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.*


© Andreus | Dreamstime.com




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.


© Scanrail | Dreamstime.com



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.*


© Sebastian Kaulitzki | Dreamstime.com



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.*


Credit: ITER


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.