Virtual Reality makes a comeback Exponential growth in computer power is enabling the creation of exceedingly lifelike graphics and 3D environments. At the same time, faster broadband is opening up new frontiers in cyberspace, allowing the development of Web 3.0 - the next generation of Internet. Combined with developments in on-person hardware, this is leading to a rebirth of virtual reality. Having been something of a gimmick in the 1990s, it is now becoming a serious tool for business, leisure, education and training. Much of the content in these environments is user-generated, with online communities for sharing and exchanging virtual objects, buildings, avatars, etc. For the wealthy, some of the hardware options now available include pod-like structures which are fully enclosing and respond to a variety of gesture commands.*
Bionic eyes are commercially available Following trials, the world's first bionic eyes are now available for persons with degenerative vision loss. These devices use miniature cameras, mounted on a pair of glasses. The cameras beam visual information into an electrode array which is connected to neurons in the retina. Electrical impulses are then transmitted through the optic nerve to the vision centres of the brain. The first prototype of this technology was somewhat crude and pixelated, with only 100 dots of resolution. However, this new version provides 1000 dots, allowing the patient to recognise faces and read large print.* Bionic eyes continue to gain in sophistication over the following decades, making exponential progress in resolution and visual quality. Fully artificial eyes eventually become available that can actually provide better vision than normal eyes - leading even healthy people to "upgrade" their sight.
Automated freight transport Autonomous rapid transit systems have already been in place at certain airports, and on the metro systems of cities. By this date, significant numbers of driverless trucks have begun appearing on the roads.* They are capable of travelling hundreds of miles by themselves, negotiating traffic and other obstacles, and utilising advanced GPS technologies. They have a number of advantages over human drivers - such as being able to run 24 hours a day without getting tired, never being absent, and not requiring a salary or training. The trucks can also detect mechanical or software faults.* These automated vehicles will eventually include cars, taxis and other types of road vehicles, becoming widespread by the 2030s.
Acute spinal injuries are fully treatable Experiments with mice in the previous decade showed that it was possible to restore function to the spinal cord, using stem cells.* After nine years of clinical trials, the process can now be replicated in humans.*
The ITER experimental fusion reactor is switched on Human-engineered fusion has already been demonstrated on a small scale. The problem has been finding ways of scaling it up to commercial levels in an efficient, economical, and environmentally benign way. ITER - previously known as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor - aims to be the first project to achieve this. Built in southern France at a cost of €20 billion, it has taken over a decade to construct and is one of the largest scientific projects ever undertaken, second only to the International Space Station. This joint research experiment is funded by the US, EU, Japan, Russia, China, India and South Korea. To demonstrate net fusion power on a large scale, the reactor must simulate the conditions at the heart of the Sun. For this, it uses a magnetic confinement device called a tokamak. This doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber generates a powerful magnetic field that prevents heat from touching the reactor's walls. Tiny quantities of fuel are injected into and trapped within the chamber. Here they are heated to 100 million degrees, forming a plasma. At such high temperatures, the light atomic nuclei of hydrogen become fused together, creating heavier forms of hydrogen such as deuterium and tritium. This releases neutrons and a huge amount of energy. Following its operational activation in 2019,* it is hoped that ITER will eventually produce more than 500 megawatts of power, in bursts of 400 seconds or more. This compares with 16 MW for the Joint European Torus (JET) in 1997, the previous world record peak fusion power, which lasted only a few seconds. ITER will require another few decades before its reactor has been sufficiently perfected. To generate the sort of continuous levels of power required for commercial operation, it will need a way of holding the plasma in place at the critical densities and temperatures. This will need refinements in the design of the chamber, such as better superconducting magnets and advances in vacuum systems. However, it could ultimately lead to a revolution in energy. If this project were to succeed, humanity would gain a virtually unlimited supply of clean, green electricity.*
Electronic paper is seeing widespread use This technology has been in development for over a decade* and is now in widespread use. Organic thin film transistors (TFT) are combined with organic, electroluminescent displays. This produces flexible, paper-thin devices less than 0.3mm in thickness and capable of running high-quality video. The applications are endless. They include true "e-books" and "e-papers" (which can also be read in the dark), clothes and other textiles with electronic displays, video posters, video leaflets, video cards, road signs that are self-illuminating, video instructions on food packaging and other boxed items. Further development leads to much greater contrast ratio - resembling printed paper more than a screen (the latter is often hard to see in direct sunlight and other conditions). This technology also marks a step towards the first paperless offices, which in turn helps to reduce deforestation.
