Technology of the future.

March 13, 2009 10:35 AM

I'm looking for predictions of near future technology made by people who are actually working on that technology and have the funding to make it happen.

AT&T had these commercials in the early '90s and now, 16 years later, most of these things can be done with an old laptop.

Of course, these ads are only interesting because most of their predictions came true. I was wondering if there were any other compilations of future technology that is backed by big money out there on the internet?

Print, video or whatever format is fine.

posted by 517 to computers & internet (8 comments total)

What Microsoft thinks the world will look like in 2019
posted by Tu13es at 11:05 AM on March 13

Bill Gates co-wrote the road ahead in 1995; the book in its original form barely mentioned the internet, while predicting that MSN would occupy a similar role.
posted by Mike1024 at 1:16 PM on March 13

I'm in the telecommunications industry and many of us are watching the Clearwire product (or any others that can fill the same niche). Basically a 4g broadband connection, when combined with the appropriate device gives you a VoIP phone, and an always on broadband connection in your pocket.

Combine this with some of the things you are seeing Google roll out now like Grand Central (Google Voice) and you have a single integrated appliance that can do a lot of nifty stuff.

But this is near future stuff, and probably not as forward looking as you are asking for.
posted by quin at 3:10 PM on March 13

Small, sorry that should read extremely near future stuff...
posted by quin at 3:11 PM on March 13

British Telecom have a futurolgy unit that has published a few roadmaps. The most recent one that I have seen is the 2005 version (pdf) which is looking a bit optimistic to me.
posted by Jakey at 3:49 PM on March 13

"...which is looking a bit optimistic to me."

From the PDF:

"Running man' style TV programs using androids... 2030"

I can't help but think they are pulling a lot of this out their arses. Interesting to read though.
posted by 517 at 6:30 PM on March 13

Ian Pearson used to be BT's futurologist. He has an archive of his past predictions. In Everyday Life in 2010 (written in 1998) he predicts:

Active contact lenses that use laser beams drawing pictures straight onto the wearer's retinas would be in late stages of development by 2010.

posted by JonB at 4:22 AM on March 14

There are a bunch of TED talks which you will be interested in. Just the other day I watched one about Siftables which are like commodity mini-computers, and another about wearable computing. Both were by the people creating the actual tech.

You might also want to do a bit of research on the consultants Stephen Spielberg used for Minority Report. He tried to find people whose technology was cutting-edge and cool, but also he wanted thing which weren't just pie in the sky, they were about to become real and practical. That touch-screen interface for computers, for instance, has more or less become real.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 5:07 PM on March 15