Recently analyst firm Frost & Sullivan celebrated its 50th anniversary (happy anniversary!) by releasing a list of the 50 emerging technologies most likely to make a meaningful impact on the world. The firm boldly predicts that their list of technologies will change industries, research agendas and even how we live.
Bold stuff for a list of 50, but after eyeballing the list (and having to look up a few terms) it does seem to be solid. I am most excited about:
- Wearable sensors (Star Trek is here!),
- Personalized medicine therapeutics (I’m over 40),
- Nanoviricides (Had to look it up, again 40+), and
- Carbon-fixing technologies (Do I need to say why?).
- Wearable sensors (Think about it),
- Artificial photosynthesis (Not sure why but seems like something we should not mess with, i.e. Jurassic Park but with plants),
- Energy harvesting (Can you say Matrix? I saw what Keanu Reeves when through), and
- Inductive wireless power transfer (I would worry about walking to a wireless “third rail” and getting an unexpected and unwanted jolt of energy).
Seriously, from the list below what excites or worries you…and what did the smart folks at Frost & Sullivan miss?
1. Accelerated carbonation technology
2. Biomass-to-renewable oil conversion technology
3. Microchannel process technology
4. Carbide-derived carbon (CDC) technology
5. Breathable antibacterial coatings, products
6. Plastic conversion to oil by gasolysis
7. Algal-based platform for production of a wide variety of chemicals
8. Destagnation and destratification of water
9. Non-woven coating spray-on technology
10. Artificial photosynthesis
11. BPA-free epoxy lining of plastic bottles
12. Hydrogen storage technology
13. Production of liquid biofuel from industrial waste gases containing carbon monoxide
14. Mini-chromosome gene stacking technology
15. Nanoparticles for use as anti-viral agents or “nanoviricides”
16. Substitute pancreas for diabetics using stem cells
17. Wireless sensors and ubiquitous sensors
18. Energy harvesting
19. Wearable sensors
20. Fiber optic sensor for security
21. Structural health monitoring sensors
22. Intelligent robots
23. Flexible electronics
24. 3D integration
25. Smart grid networks
26. Mobile projection systems
27. Advanced storage technologies (MRAM/PCM)
28. Hyperspectral imaging
29. Haptics and touch technology
30. Energy-efficient lighting technologies
31. EUV for higher transistor density
32. Energy-efficient variable frequency drives (VFD)
33. Reconfigurable manufacturing systems
34. Micro and nano manufacturing technologies
35. Machine vision systems
36. Charging infrastructure for electric vehicles
37. Inductive wireless power transfer
38. 3D cell culture systems
39. Personalized medicine therapeutics
40. Dendritic cell therapy
41. Vaccines for infectious disease and cancer
42. High-throughput sequencing technology
43. The infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solution
44. Quantum computing
45. Energy management and carbon accounting systems
46. Fuel cell technology
47. Sea water desalination technologies
48. Green building technologies
49. Carbon-fixing technologies
50. Medical imaging technology
