The landscape of the future is knee-deep in new innovations that were once only mere fantasy. Reality and intelligence are changing and we are already starting to experience this terrain blossom into view.
Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality
Let's talk about the Pokémon in the room. In the last 2 weeks since it debuted in the US, Pokémon GO has taken the streets by storm. For a "free" app it is estimated to make about $1.6 million a day thanks to the option for in-app purchases. What once seemed like a dormant nostalgia of gaming past, has reemerged and captured the nation. Well, it has the nation capturing. But Pokémon GO is more than just a game. It is blazing the path that is putting into main stream the growing world of Augmented Reality (AR), a technology that overlays non-reality onto reality via connected devices.
Gaming isn't the only industry AR is enhancing. This type of mixed reality has the potential to be a revolutionary tool for business, education, travel, real estate, design, and art to name a few. Imagine designing a product and seeing changes in real time without touching a physical tool. Imagine redecorating your home without lifting any furniture. In many ways AR can be a tool that helps save time, money and space, transforming reality instantaneously but not necessarily permanently.
Microsoft Hololens is one incarnation of augmented reality that will put the creativity in the hands of the user from games, to drawing, to design among other applications. With apps already available for the Lenovo PHAB2 Pro, Google Tango is pushing forward AR as a tool for measurement, design and play. Another big player, Magic Leap, has been gaining notoriety for being secretive about its mixed reality project. However, what they have released to the public so far shows that the future potential of this media is in the realm extraordinary. With gaming and entertainment in the forefront of what has been shared, there is also potential for this technology to change the office environment completely. The company is said to be taking the leap to launch their product soon.
Photo credit: sndrv via Visualhunt.com / CC BY
Wearable Technology
With the Fitbit tracking your steps, a bluetooth headset keeping you wireless with your wireless device, and a watch that does everything (including the kitchen sink it seems), what you wear is more than fashion, it has become a tool to keep you healthy, connected, and safe with seamless convenience. No matter how you undress the topic, the wearables industry is booming as fashion designs are becoming more and more integrated with technology and connected devices.
Of late, many wearable wrist devices are going beyond fitness tracking and entering the world of touch payment. With the tap of the wrist, you can pay away. Walt Disney World introduced a form of this technology several years back with the Magic Band, giving people a paperless park experience from the reservation period to tapping in at theme park and ride entry points. This tap tech is also seen in an innovative project created by 22 year-old Lucie Davis, where micro-chip enhanced press-on nails have the power to open the turnstiles of the subway in London.
Safety wearables are among the many latest innovations. This trend in safety is aimed at keeping people, particularly women and children (much like the Titanic), safe through inconspicuously integrated devices. Smart jewelry like Bembu, Stiletto and Safelet, or small attachable devices like Revolar and Athena, can be activated by the push of a button, sending out alerts for help. Some even include a feature that records any audible interaction upon alert activation.
The future of wearables is as limitless as the body. From Converse's All Wah smart sneakers that serve as a connected Wah pedal, to smart garments that visualize data or harness the power of hugs, designers and makers are pioneering this world that keeps the whole body connected and people connected to each other through wearables.
The bembu-bracelet can be used to send out an emergency signal to friends, family and the police.
Photo Credit: http://www.bembu.at/index.php/en/description
Artificial Intelligence
The age of Artificial Intelligence is here. This does not mean total computer domination, so no need to run to the bunker to wait out the rise of the machines. AI is actually machine learning, a way to train machines to understand, interpret and leverage data. Instead of the neural networks of the computer being hard-coded to to do this, they are trained to recognize data. Look at the facial recognition capabilities with Google Photos and Facebook's DeepFace. After processing photo after photo, they machines learn not only what your face looks like but they also learn about YOU based on where you are and what you are doing in your images. Sounds crazy and out of control, but in reality it is the opposite of scary and more of a helping hand. These are some other ways that is AI being used to
take over
better the world.
Step aside imaginary friends, there's a new crew of artificial (intelligence) pals knocking at the door. Between Siri and team Alexa and Echo, there are digital assistants using natural language processing and machine learning to know more about your interests and habits to make your life easier. The power of suggestion just got more intelligent. Watson is another AI friend who has been trained to learn and respond to big questions based on data it has gathered through natural language processing. That's right, machines are now becoming literate and able to store, organize, process and make connections to analyze data and formulate answers to these big questions. And that's powerful because it enhances what a human can do:
"...allowing human experts to make better and more informed decisions."
These better informed decisions can lead to more accurate diagnoses of diseases and the best possible treatments.This is just one of so many ways Watson's intelligence can be used as a powerful tool. Dr. AI, scrubbing in!
Cars are getting smarter, too. The self-driving car is being innovated by many companies including Google and Tesla Motors, using either the LIDAR system, where lasers scan the area around the car or using computer vision, with radar, cameras and sensors to "see" the world around them. Companies like Drive.ai and Civil Maps are putting machine learning in the driver's seat by developing systems and maps that learn from data taken in by the autonomous car itself. Ollie, a self-driving shuttle using Watson, debuted in Maryland last month. This is the first of its kind and there are hopes for it to land in other locations. Watson might not be 16, but that does not stop him from driving!
In a way, AI is like augmented intelligence for humans. It is based on our human neural design, and adds on to our body of literacy, making us and the objects around us stronger more more capable.
Photo credit: A Health Blog via Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA
Cover Image Photo credit: brizzle born and bred via Visualhunt / CC BY-ND