city-wide

powercut

Domestic fridgessense use-by

dates

Opticalcomputing

Quantum computersused for material design

Fully autonomousbattlefield robots

Mobilephones

outnumberpeople

Augmentedreality glasses

Basic brain computerinterfaces for gaming

Cryptocurrencies

Life-logging

Mobiletraffic

dominatesinternet

QR scannablegrave stones

Intercontinentalrobotic surgery

FacialrecognitionCCTV

Avatargirlfriends

NFCfingerprints

AI in GPsurgeries

Internetconnected

toothbrushes

Crimepreventionalgorithms Antibacterial

nano particlesfor clothing

Nano particlesin cosmetics

and sunscreensNanotubesfor syntheticneurons andneural implants

Methanol fuelcells for consumerelectronics

IBM makes feature filmfrom animated atoms

Autonomous self-replicationof crude non-biological

systems

Quantum dotnight visionwindows

Room temperaturesuperconductors

Polaratronics enablescomputing near

speed of light

Fully plastictransistors

Meta materialantennae

Self-healingpaints & surfaces

Templatesfor proteincrystallisation

Quantum dottelevisions

Printedplastic

electroniccircuits

Scrunchable screens and devices

100 atoms per bitdata density

Lab demo of opticalmeta materialcloaking

Next generationsuper lightweight

composites

Graphenesupercapacitors

Periodichypertable

Nanotubes forsynthetic neurons& neural implants

Nanoparticlesfor cancer imaging

& treatment

Dronedeliverypizza :)

DNA datingagencies

Gene therapy

Synthetic organisms

Genetic testingfor inheriteddiseases

Scaffolds for growingstem cell body parts

3D printedorthopaedicimplants

Body hackingfor sensoryaugmentation

Commercialpet cloning

Plasticsfrom crops

Pre-emptivemedical inteventionsbased on genome

‘Pharming’ humanisedanimals for medicines

Vibrationenergyharvesting

Cheapconcentratorsolar

Aerogelbuildinginsulation

LED streetlighting Electric

grid-scalestorage

Domesticpowerplants(CCHP)

Demandresponsivedomesticappliances

Smartmeters

Algalbiofuels

Ultracapacitorvehicles

Community grids

Consumerspot-pricingof electricity

Phase-out ofincandescentlight bulbs

Artificialphotosythesisof hydrogen

Syntheticjet fuels

Transparent(organic)solarcells on skyscrapers

Biodegradablebatteries

Motorway lanesfor autonomousvehicles

In-roadinductivechargingfor electricvehicles

Synthetic meatin supermarkets

Thoriumreactors

Wave discengine forvehicles

Insect-burgerfood vans

Hyper-loopmass transitsystems

Tokomak nuclearfusion for powergeneration

Iron-fertilisationof oceans

Satellite-beamedspace solar-power

Micro-scale wind& water harvestingbuilding facades

High-speedpedestrianwalkways

3D-printed soilfor verticalagriculture

Commercialocean thermalenergy conversion

Travelling wavenuclear reactorsFuel-cell powered light

passenger aircraft

Large scalecarbon capture& storage

Beamed energy forecological monitoring& military UAVs

Ambient RFenergyharvesting

Animal-freeleather

Ubiquitousbio-sensing

Analyticalunderwear

Last antibioticdiscovered

Personalisedmicrobiome

therapy

Prophylacticantibioticsbanned inanimals

RFID implantsfor personaldata storage

Malaria eradicatedby introductionof GM mosquitos

Human geneticengineeringlegalised

Tattooed circuits(video tattoos onthe human body)

Cloned humanbeing

Microbe-sensingfood packaging

Pandemicby syntheticorganism

Bioluminescenthousehold lightingOver-the-counter

genome test

Stem cell treatmentfor Parkinson’sdisease

3D printed bio-nanoscaffolds

Artificial musclesmade from spunnanotubefibre

DNA-baseddata storage

Humanorgan

cloning

Brain-computerinterfaces widely

supplement keyboards

Routine brainfinger printing

of air travellers

Dream imaging andrecording via fMRI

Communications deviceswidely embedded inside

the human bodyArtificial neuro-writing

of basic thoughtsBrain prostheses

to enhance orerase memory

End ofdementia

Eye-trackingin mobile phones

Artifical retinaimplants

Adaptive electronicassistant to prevent

information-overload

Intention decodingalgorithms

Thoughtcontrolledwheelchair

Hangover-freealcohol substitute

Mood-sensingmachines

Hacking ofimplantedneuro-devices

Cochlearimplants

Brainfingerprinting

used in court

Prostheticlimbs controlled

by thought

Neuroimagingof active brainareas

Nootropic drugsfor medical & recreational use

Quantum computersfor crypto-cracking

Realtimelanguagetranslation

Unassistedroboticsurgery

Insect-sizedsurveillance

robots

Holographicdata storage

AI inautonomousdrone-drone

combat

Solar flareknocks out

GPS network

Smartdustsensor

networks

Recording ofentire human

life from birthto death

Lifelongavatar

assistants

Internet of thingsexceeds 1 trillion

devices

Robotsoutnumber

human beings

Warfaremerges with

gaming

Commercialairliner highjackedvia smartphone

War forecastingalgorithms

Graphenesupercapacitors

Cities banhuman drivers

Battery-free wirelesscommunications

Autonomouselectric taxi fleets

Physical creditcardsbecome obsolete

Hapticclothing

Lip-readingCCTV

Internet ofthings exceeds

50 billiondevices

Cyberattackcauses city-wide

powercut

Domestic fridgessense use-by

dates

Opticalcomputing

Quantum computersused for material design

Fully autonomousbattlefield robots

Mobilephones

outnumberpeople

Augmentedreality glasses

Basic brain computerinterfaces for gaming

Cryptocurrencies

Life-logging

Mobiletraffic

dominatesinternet

QR scannablegrave stones

Intercontinentalrobotic surgery

FacialrecognitionCCTV

Avatargirlfriends

NFCfingerprints

AI in GPsurgeries

Internetconnected

toothbrushes

Crimepreventionalgorithms Antibacterial

nano particlesfor clothing

Nano particlesin cosmetics

and sunscreensNanotubesfor syntheticneurons andneural implants

Methanol fuelcells for consumerelectronics

IBM makes feature filmfrom animated atoms

Autonomous self-replicationof crude non-biological

systems

Quantum dotnight visionwindows

Room temperaturesuperconductors

Polaratronics enablescomputing near

speed of light

Fully plastictransistors

Meta materialantennae

Self-healingpaints & surfaces

Templatesfor proteincrystallisation

Quantum dottelevisions

Printedplastic

electroniccircuits

Scrunchable screens and devices

100 atoms per bitdata density

Lab demo of opticalmeta materialcloaking

Next generationsuper lightweight

composites

Graphenesupercapacitors

Periodichypertable

Nanotubes forsynthetic neurons& neural implants

Nanoparticlesfor cancer imaging

& treatment

Dronedeliverypizza :) Timeline of

Emerging Scienceand Technology