INTO THE FUTURE
Flexible
screens, 3D printers and self-inflating tyres are just some of the
life-changing innovations 2013 will see
I T’S LATE night and I’m on a flight
to Mumbai to be part of Kaun Banega Crorepati again. It’s a Sunday and has been an exhausting one as I’ve
attended a wedding in the afternoon and a reception in the evening. As I plonk
myself down on my seat, the last thing I want is to have a long conversation
with the passenger in the next seat. I’m usually over-exuberantly friendly and
a very chatty flyer but I’m more or less done with my ‘people’s person persona’
as I’ve exhausted it all on the ‘munde di side de log’ and ‘kuddi di friends’
and the auntiejis who want advice on a new phone while the unclejis look
disapprovingly at me as they are pretty sure they know more than me. Thus I
plonk, shut my eyes, exaggerate a long loud groan to signify how tired I am to
all and slide my body into a comfortable position. Aah... bliss.
ALL SO REAL
The 3D printer has the
potential to change our lives in more ways than one
“Don’t you think that instead of
reviewing products already out in the market, you should talk about future
innovations that will change our lives?” I open my eyes and trace the source of
the very loud and assertive voice. My bleary eyes finally focus and find that
it’s the passenger sitting next to me and also find that he’s very determined
to have his say. Now that he’s got me up and has my attention he introduces
himself as Mr Majumdar, says he knows me very well – then proceeds to call me
Rohit and tells me how he never misses my show called TechBoys (!!). I don’t
have the heart or the stamina to correct him on either and as I start to reply
– my feeble attempt to answer his query is brushed aside. I am then given a
very passionate and forceful 15-minute discourse by him on why reviewing
products already out in the market is of no use as “what humans truly need is
to have knowledge for the future, to be ready for the future”. This is a man on
a mission and in some ways I actually agree with him. This one is for you Mr
Majumdar – a quick synopsis of five innovations that will truly change our
lives in 2013.
FLEXIBLE SCREENS; BUT NOT THE WAY YOU
THINK
2013 will be the year when flexible
screens will finally move from being just prototypes to actual consumer
products. They just won’t work the way you visualise it right now. The Holy
Grail has been a product the size of a matchbox, which when unfolded several
times becomes a nine-inch screen. What most people forget is that the screen
may bend but it also needs the inside components to do the same. Thus the micro
chips, the processor, the storage, the body, the frame – everything inside and
outside must flex and fold! And that isn’t going to happen in 2013. Right now,
look for flexible screens that work on OLED technology, move to resin and
plastic instead of glass and become much lighter and thinner. The big advantage
will be that these screens won’t break when the device falls from your hand and
will be impervious to normal scratches and wear and tear. Expect a few devices
to bend and fold halfway or roll the screen away from the body.
THE 3D PRINTER
The most misunderstood technology of
them all. Here’s a device that has the potential to change our lives in more
ways than one can imagine and yet has lived under a cloud of complexity. The 3D
printer is a very simple product. It’s basically an object builder. Feed in a
design and watch it go to work by layering plastic and polymers. You can build
literally anything from it, including 3D models, samples of your new product,
or even your brand new iPhone cover. There’s a whole community out there that
is already exchanging designs or building designs for a small fee. Eventually
these will work with just a good quality photograph – just scan one in and
it’ll make an exact replica.
MOVIES FROM A NEW DIMENSION
In 1928, the first movie to be shot
at 24 frames per second was released. Believe it or not, we still stick to that
85-year-old technology for all the movies we see today. That is about to change
with movies being shot in 48 frames per second and moving to 60 soon. The
result is an immersive, almost hypnotic experience that goes far beyond 3D or IMAX.
The motion is super smooth, colours truly pop and scene detailing is impossibly
sharp. Expect Peter Jackson’sThe
Hobbit to be the first movie to have
this technology. The second big change here is going to be the final burial of
our current 1080P HD standard as we move to 4K technology. This is four times
the current resolution of HD and almost every company will have televisions,
projectors as well as source players that will handle all this glorious HD.
Higher frame rates and higher resolution combined will make 2013 the year
screen clarity moved from good to jaw-dropping.
TYRES THAT NEVER TIRE
The greatest irritation of owning a
car or two-wheeler has to be the tyres. A flat tyre or the effort to keep
pressure regulated is a constant irritant. While Run Flat tyres have changed
that a bit, self inflating tyres will complete that equation. These will come
with a sensor built in, the minute they find that the pressure inside has
dropped – a built-in regulator, valve and pumping tube will take care of it. No
more standing in line at petrol pumps and then getting horribly wrong tyre
pressure due to faulty equipment.
WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
I’ve always found wearable tech to
be a bit of a joke. Silly virtual reality helmets, space suit-like clothing,
wires dangling all over your body – it all makes you look like a complete ass
and even the experience isn’t all that great. 2013 will change that in a hurry
and from multiple directions. Devices like the Google Glasses (small screen on
one side that combines real life and augmented reality), Talking Gloves
(sensor-laden gloves that recognise sign language and convert it to text on a
phone screen), Myontech Underwear (has sensors built in that tell you exactly
how well each muscle was used in a workout), Sleep Sensors (analysis of your
sleep and breathing pattern and can pinpoint diseases even before they start)
and the next generation of activity trackers from Nike Fuelband and Fitbit.
It’s a brave new world of unobtrusive wearable tech that function without making
you feel like a prat.
There are a lot more life-changing
innovations coming up, which I shall save up for my series of ‘end of year’
columns. I close my eyes once again, groan louder and shift my body even lower.
Maybe, just maybe, I can get some sleep for the few minutes left, before I
land. Aah, bliss!
- Rajiv Makhni HTBR121202
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