Modern technologies, which until recently were considered science fiction. Photo

Google Glass is a smart glasses from the search giant. They became available back in mid-2014. The only reason this technology still hasn't become popular is the price. If you want to buy smart glasses from Google, you have to spend $ 1,500.

But don't discount smart glasses. Once upon a time, not everyone could afford cell phones either. Titans like Microsoft and Sony are working on their devices. This means that in the near future you will be able to watch videos of cats during your morning run.

2. Smart Data

Automation is one of the main tasks that modern technologies solve. While most of the processes are automatic these days, there are a few things that we have to do manually. For example, add information to the contact list on the phone. You probably won't have to do this yourself soon.

RelateIQ is already working on technology that will create a contact based on information about your current contact list, mailbox, messages. In the end, all you need to do is give the name of the person. All information will appear on your phone.

3. Wearable electronics

Smart glasses and watches are devices that connect us to the outside world. But there are also technologies that connect us to our body. Large scientific institutes, corporations and small companies are engaged in their development. We are talking about headphones that measure heart rate, lenses that track blood sugar levels, and with NFC technology.

As soon as developers can make such gadgets available, the market will be filled with various implants that will read important information in real time and display it on the same smart glasses.

4. Smart home

This technology has already become a reality. Refrigerators tell you which food is running out, and the oven can be controlled using your smartphone.

In the future, the oven will learn to reheat food while you drive home, and the refrigerator will order the food itself. At this time, you will be able to focus on more important matters.

5. Virtual reality

The Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR are all-new gaming experiences. Of course, science fiction writers have been flirting with the topic for a long time, but who seriously thought about it?

Game publishers and developers are spending multi-million dollar budgets to bring us new VR experiences. VR devices have room to grow: they are cumbersome and wired, but a start has been made. Soon we will be able to go anywhere in the world without leaving home.

6. Holographic images

Remember the holographic interfaces in Star Wars and Minority Report? Now this technology no longer seems to be something fantastic.

The scope of holographic projections is not limited to games and media. Imagine contact lenses that project an image onto the retina of the eye. People with vision problems will be able to see better without surgery.

7. Neurointerface

The semblance of a neurointerface has long existed and is successfully used in medicine. Quadriplegics - people with complete paralysis of the body - talk using a neurointerface using a computer.

Of course, the technology is far from perfect. However, with the development of neurotechnology, a paralyzed person will be able to return to society and live a full life.

The globalization of the Internet has reached incredible proportions. You can get access to the Internet almost anywhere in the world, and if the large-scale project of Elon Musk is successful, the Internet will be available everywhere.

Unsurprisingly, services like Uber are popping up. This is a taxi that you can call in almost any country using a mobile application. More recently, Uber has also taken up food delivery. There will be even more universal services soon.

9. Digital distribution

The world is changing rapidly. Some 15 years ago, we could not have imagined that we would no longer have to keep stacks of discs with music, films and games at home. Steam and online cinemas have replaced our shopping trip. Instead of a new album of your favorite band, it's easier to buy a subscription to a music service at a similar price and get access to the entire discography.

Of course, digital distribution has not reached its climax, and many continue to use physical media, but such people are becoming less and less.

10. Robots

Robotics has made great strides over the past 10 years. Of course, more than a dozen years will pass before the appearance of terminators, but machines capable of shouldering heavy and monotonous work on their titanium shoulders will appear in the near future. For example, thanks to Boston Dynamics.

In the next 30 years, almost certainly, we will completely switch from fossil energy sources to renewable ones. Oil and gas will eventually run out, but solar and wind energy will not. In addition, solar panels are much more environmentally friendly.

The ever-growing volumes of internet traffic are driving the development of mobile networks. Messengers, video calls, 4K video and streaming services require new data transmission technologies, so the emergence of 5G internet is inevitable in the near future.

14. Artificial intelligence

It’s just a matter of time before it’s full-fledged. This will be a turning point in the development of human civilization, after which the world will change forever.

In fact, artificial intelligence no longer seems to be something out of reach, especially with the rapid pace of development of neural networks. Machine learning has already reached a high level and is capable of many things, including writing scripts, books and songs.

Of course, programs do not work as well as we would like, but the neural network is a great example of our moving in the right direction.

15. Graphene

In 2004, the first graphene sheet was released. Since then, scientists have been trying to find a way to mass produce the material.

Graphene is a versatile material with exceptional properties. It can be used in almost all areas of our life. High-speed data transfers, water filters and even a shatterproof smartphone body are all graphene. When the production of this material is put on stream, another industrial revolution awaits us.

The use of new technologies in small business has long ceased to be a rarity, but in practice in our country they are used rather infrequently. Recently, few new directions have appeared, and if we consider completely exclusive ideas, then these are found in single copies.

Meanwhile, the organization of its business on the basis of a new promising idea allows the company not only to survive in the market, but also to develop effectively or even to patent a completely new technology.

How technology can help develop your business

The work of a large company often goes according to a plan that is clearly scheduled two or three years in advance. Therefore, it is not easy to introduce new technologies into production, since it will be necessary to completely rebuild the established processes. In this regard, it is much easier for small companies to reorganize, they have more opportunities to respond quickly to all innovations in service and production.

