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Amazing Technology That Could Soon Be Yours

Posted: 30th July 2015 09:16
Technology has advanced relentlessly over the last 20 to 30 years, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. When we consider all the things our smartphones, tablets, medical devices, home appliances and transport can already do, it’s hard to believe that there are even more mind-blowing developments just around the corner – but there are, and they could be ours a lot sooner than you think. From the Internet of Things (see Alinta Energy’s handy guide) to a battery that can power a house, developments are coming thick and fast. We’ve listed a few of the most interesting here.

Smart Glasses



Simply put, smart glasses are a wearable computer that adds gives you extra information about what you’re seeing. Most of us will have seen or heard of Google’s version, which has been getting a fair bit of press in recent months. Although Google glasses are still in their beta stage and aren’t yet a perfect product, the consumer version is only a year or two away – and competitors are likely to be releasing their own attempts at around the same time.
 
3D Printed Food




Many of us are captivated by the idea of printed food – if only because we find it hard to get our heads around how such a thing would actually work! But it’s not just a fad, as this article by Digitaltrends.com explains: Pioneering German company Biozoon are using 3D printing to create food that melts easily when eaten and is targeted at patients in nursing homes, who may have difficult chewing and swallowing and can sometimes be undernourished as a result? As 3D printed food gets tastier and more varied, who knows what other opportunities it could hold?
 
Super Batteries



Which of us hasn’t run out of battery just when we needed to make an important call?  While smartphones become increasingly complex and sophisticated, the fairly limited life (and long charging time) of a standard lithium ion battery has not changed for some time. But this might not be the case much longer. Scientists at Stanford University are currently working on an aluminium battery that charges full in one minute, while a team of engineers at Arizona State University are working on a flexible battery– inspired by the Japanese paper folding art kirigami – for use in a super-slim bendable smartwatch strap. Other developments that are just around the corner include over-the-air charging and water-powered batteries.