Portable medical lasers that seal wounds Handheld, Star Trek-style devices are now available that can seal wounds, using specially controlled lasers in combination with a blood protein called albumin. Heated at just the right temperature, this forms a natural "glue" after the skin has cooled down. Using this method allows a wound to be stronger, water-tight and less likely to scar than traditional stitches. Following several years of development, they are used in many hospitals now.*
Teleportation of simple molecules For a number of years, scientists had been teleporting individual atoms and particles of light. By this date, the first molecules such as water and carbon dioxide are being teleported.* This will be followed in the late 2030s by complex organic molecules such as DNA and proteins.*
3D printing enters the consumer market Until recently, this technology was extremely expensive - upwards of $15,000 per machine - and limited to use in industrial prototyping, product design, medical modeling and architectural models.* However, plummeting costs are now making it affordable to consumers.** Rather than using ink on paper, these machines can actually "print" 3D objects. This is achieved by melting nylon powder and then shaping it based on computer instructions. Countless different items can be produced – from jewellery and decorative giftware, to children's toys, kitchenware, replacement plugs, hooks, pipes, fittings, flooring and other household essentials. Users can download new items and configurations from the Web.* Artists and hobbyists can even create their own, using these printers in combination with 3D scanners and modeling software. In addition to falling costs, another reason that home 3D printing has taken off rapidly is that there is very little manufacturing being done in America and various other countries anymore. As a result, there is little or no pressure by manufacturing special interests against it. In the decades ahead, this technology will evolve into nanofabricators, capable of reproducing items with atomic precision within minutes. It will ultimately lead to matter replicators with near-instantaneous production of virtually any object – including foodstuffs.
World's first commercial spaceport A new chapter in space exploration begins with the opening of Spaceport America - the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport. This offers sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public. Costing almost $225 million, the facility is built on 27 square miles (70 km2) of state-owned desert near Upham, an uninhabited part of New Mexico. Among the various companies involved is Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. Travelling at over 2,600mph (4,200km/h), the spacecraft carry up to six passengers at a time, to a height of approximately 68 miles (110km), using a single hybrid rocket motor. When maximum altitude is reached, the engines are switched off, and the passengers can experience up to six minutes of zero-G whilst looking down on the Earth. The ships use a feathered re-entry system, feasible due to the low speed of re-entry, and are designed to re-enter the atmosphere at any angle, for maximum safety. In the next decade, a new generation of ships will be developed capable of reaching much higher orbits. A few years after that, trips around the Moon will become possible. Initially, the flights are very expensive (around $200,000 each). However, competition between the companies involved will greatly reduce costs, making them affordable to the majority of people later this century.
Above: SpaceShipTwo, in operation from 2011.
Consumer-level robotics are booming Thanks to falling costs, this decade sees the beginning of robots entering mainstream society. From 2008 to 2011, sales of professional and personal service robots more than double - from 5.5 million to over 11.5 million.* Initially popular in Japan, Korea and the Far East, they are now spreading to Western homes too. Some robots clean carpets or mow the lawn; others help busy professionals entertain children or pets; other machines feed and bathe the elderly and incapacitated.
China becomes the largest energy consumer in the world China's development as an industrialised country means that this soaring energy demand will continue for some time to come.* Its economic growth is spurring a massive increase in car production (15,000 being added to its roads every day), not to mention buildings and infrastructure (which includes a new power plant every week).
Localised renewable energy is becoming affordable In many countries, the number of homes with solar power is growing exponentially - thanks to plummeting costs and increasing government incentives. This is particularly true in the USA, where the cost of a typical five-kilowatt rooftop system has dropped from $22,000 in 2007 to just $13,000 by the end of 2010, making it affordable to the middle classes.*
Apple debuts the iPad The iPad is Apple's first tablet computer - a device category between a smartphone and laptop computer. Similar in functionality to a larger and more powerful iPhone or iPod touch, it runs a modified version of the same operating system (iPhone OS). Its included applications are also redesigned to take advantage of the larger screen with added functionality similar to their Mac OS X counterparts. The iPad has a 9.7-inch (25 cm) LED backlit multi-touch display with a pixel resolution of 1024x768, 16 to 64 gigabytes (GB) of flash memory, a 1-gigahertz (GHz) Apple A4 processor, Bluetooth 2.1, and a dock connector to sync with iTunes and connect wired accessories.