New technologies used by small businesses are the surest and optimal way to achieve greater productivity while saving on energy costs. The introduction of innovations makes the business more efficient and stable.

In a highly competitive environment, it is technologies can avoid significant economic and financial costs on the way of further development.

Examples of application of technologies in construction

It is quite possible to get a high profit from the construction business if you give preference to the use of modern techniques and materials:

• For example, innovations in the field of construction and installation work involve the use of modern materials such as aerated concrete based on gypsum, aerated concrete based on cement, artificial stone and foam, urea foam, wall blocks, liquid roofing and insulation.
• It is possible to establish the production of such materials through the introduction of technologies. As a result, if you produce innovative materials yourself, establish their sales and combine all this with installation and construction services, you can gradually create a large construction company.
• It is possible to organize a small construction business with a small investment. To do this, you should start the production of any one material at home. When you find a permanent sales market, you can gradually increase the production capacity and expand the range.
• An example of the introduction of technologies in the construction industry is the use of mosaics. Recently, mosaic patterns have become very popular. Decorated kitchens and bathrooms become the highlight of the room.
• Innovations can be used to create materials that imitate expensive stone, such as malachite, marble, and more. Their use is quite popular when decorating premises, decorating facades, and building fireplaces.

Examples of application of technologies in production

Leveraging innovation does not mean creating a completely new business based on untested technology, which is fraught with risk for capital investment. New technologies can be applied and by introducing them into existing production.

• For example, such a widespread "1C: Accounting" has already become an integral part of almost any enterprise. When a new version of the program is released, you can become a dealer and help promote it. All it takes is convincing business owners that new control and accounting capabilities will improve business operations and growth.
• Specializing in construction products, you can expand your production by creating materials with a surface similar to fur, velvet, suede or velor. The manufacture of such products does not require huge investments, and the wide scope of its application will allow you to get a good profit.
• In the furniture making business, you can additionally produce a variety of decorative furniture fittings. The technologies for its production require the lowest costs, and due to the high demand, all investments are paid off almost instantly.

Examples of technology applications in other areas

Innovation can be applied to almost any field of activity. You can always find a new or well-forgotten old idea that has no competitors yet. An example would be:

• making 3D casts, you can offer parents to capture the hands and feet of their little children in the casts as a keepsake;
• making decorative plaster crafts, such decorations look great in any interior;
• drilling water wells in rural areas;
• drawing congratulatory inscriptions on flowers, which will make the bouquets for sale truly exclusive;
• printing free photocopies on pages containing advertisements on the reverse side, while profit is obtained directly from advertisers;
• growing rare tropical plants for sale;
• creation of unusual handmade stained glass glasses.

A striking example of the introduction of innovations are modern social networks... A few years ago, it was difficult even to imagine that active communication via the Internet could become so popular. Today, the owners of such resources receive huge profits from advertising. All that was once required of them was to come up with a new idea, spend a little time and effort, and advertise their product.

At the moment, business on the Internet leaves many more unoccupied niches: specific dating sites, online consultations, learning rare languages etc.

Ideas for business

Almost all of the now successful companies started out on the basis of consumer demand. There are a great many organizations engaged in the same type of business, but every truly successful enterprise has some significant or insignificant nuance in the work that sets it apart from its competitors. There are ideas that, with a little improvement, turn into unique ones.

Vending

For small businesses, it is vending that can become the fastest and least expensive niche. The bottom line is selling goods through a vending machine. At the same time, you can sell anything you want, from coffee, soft drinks and chewing gum to such specific goods as, for example, live crabs, which are successfully sold in Japan through vending machines. Of course, the choice of a product depends entirely on its demand.

When conducting such a business, the costs of service personnel are completely excluded. The owner only needs to purchase vending machines, install them in suitable locations and ensure timely replenishment.

Vending attracts not only by the ability to quickly start your own business from scratch, but also by the lack of huge competition. With the right choice of goods and the constant expansion of your activities, you can grow into a real monopolist in a certain niche.

Frontend

The most widespread area of ​​small business has been and remains trade. You can improve your sales system and make it more efficient by implementing a frontend.

An enticing product is called a front-end. which most often provided free of charge... If, when selling one type of product, you attach a second one to it for free, then it is highly likely that the client, after such an offer, will want to use the services of this company again. In this case, the very fact that the product is free is important, and not its true value. You can attach product samples or beautiful inexpensive souvenirs.

Enterprises that provide services to the public - hairdressing salons, beauty salons, taxis - can attract customers by providing services for free, subject to certain conditions. For example, every fifth trip is free, or every tenth visit to the beauty salon is paid for by the institution itself. You can also use a paid frontend, that is, regularly make discounts on some goods. Such technology will allow not only to attract customers, but also to keep them, which is successfully used by large retail chains.

Wenselling

Vanselling (van selling) in English means "trade from the wheels." This idea can be successfully applied in the distribution service of dealer networks. Its essence lies in the delivery and shipment of goods with registration of the transaction in the company's accounting system directly at the points of sale. That is, the entire offered assortment of goods is with the agent.

The use of wanselling allows you to significantly increase sales volumes, avoid losses when selling perishable goods. The speed of customer service is also becoming a significant advantage by reducing the cost of servicing the process of preparing pre-orders.

