Technology contributes to our comfort, productivity and ability to do the impossible. While there are a few key technological advances that anyone can remember, many advances may go unheard by most people. Let’s explore five of ways modern tech is changing your life, even if you don’t use it.
1. Nanoarchitecture
Metals, ceramics, plastics and woods may seem sufficient, but they have certain critical flaws. Materials with a high strength may be heavy. Hard items may be brittle. Even the strongest materials may not be able to withstand continual wear. Nanoarchitecture aims to revolutionize the materials we use in everything from building automobiles to designing clothes. By carefully arranging how molecules of atoms connect with one another, it’s possible to design materials that are as hard as steel while being as flexible as cloth. When these new materials become available in coming years, it will likely make smaller devices lighter while slowly working to reinforce new homes, automobiles and even replace synthetic fibers used in clothes.
2. Car-to-Car Networking
Traffic accidents and construction present more than just minor delays, they can be hazards in their own right to passing automobiles. Car-to-car communication could allow cars to warn other cars of impending traffic problems. This could allow you to pick an alternate route miles before you even see the problem on the road. The real reason this technology is so revolutionary revolves around what it can improve: self-driving cars. It could give self-driving cars, which have been limited due to hardware constraints and programming hazards, one of the many pieces needed to make them viable and safe.
3. Mobile Wallets
While most technologies are only in developmental stages, mobile wallets are something that exist today for consumer use. The only reason you may not have used them revolves around the fact that they require a smart phone and an ATM capable of utilizing mobile payments for transactions. As this technology becomes more widespread, things like printed currency will become less popular. This could reduce robberies, make checking out during busy sales faster and safer, and reduce the overhead associated with your credit and checking accounts.
4. The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things is a relatively simple idea that has amazing potential. It is the idea that machines and other devices could communicate with one another to improve the way we live. Clothing could be linked to the Internet of Things. Data about your heartbeat, your perspiration rate and other biometrics could be relayed to your doctor’s office, which in turn could be used to create a more complete picture of your health. While the Internet of Things is still in its infancy, it stands to drastically change the way people live.
5. Advanced Manufacturing Processes
While few consumers think about it, advancements in technology are allowing manufacturing to make leaps and bounds. 3D printing is an example of one such development. It stands to allow food, clothing and even other 3D printers to be printed from basic components. This could make things more affordable and obtainable for everyone, though this technology is still a decent length away from becoming commonplace.
Other advances include those brought about by companies like Arrow Engineering. They offer devices that allow manufacturers to mix ingredients and materials more efficiently, which in turn minimizes the amount of space that these processes require. The bottom line about these advances in manufacturing is that they will make products cheaper and more available with a higher quality.
Advances in technology will continue to affect you, even if you don’t use them or know of them. They influence the way products are made, make certain actions more convenient, and introduce new abilities designed to make life easier. This just goes to show that new technology will continue to change your life, even if you don’t personally use it.