Augmented Reality (AR) is entering the mainstream A growing number of cellphones, cameras and other digital devices now feature augmented reality. This technology displays 3D virtual elements on a real-world camera view. GPS units in combination with inertial references can map a user's precise location, then relay graphics from the web (or a web-based application such as Google Earth) and superimpose them on-screen. This concept has already been used in military training (to display imaginary aircraft and vehicles for example), but is now spreading to mainstream uses - such as travel, outdoor pursuits, communication, gaming and entertainment. Other applications include architecture and interior design (to show virtual objects in a room, for example, or to view buildings before they are constructed). In the coming years, this technology will be available in sunglasses and even contact lenses. The market for mobile AR services is expected to reach $732 million by 2014, with revenues derived from a combination of paid-for app downloads, subscription based services and advertising.
Macular degeneration is curable Macular degeneration - the leading cause of blindness in people aged 65 and older - can now be treated with a miniature "telescope" implanted in the eye.* Consisting of two lenses within a small glass tube, this works like a telephoto zoom lens. It combines with the cornea to project a magnified image of whatever the wearer is looking at over a large part of the retina. Only the central portion of the sufferer's vision is damaged by the disease, so magnifying the image on the eye allows the retinal cells outside the macula to detect light, refocus it, and redirect the information to the brain. Credit: VisionCare
The first demonstration of solar-sail technology IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun) is a Japanese experimental spacecraft. Launched in 2010, it is the first spacecraft to successfully demonstrate solar-sail technology. When fully unfurled, its membrane has a diagonal span of 20m, but a thickness of just 0.0075mm. It is kept flat by a spinning motion. Tiny solar cells, dust counters and reflective steering devices are mounted as panels on the sail. The craft will spend six months traveling to Venus, then begin a three year journey to the Sun. A second, far larger version of IKAROS will be launched later in the decade, with a 50m (160 ft) sail. This will travel to Jupiter and the Trojan asteroids. The advantage of solar sail compared with conventional rocket technology is that it gets low acceleration constantly, because photons keep hitting the membrane as long as the solar sail is in space. Although this acceleration is very small, the speed of the solar sail increases day by day. Therefore, solar sails are suitable for extremely long flights - including missions to the very edge of the solar system. Also noteworthy is that the lack of propellant and ultra-lightweight structure greatly reduces both the manufacturing and launch costs.
Speech-to-speech translation is common in mobile phones Large-vocabulary, continuous, speaker-independent speech recognition is now widespread on cellphones. It has become a popular (and free) iPhone app, as well as being available on Symbian phones and on the Nexus One, using Google's voice translation server.
Major breakthrough in robotics Robotic manipulation of non-rigid objects - where the configuration is unknown beforehand - is now possible. A robot developed at the University of California is capable of analysing towels "on the fly", rather than being given a fixed set of movements. It can analyse different shapes, colours and materials using a pair of high-resolution cameras, then fold and arrange them into neat piles.*
Scientists create synthetic life In a giant leap for biotechnology, a team of scientists led by DNA pioneer Dr Craig Venter have successfully created the first artificial lifeform. Mycoplasma laboratorium is an entirely new species of bacterium, with a man-made set of genetic code - originating on a computer - and placed on a synthetic chromosome inside an empty cell. Using its new "software", the cell can generate proteins and produce new cells. This breakthrough raises profound questions about the essence of life, with concerns about the technology falling into the wrong hands, being used to make biological weapons, or by scientists to "play God". Instead of having a genetic relative that it evolved from, the parent of this cell is a computer. However, the potential benefits of synthetic genomics will arguably outweigh the dangers. The ability to rewrite the software of life will revolutionise the field of biology - leading to radical new vaccines and medicines, clean water technology, advanced biofuels and much more.*