All over the world, the use of new technologies for small businesses is the basis for the effective development of an enterprise, its successful existence and high profits. According to statistics, 50-80% of GDP growth in developed countries is due precisely to the introduction of various innovations.

With the help of technology, you can develop your business to the level of an international company. At the same time, success does not depend at all on the amount of financial investments, but on the originality of the idea and its timely implementation.

We live in the 21st century and we are surrounded by technology. Is it good or is it bad? Let’s think about it.

The first thing that springs to mind is technology is great. It makes our life easier in many ways. For instance we have a lot of kitchen appliances that help us cook, cut, and wash in less time than 20 years ago. So housing has become much less time consuming. It applies to many other areas of our life.

Technologies help us be connected. Most people have some kind of a smart phone that allows them to stay online, share their news with friends and relatives no matter where they are at the moment. Nowadays we have easy access to information, which help in education and business. There are numerous resources that give people opportunity to study at home or be accepted in a university abroad without leaving their home country.

Of course we need to mention technologies used in medicine. They help save lives or improve lives of those who suffered from accidents or were born with some abnormalities. Technologies help us travel in quicker ways. The list of advantages can go and on.

But does technology have disadvantages? It definitely does. The speed with which modern technologies develop and our attempts to catch up with it make our lives more stressful. We have become more isolated, as more and more people replace real relations with social media ones. We virtually don’t need to go out to satisfy our basic needs like food, medicine etc.

Technology definitely improves our lives but only when used in moderation.

Translation:

Technology in our lives

We live in the 21st century, and technology is around us. Is this good or bad? Let's think.

The first thing that comes to mind is technology is great. They make our life easier. For example, there are now many household appliances that help us cook, cut and wash in less time than 20 years ago. Household management now takes significantly less time. And this is true in many areas of our life.

Technology helps us stay connected. Most now have a smartphone with which they go online, share news with friends and family, wherever they are. Today it is very easy to access the information you need, which helps both in education and in business. There are many resources that allow you to study at home, there is an opportunity to enter a foreign university without leaving your home country.

Of course, the technologies used in medicine should also be noted. They help save lives and improve the quality of life for those who are injured in accidents or were born with disabilities. Technology allows us to travel in less and less time. The list of advantages that technology gives us can be continued for quite a long time.

Today's scientific achievements are the basis for changing the world we are used to tomorrow. Something will change the world in the near future, something in the distant future. We looked at current trends and presented how they will change the world in the future. If, of course, they change. At the same time, we tried to assess the likelihood that the considered trends will become massive and change the world during our lifetime. ()

Energy from the air

Probability: 85%

Soon our houses will "grow wiser". And for this to happen, they must be filled with numerous devices that will make our life easier. Motion sensors, temperature, air pollution, various photo and video cameras and much more. They all need food. But leading wires to them or constantly changing batteries is expensive. Several groups of researchers are working to ensure that various gadgets can receive energy, as they say, from the air.

The space around us is filled with radio waves, such as Wi-Fi radio signals. Scientists at the University of Washington took a standard Wi-Fi router, made minor changes to it, and now it can be used as a power source for remote devices. At the same time, it can still perform its main function; the alteration did not affect the quality of communication. Scientists managed to supply electricity to a small camera and a thermal sensor. Moreover, none of these devices had its own rechargeable battery; instead, a supercapacitor is used to store the charge. This technology is called Power over Wi-Fi. Moreover, this technology can be used both for smart home devices and low-power gadgets, such as fitness bracelets.

But the Freevolt technology, developed by Drayson Technologies, allows you to use the energy of radio waves of various ranges. The device created by the company selects energy from radio waves of several radio frequencies at once. The device is based on a multiband antenna and a rectifier, which is designed to convert alternating current into direct current. Demonstrated the technology at the company using it in the CleanSpace portable air pollution sensor. The device evaluates the environmental situation around the user and sends information to his smartphone.

As the power consumption of various devices decreases, when they will require a minimum amount of electricity to perform their tasks, the popularity of wireless power transmission will also grow. Technology will bring us closer to the massive expansion of the Internet of Things and smart homes. Even if you don’t live in a truly "smart" home, you will have a couple of gadgets that charge through the air in a couple of years for sure. If, of course, your home has the necessary sources of radio waves, for example, a Wi-Fi router. Perhaps only radiophobia can stop the development of technology, or rather, make it unpopular among users.

Neural networks are everywhere

Probability: 95%

What was previously beyond the power of conventional computers will become possible thanks to artificial neural networks. They, unlike computers of the von Neumann architecture, can be trained. And they themselves are capable of self-learning. Computers based on neural network technologies can be used where it is difficult to describe in a programming language what is required from a machine. Therefore, they will oust the cars and people we are used to from many fields of activity. At the same time, thanks to them, we will have opportunities that were not available before.

© Carsten Koall / AFP / Getty Images

Wherever we communicate with a "smart" machine, neural networks will be present. Voice assistants and smart search. Assistant robots in stores, interactive services and self-driving cars. Behind every "smart" piece of hardware will be the technology of artificial neural networks.

CRISPR / Cas9 is changing genetic engineering. We Conquer Cancer and HIV

Probability: 95%

Genetic engineering must change the world around us and ourselves. This is obvious and hardly anyone will argue. The only question is when it will happen. Genome-altering technologies have always been complex and expensive. But a new method for precise editing of the CRISPR / Cas9 genes seems to be about to change the situation.

In the UK this year, the first authorization was issued to use this technology for editing the genome of human embryos. So far, only for research purposes. The embryos after the experiment must be destroyed. Experiments on the genetic modification of human embryos using CRISPR / Cas9 technology have recently taken place in China. And this is just the beginning.

© defeatshyness.com

What happened? It's simple. Molecular biologists have discovered a genome-editing mechanism created by nature and are learning to use it. The mechanism is simple and effective. Nature has endowed them with bacteria and archaea, which fight with its help against viruses that attack them. Scientists also want to apply it to editing the genome of animals, plants and, of course, humans. CRISPR is like an archive, an immunological memory that stores DNA fragments of a virus that has ever attacked a bacterium or its ancestors. Cas9 is a tool, a kind of natural machine for detecting virus fragments in bacterial DNA, a copy of which is in the archive. Having found the desired fragment, he cuts it, thereby protecting the cell from infection. After that, the cell repair system replaces the destroyed areas.

Now let's imagine that this system can be offered any DNA fragment for search and destruction, for example, a DNA fragment of the human immunodeficiency virus. Scientists at Temple University have already conducted such an experiment on rats and mice. As a result, the target HIV fragment was cut from DNA in every tissue of a living organism. And in China, researchers have succeeded in suppressing growth and launching a self-destruction program for cancer cells. The experiment was also carried out on mice. But experiments on humans are just around the corner. In July, Chinese molecular biologists have already received permission to conduct experiments with volunteers.

Unlike other technologies, CRISPR / Cas9 allows you to edit the genome of both embryos and living adult organisms.

You can cure a sick person, or you can prevent the transmission of negative hereditary information to descendants. The better we study the human genome, the more opportunities we will have to correct and improve it. And this is already the path to designing children. The so-called "designer children" will not only be deprived of hereditary diseases, but will also receive the "bonuses" inherent in life and necessary in life in the form of intellectual and athletic abilities, beauty and health.

Quantum communication and a secure future

Probability: 95%

Quantum communication and quantum computers are perhaps the two technologies that are united by the word "quantum" and are in the spotlight. But if the ubiquitous use of quantum computers is still far away, then quantum communications are a matter of the very near future. China has just launched its first experimental quantum communications satellite, and experts are already predicting that the volume of the quantum communications market in the next 5 years could reach 7.5 billion US dollars. What does this technology mean to us? A Chinese satellite is capable of transmitting non-intercepted keys from orbit to Earth. Launching more of these satellites into orbit will create a global quantum communications network by 2030, says Jian-Wei Pan, chief scientist of the QUESS project.

The widespread adoption of quantum communication lines means that the future will be at least partially what we expect it to be. Unmanned vehicles will drive on the roads, drones will soar in the sky, and, for example, the money in our bank accounts will remain completely safe. Is there anything that can prevent this? Yes, vulnerabilities in information transmission channels. Thanks to quantum communication technologies, or rather, quantum cryptography as a part of it, information can be transmitted safely. This means that neither a hacker eager to realize his abilities, nor a terrorist will be able to take advantage of the vulnerability of information channels. Now, a self-driving car traveling at a speed of 120 km / h, a drone hovering overhead, and a bank server can be hacked. And the consequences of this will be sad. Just imagine yourself in a self-driving car, which was taken over by a hacker. Quantum physics allows you to create secure communication lines and defend against malicious attacks. This means making the future safer.

The ubiquitous use of blockchain technology

Probability: 65%

The head of Sberbank, German Gref, believes that in the near future this technology "will revolutionize all industries, without exception, from agriculture to banks, and, unfortunately, government agencies too." Sberbank and the Qiwi payment system are promoting blockchain in our country. Overseas, the R3 blockchain consortium has brought together leading banks and financial companies. Its goal is to develop open source blockchain technology for banking structures.

The common reader may be familiar with the technology in connection with the popular Bitcoin cryptocurrency and the peer-to-peer payment system of the same name. Numerous miners around the world mine bitcoins and satoshi using their computers. But in fact, cryptocurrency mining is nothing more than checking transactions, that is, performing the necessary computational operations to maintain the system. For this, miners receive their "mined" cryptocurrency. And after bitcoin, many other cryptocurrencies have appeared.

© trenchreynolds.com

Today, government agencies and leading financial institutions are interested in technology. And by blockchain not only cryptocurrencies are meant. Experts propose to divide the scope of the technology into three groups: directly digital currencies, use within the framework of e-government and in the field of "smart" contracts and open assets.

The blockchain technology itself (from the English "blok" - a chain and "chain" - a chain) is a distributed database, which consists of blocks of information. Each such block contains records of transactions made by system participants. The blocks themselves are stored on the computers of the system participants. This makes hacking and modifying the database extremely difficult.

The blockchain will allow banks to get rid of many expenses accompanying cash transactions and increase their speed. In addition, it is an alternative to the SWIFT interbank transfer system.

At the same time, the blockchain allows you to abandon the regulator, which, as a rule, is the state. It is the power departments that are especially categorically opposed to the technology. After all, a cryptocurrency that is not controlled by state financial regulators can be used by criminal and terrorist organizations to carry out shadow transactions. There are already examples of this. That is why there was a proposal to divide the areas of application of the technology and separate cryptocurrencies from it separately. But the blockchain can be used not only to store information about transactions with digital currencies, but also, for example, to record real estate transactions. Is society ready for information about their property to be stored not in a centralized state register, but in a distributed database on computers of many users?

Application of molecular machines

Probability: 85%

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded for the design and synthesis of molecular machines. It was received by scientists Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir Fraser Stoddart and Bernard Feringa. And this is not surprising, because fantastic prospects are opening up before us. As in many other cases, scientists spied on the idea of ​​molecular machines from nature. The world around us is filled with them. Almost all functionally active proteins are molecular machines, says V.A. N.N.Semenova. Each living cell contains several thousand of these machines.

Molecular machines are only a few nanometers in size. This means that it is no longer possible to see them in an optical microscope, because they are less than the wavelength of visible light. In the world invisible to our eyes, they easily manipulate molecules and single atoms. Drag them from one place to another. The atoms are brought together so that a chemical bond is formed between them, or, conversely, they pull them apart, tear the molecules into pieces and break the chemical bonds that hold them together.

Now we can learn how to make such machines. Where can they be applied? For a start, it can be targeted delivery of drugs to a diseased organ. Most drugs have side effects precisely because, along with the diseased organ, they also affect healthy ones. Medicines practically do not know how to choose. Once in the general circulatory system, they can act on other organs. Molecular machines will make it possible to organize a drug delivery system to a specific organ or tissue.

Molecular machines can act as collectors of complex molecular structures, and we will obtain materials with desired properties. Or, conversely, disassemble them by atom. Good disposal method for example polymers.

The very size of these nanomachines suggests that they are ideal for working in very small objects. For example, in cells. There are already thousands of their natural machines at work. Now it will be possible to send artificial ones there. What for? For example, tweak the genome. After all, the already mentioned Cas9 protein in combination with guide RNA is a programmable molecular machine for cutting DNA.

Mass introduction of unmanned vehicles

Probability: 95%

Dozens of companies around the world are already developing unmanned vehicles. Moreover, both automobile ones, such as Volvo, General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota, Audi, BMW and, of course, Tesla, as well as those that have never been produced by cars - Google, Baidu, Uber and others.

Even the domestic "KamAZ" is involved. Last year, the plant created a prototype of the first unmanned vehicle in our country based on a serial truck. Cars, both trucks and cars, are not limited to. The unmanned flying taxi was introduced by the Chinese company Ehang.

It is believed that an unmanned vehicle will be safer than an unpredictable and imperfect person, who also tends to neglect the rules of the road. Equipped with all kinds of sensors and sensors (radars, cameras, navigation systems, as well as powerful computers for making decisions), they will be much more perfect than humans. It has been calculated that the ubiquity of self-driving cars will reduce road accidents by 90%, saving many lives.

If you remove the driver from the car, then you can significantly save on salaries, which, of course, will be glad to transport companies. And the unmanned vehicle can be driven along the route day and night with minimal technical interruptions. All this promises big profits for carriers.

One day, there will be more self-driving cars than driver-driven ones. And after a while, driving a car will be like horse riding on weekends. Very soon, we will rely on the autopilot for daily commutes to work and home. At some point, a person driving on a high-speed highway in a stream of unmanned vehicles rushing at high speed will become a significant hazard factor, and many roads will simply be closed to vehicles driven by a live driver.

The car itself after some time will no longer be an independent transport unit. Cars in the future will be informationally linked. They will exchange useful information with each other and with road infrastructure facilities.
In the future, not only cars will be "smart" but also cities, they will have something to "tell" each other.

In order not to create an emergency, the drones will constantly check the parameters of their movement with neighboring cars. Communicate slowdowns and turns in time. Choose a route depending on traffic density and weather conditions. On the road, self-driving cars will look more like a school of fish, synchronously swimming in the same direction. Using a car, a person will use not so much a separate car as a whole transport system, in which an unmanned vehicle is just one of its elements.

At the same time, this is still a matter for the future. And in general, Elon Musk's prediction made this summer that in three years most cars will move without a driver seems too optimistic.

Extraction of resources on asteroids

Probability: 85%

Small in size Luxembourg, lost between France, Germany and Belgium, is called the Iron Duchy for a reason. For a long time, the leading industries in this country were the extraction of iron ore and the production of steel. Today, the iron ore deposits are already depleted. But, apparently, the small duchy is haunted by its past. This year, it was announced a desire to make Luxembourg a hub for companies involved in the exploration and extraction of space resources. The country's lawyers are already preparing the necessary legislative framework. This means that private companies registered in Luxembourg will receive legal protection of their ownership of all resources that are extracted from the asteroids.

And if the question moves from the scientific sphere to the legal sphere, then here it already smells of money and prospects. However, as with CRISPR / Cas9. Patent wars have already begun for the right to be considered the discoverers of this technology. Private American companies Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries have already announced their desire to start mining on asteroids, which have expressed their interest in the Luxembourg initiative.

It is believed that almost all industrial metals that we extract from the upper layers of the Earth are of asteroid origin. Modern deposits were formed as a result of the early meteorite bombardment of our planet. This means that sooner or later we will have to go up into space and take resources from the space pantry.

Space activities related to the extraction of resources outside the planet will become the same natural phenomenon as communications, navigation and space sensing of the Earth, without which we can no longer imagine our life. Along with space tourism, mining in space will become a new type of space entrepreneurship.

However, one must understand that space extraction of minerals will not supplant the earthly one for a long time. And the point here is not only that so far the extraction of resources from space objects is unrealistically expensive. Now, for example, we are interested in rare metals in space. They are called rare earth because they are rare on our planet. Due to their exceptional properties, they are used in radio electronics, instrument making, mechanical engineering, chemical industry, metallurgy and other industries. It is with them that it is probably worth starting the industrial development of asteroids. The demand for rare earth metals will not fall. On the contrary, wide availability will allow them to find greater use. And this can lead to revolutionary changes in all industries where they are used. In particular, this will lead to the emergence of new materials with unique properties.

But other metals may already come in handy in space. Where it is economically impractical to deliver them from Earth. The construction of objects in space will be carried out from materials of space origin. Thus, not only mining, but also metallurgy and processing will be concentrated in outer space. Orbital tourist hotels, production facilities, scientific stations will be assembled from elements produced in outer space. In addition, space metallurgy has many advantages over terrestrial metallurgy. In particular, it makes it possible to obtain alloys of high homogeneity and purity. And if we talk about the colonization of space, including Mars, then we definitely cannot do without the development of the resources of asteroids.

Colonization of Mars

Probability: 85%

The main ideologist of everything related to Mars is Elon Musk. Anyway, now.
Of course, you can be critical of what Musk says and does. But the development of the Red Planet as a reserve home for our civilization is a necessary task. Our civilization has come a long way, and it would be very sad if some kind of catastrophe or internal conflict destroyed humanity. If the plans of the main dreamer remain unfulfilled, then the idea of ​​conquering Mars will be picked up by others.

In September, Musk has already presented to the general public his project for an interplanetary transport system - the Interplanetary Transport System. As conceived by Musk, ITS is intended to deliver the first colonists to the Red Planet. As a result, the population of the Martian colony in the next century should be one million people. Probably, the technical component of the project will still change by this time. We do not yet possess many technologies that will allow earthlings to create an autonomous, maximally independent colony on Mars. Future Martians will have to get themselves the useful resources necessary for building a colony, generate energy, and farm. Only the most high-tech equipment and materials will be delivered from Earth.

At the same time, do not confuse colonization with terraforming. It may take many years to create conditions on the Red Planet that are in any way similar to those that we have on Earth. Even Musk estimates that it will take several hundred years. But even this is at best

Discovery of extraterrestrial civilizations

Probability: 10%

Perhaps not a single scientific discovery will be able to turn our consciousness as much as the discovery of reliable signs of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations. In our culture, and in some way science, aliens have existed for a long time. We are waiting for them, we are afraid, we watch films about them and read books. British physicist Stephen Hawking warns that aliens can be dangerous to Earth. But we still hope that this is not the case and send signals into space. We have posted messages to extraterrestrial civilizations developed by Carl Sagan in Voyagers and Pioneers. The SETI project, aimed at searching for extraterrestrial civilizations, has been operating since 1959.

The famous Drake equation is designed to help determine the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our Galaxy (namely the Galaxy, not the entire Universe) with which we can establish contact. But most of the parameters in this equation are unknown to us and are determined by scientists on the basis of their assumptions. Frank Drake, on the basis of his assumptions and using the formula he created, also calculated the number of such civilizations. As a result, it turned out that there are only ten such civilizations in our entire Milky Way galaxy with a diameter of about 30 thousand parsecs. But a long time has passed since 1961. And the chances of finding traces of extraterrestrial civilizations are not increasing.

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In addition, perhaps we do not yet know enough about all the necessary conditions for the emergence of intelligent life forms. For example, if the hypothesis that life and intelligent civilizations can arise only in corotational tori - narrow rings in the "body" of the galaxy, turns out to be true, then our chances of finding brothers in mind are reduced many times over. The solar system is located in such a galactic "belt of life". Here, interstellar gas rotates synchronously with the arms of galaxies, that is, there is practically no relative motion, which means that no shock waves are formed. This is one of the quietest places in our Galaxy. The radius of this narrow ring - the torus in the "body" of the Milky Way - is only 250 parsecs.

Still to come.

50 years ago, no one could even imagine that a computer would become personal and stand at home. Thirty years ago, the very idea of ​​touchscreen phones that fit in a pocket was considered nonsense. 10 years ago, the world did not hear about any cryptocurrencies and bitcoins. All this suggests that we have little idea of ​​what the not very distant future might actually be. In this post we will look at 12 modern things, which were once also considered nonsense of science fiction writers.

Solar sail

At the beginning of the 17th century, the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, observing the tails of comets, made an unexpected discovery: as they approached the sun, they deviated in the opposite direction. This allowed Kepler to suggest that a kind of wind may emanate from the Sun, thanks to which ships in space are able to "float" using appropriately shaped sails.

In those days, of course, no one had a clue about photons, neutrinos and light pressure. Why, even the simplest laws of mechanics had not yet been formulated. And among smart and educated people, to whom the aristocrats ranked themselves, it was still fashionable to believe that the Earth was flat. For several centuries, the solar sail remained nothing more than a fun idea for science fiction writers. In 1865, Jules Verne mentioned this device in his novel From the Earth to the Moon by a Direct Path in 97 Hours and 20 Minutes.

But Jules Verne, most likely, did not come up with this idea from scratch. In 1873, Clerk Maxwell gave a theory of the pressure of light within the framework of his classical electrodynamics. Later, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Russian physicist Pyotr Lebedev conducted the first scientific experiments in history that made it possible to reliably establish the presence and even measure the pressure of sunlight. The very first deployment of a real solar sail in space took place on February 24, 1993 as part of the Banner-2 project on the Russian Progress M-15 spacecraft.

Bionic prostheses and implants

Prosthetics have been known since the days of Ancient Egypt. Even then, people could replace the lost parts of the body with artificial ones. True, for a very long time, the quality of the prostheses themselves practically did not develop. These were crude mechanical devices like pirate hooks and wooden legs that had minimal functionality.

Nevertheless, in science fiction, the topic of perfect bionic prostheses, which outwardly will be practically indistinguishable from real limbs, and will even surpass them in strength and capabilities, has been raised by various authors many times. Recall at least Martin Kaidin's novel "Cyborg", which describes the history of a man whose damaged organs were replaced by mechanical devices.

In the modern world, bionic prostheses not only exist and are successfully used, but are constantly being improved. These are no longer simple mechanical devices, but complex electronic mechanisms that communicate with the human nervous system. Thanks to this connection and the nerve impulses generated by our brain, a person with a bionic prosthetic arm, for example, can control it in much the same way as a real one.

Unmanned vehicles

In the context of human history, cars powered by internal combustion engines are very recent. However, they have already managed to firmly enter the daily life of every person. And, of course, science fiction writers also did not sit idle. Literally as soon as cars began to drive around city streets, they began to think about autonomous cars controlled by robots or artificial intelligence. This topic has appeared hundreds and thousands of times in various films and books.

However, if you think that self-driving cars are an invention of an exclusively new XXI century, then we hasten to surprise you. The first real experiments in self-driving cars began in the 1920s. Then engineers and inventors promised to build a finished prototype already in the 1950s. However, they were not much mistaken at all. The first real self-driving car was released in 1984.

Today, an unmanned vehicle is no longer a fantasy, but a completely familiar reality. They are created all over the world, including in Russia. In many European cities, self-driving buses are slowly replacing conventional buses. In the United States, self-driving cars participate on an equal footing in road traffic, moving in a dense stream of cars in public, rather than dedicated lanes.

Exoskeletons

In a sense, exoskeletons could be classified as technologically advanced bionic prostheses. But, unlike the latter, they are not intended exclusively for people with physical disabilities. The modern exoskeleton is more than that.

Although, here, too, it was not without confusion and substitution of concepts. According to the definition, the exoskeleton is a device designed to replenish lost functions, increase the strength of a person's muscles and expand the range of motion due to the external frame and adductor parts. That is, exoskeletons can be considered both more or less portable devices, such as those that were shown in the films "Edge of Tomorrow" and "Elysium: Heaven is not on Earth", as well as large likeness of combat robots, such as those that we saw among the defenders of Zion in The Matrix and the soldiers in Avatar. By the way, the Iron Man suit also falls under the definition of an exoskeleton.

The first real-life exoskeleton was created jointly by General Electric and the US Armed Forces back in the 1960s. Naturally, he was terribly huge, unwieldy and ineffective. The exoskeleton made it possible to lift up to 110 kg, despite the fact that it itself weighed almost 700 kg.

Most of the modern developments in this area, of course, are also military projects designed to increase the efficiency and combat power of the soldier. However, there are many civilian exoskeletons on the market, the main task of which is to enable paralyzed people to move.

Weather control and weather weapons

Ancient people believed that every weather phenomenon, be it wind, rain or earthquake, has its own spirit or even a god. If the crops were threatened with death from drought, they turned to the rain god through dance songs, and in some cases even sacrifices, to persuade him to spill water on their fields.

Many centuries later, science fiction writers began to dream that someday man will learn how to actually control the weather, but not through negotiations with the gods, and technical progress will become his assistant in this. Quite a little time passed and it really became a reality.

Back in the late 1940s - early 1950s, scientists were able to master the technology of active physicochemical action on clouds in order to cause precipitation or, on the contrary, disperse clouds without precipitation.

Today, the impact on the weather is a reality. This mainly concerns clouds and fogs, of course. These technologies are in service with agriculture, allowing you to create or disperse clouds, cause rain or exclude hail, and disperse heavy fog.

Cyborg insects

Not to say that cyborg insects are a very popular topic among science fiction writers in films or literature. On the other hand, a fairly significant part of aliens, in popular culture, one way or another are insectoids, that is, creatures that outwardly resemble terrestrial insects.

With the development of robotics and bionics, scientists borrowed more and more ideas from Mother Nature: anthropomorphic solutions, animalistic technologies, drones that look like birds, robotic dogs and much more. Many of the solutions used in the development of small drones were spied on by insects. At some point, it became clear that tiny robots, similar to beetles, cockroaches and dragonflies, could become very effective weapons in video surveillance systems, for example, or during reconnaissance, search and rescue or anti-terrorist operations.

Until a certain time, these thoughts remained only projects. At first, there were no corresponding technologies, and later, when technologies appeared, they were still too expensive and ineffective for such an application. And then one day scientists thought: why create artificial robots that look like insects, when you can take real insects and make cyborgs out of them? In fact, a living insect is a ready-made robotic platform, with already integrated sensors, navigation systems and capable of moving independently.

Electrodes are implanted into the legs, the visual lobes of the brain, and the muscles responsible for flight. As a result, the "pilot", remotely controlling such a cyborg, can make it walk, turn, take off and move at a certain speed. And all this is no longer fiction, but the most that neither is reality. And the most interesting thing is that a set of equipment for equipping one such cyborg beetle costs only $ 7.

3-D printing anything

Ever since the first computer printers appeared, people began to think: oh, how great it would be to take and print not just a piece of paper with text or a picture, but some material object: a toy, statuette, decoration ...

In 1984, this idea became a reality when Charles Hull developed a technology for making physical 3D objects using digital data. He called his invention Stereolithography and received a patent for it in 1986. But for many years this technology and equipment remained very expensive, which excluded their massive use, especially for home non-commercial purposes.

The first world breakthrough in 3D printing occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when several models of relatively inexpensive and affordable machine tools appeared on the market. The next leap in technology took place in 2006, when the public project Reprap saw the light of day - a 3D printer capable of reproducing itself, that is, printing parts of its own design. After that, there was a real boom in this technology in the world.

Today, almost anything can be printed on 3D printers. At the beginning of last year, the first printed residential building appeared in the Moscow region, a service for printing inexpensive disposable clothing is being created in Sweden, a skyscraper is planned to be printed in Dubai, and entire neighborhoods are being printed in China. At present, the practice of printing bionic prostheses is widespread; this significantly reduces their cost for end users. Technology has already reached the point that food is printed on 3D printers and this is no joke.

Smart House

Unlike cyborg insects, a smart home, or another space endowed with intelligence, like a smart spaceship, is a fairly popular topic. Remember at least the films "Demon Seed" (1977), "Smart House" (1999), and the same classic "Space Odyssey 2001" (1968) with a crazy supercomputer HAL 9000 - is also an excellent example of how the concept was imagined in the past smart home.

And I must say that this is one of the few points in which reality is not far from literary fiction. Modern smart homes do pretty much the same thing as their on-screen counterparts. Unless they have real artificial intelligence yet, only intelligent systems like Siri or Alexa. But this is already quite enough to feel like in such a house as in a science fiction film.

Voice control, full control of all electronic devices, thermal control, round-the-clock video surveillance, door locks control, the ability to control and configure any parameter remotely - these are just a small part of what modern smart homes offer.

Speech recognition and instant translation

Remember how in many science fiction films, people who arrived on another planet insert a small earpiece into their ear and begin to instantly understand any creature speaking any language. For a very long time, one could only dream of such a device.

And modern technical progress took and made this dream come true. And this is not some kind of military or espionage development. Technologies of recognition and instant translation of speech are available to everyone today. The Internet is full of services and applications that offer you this service for free. Moreover, many of these services use machine learning technologies, which means the more they are used, the better they become.

Hyper-realistic holograms

Another classic plot of many science fiction films is the use of hyperrealistic holograms that cannot be distinguished from real objects or people. Considering that even a simple photograph became a reality for us a little over 100 years ago, holograms for many years seemed to be just the limit of technological progress and perfection.

However, the very principle and technology of holograms were invented back in 1947 by the Hungarian physicist Denes Gabor, who, by the way, it was for this invention that he later received the Nobel Prize. But holograms began to develop intensively only after 1960, when lasers were invented.

Today's holograms are so realistic that most ordinary people would hardly be able to distinguish them from real objects. In the modern world, holograms are used mainly in the field of entertainment. These are media, game and film technologies. Recall at least the posthumous performances in the form of holograms of Tupac Shakur and Michael Jackson. By the way, this technology has already become quite simple and inexpensive, allowing it to be used for personal entertainment purposes, like, for example, a guy from a popular YouTube video in which he arranges a cruel prank on his girlfriend using a holographic ghost.

Robots in the service of man

The history of robotics is much older than it might seem at first glance. As the oldest examples, one can recall the legends about the clay and stone giants of different peoples. They are also a kind of artificial creatures. The first more or less real prototypes appeared in the Hellenistic era. Then, on the lighthouse built on the island of Pharos, four gilded female figures were installed, which turned at regular intervals and uttered trumpets at night. Many scientists created various moving mechanisms during the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance. But the very word "robot" was invented by the Czech writer Karel Czapek only in 1920.

The first robots of modern times, created to perform real functions, appeared in the 1950s, when mechanical manipulators were developed to work with radioactive materials, which imitated the movements of the hands of a person in a safe place. The real growth of the robotics market began in 1980, when Japan began producing high-tech commercial robots.

Modern robots are so diverse that a whole book would not be enough to describe them. Now it is already difficult to imagine any area of ​​production, labor or art in which robotic technologies would not be used to one degree or another. There was already a post on Chips about what advanced modern robots can do and look like, read it, there are many interesting things.