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P R OB
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P OS S
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Notes and acknowledgements
Innovation or event
Legend
Conceived and created by Richard Watson and Alex Ayad with input from Chris Haley and additional input from the ‘Smarties’ at Imperial College London.
Note that whilst most entries on the timeline are deeply serious, a few are less so. High resolution files suitable for printing can be obtained free of charge from [email protected] or [email protected]
A3 and A1 printed wall charts can also be ordered via these addresses although a charge is applied purely to cover print, packing and postage costs.
BIO-TECHDIGITAL-TECHNANO-TECHNEURO-TECHGREEN-TECH
www.nowandnext.com
www.imperialtechforesight.com
Defined as existing now or thereabouts with at least 1,000 examples existing where appropriate
Defined as occurring between 2015-2030
Defined as potentially occurring after 2030
P R E S E N T
P R O B A B L E
P O S S I B L E
DIGITAL GREEN
BIO
NEURO
NANO
DNA datingagencies
Gene therapy
Synthetic organisms
Genetic testingfor inheriteddiseases
Scaffolds for growingstem cell body parts
3D printedorthopaedicimplants
Body hackingfor sensoryaugmentation
Commercialpet cloning
Plasticsfrom crops
Pre-emptivemedical inteventionsbased on genome
‘Pharming’ humanisedanimals for medicines
Vibrationenergyharvesting
Cheapconcentratorsolar
Aerogelbuildinginsulation
LED streetlighting Electric
grid-scalestorage
Domesticpowerplants(CCHP)
Demandresponsivedomesticappliances
Smartmeters
Algalbiofuels
Ultracapacitorvehicles
Community grids
Consumerspot-pricingof electricity
Phase-out ofincandescentlight bulbs
Artificialphotosythesisof hydrogen
Syntheticjet fuels
Transparent(organic)solarcells on skyscrapers
Biodegradablebatteries
Motorway lanesfor autonomousvehicles
In-roadinductivechargingfor electricvehicles
Synthetic meatin supermarkets
Thoriumreactors
Wave discengine forvehicles
Insect-burgerfood vans
Hyper-loopmass transitsystems
Tokomak nuclearfusion for powergeneration
Iron-fertilisationof oceans
Satellite-beamedspace solar-power
Micro-scale wind& water harvestingbuilding facades
High-speedpedestrianwalkways
3D-printed soilfor verticalagriculture
Commercialocean thermalenergy conversion
Travelling wavenuclear reactorsFuel-cell powered light
passenger aircraft
Large scalecarbon capture& storage
Beamed energy forecological monitoring& military UAVs
Ambient RFenergyharvesting
Animal-freeleather
Ubiquitousbio-sensing
Analyticalunderwear
Last antibioticdiscovered
Personalisedmicrobiome
therapy
Prophylacticantibioticsbanned inanimals
RFID implantsfor personaldata storage
Malaria eradicatedby introductionof GM mosquitos
Human geneticengineeringlegalised
Tattooed circuits(video tattoos onthe human body)
Cloned humanbeing
Microbe-sensingfood packaging
Pandemicby syntheticorganism
Bioluminescenthousehold lightingOver-the-counter
genome test
Stem cell treatmentfor Parkinson’sdisease
3D printed bio-nanoscaffolds
Artificial musclesmade from spunnanotubefibre
DNA-baseddata storage
Humanorgan
cloning
Brain-computerinterfaces widely
supplement keyboards
Routine brainfinger printing
of air travellers
Dream imaging andrecording via fMRI
Communications deviceswidely embedded inside
the human bodyArtificial neuro-writing
of basic thoughtsBrain prostheses
to enhance orerase memory
End ofdementia
Eye-trackingin mobile phones
Artifical retinaimplants
Adaptive electronicassistant to prevent
information-overload
Intention decodingalgorithms
Thoughtcontrolledwheelchair
Hangover-freealcohol substitute
Mood-sensingmachines
Hacking ofimplantedneuro-devices
Cochlearimplants
Brainfingerprinting
used in court
Prostheticlimbs controlled
by thought
Neuroimagingof active brainareas
Nootropic drugsfor medical & recreational use
Quantum computersfor crypto-cracking
Realtimelanguagetranslation
Unassistedroboticsurgery
Insect-sizedsurveillance
robots
Holographicdata storage
AI inautonomousdrone-drone
combat
Solar flareknocks out
GPS network
Smartdustsensor
networks
Recording ofentire human
life from birthto death
Lifelongavatar
assistants
Internet of thingsexceeds 1 trillion
devices
Robotsoutnumber
human beings
Warfaremerges with
gaming
Commercialairliner highjackedvia smartphone
War forecastingalgorithms
Graphenesupercapacitors
Cities banhuman drivers
Battery-free wirelesscommunications
Autonomouselectric taxi fleets
Physical creditcardsbecome obsolete
Hapticclothing
Lip-readingCCTV
Internet ofthings exceeds
50 billiondevices
Cyberattackcauses city-wide
powercut
Domestic fridgessense use-by
dates
Opticalcomputing
Quantum computersused for material design
Fully autonomousbattlefield robots
Mobilephones
outnumberpeople
Augmentedreality glasses
Basic brain computerinterfaces for gaming
Cryptocurrencies
Life-logging
Mobiletraffic
dominatesinternet
QR scannablegrave stones
Intercontinentalrobotic surgery
FacialrecognitionCCTV
Avatargirlfriends
NFCfingerprints
AI in GPsurgeries
Internetconnected
toothbrushes
Crimepreventionalgorithms Antibacterial
nano particlesfor clothing
Nano particlesin cosmetics
and sunscreensNanotubesfor syntheticneurons andneural implants
Methanol fuelcells for consumerelectronics
IBM makes feature filmfrom animated atoms
Autonomous self-replicationof crude non-biological
systems
Quantum dotnight visionwindows
Room temperaturesuperconductors
Polaratronics enablescomputing near
speed of light
Fully plastictransistors
Meta materialantennae
Self-healingpaints & surfaces
Templatesfor proteincrystallisation
Quantum dottelevisions
Printedplastic
electroniccircuits
Scrunchable screens and devices
100 atoms per bitdata density
Lab demo of opticalmeta materialcloaking
Next generationsuper lightweight
composites
Graphenesupercapacitors
Periodichypertable
Nanotubes forsynthetic neurons& neural implants
Nanoparticlesfor cancer imaging
& treatment
Dronedeliverypizza :)
DNA datingagencies
Gene therapy
Synthetic organisms
Genetic testingfor inheriteddiseases
Scaffolds for growingstem cell body parts
3D printedorthopaedicimplants
Body hackingfor sensoryaugmentation
Commercialpet cloning
Plasticsfrom crops
Pre-emptivemedical inteventionsbased on genome
‘Pharming’ humanisedanimals for medicines
Vibrationenergyharvesting
Cheapconcentratorsolar
Aerogelbuildinginsulation
LED streetlighting Electric
grid-scalestorage
Domesticpowerplants(CCHP)
Demandresponsivedomesticappliances
Smartmeters
Algalbiofuels
Ultracapacitorvehicles
Community grids
Consumerspot-pricingof electricity
Phase-out ofincandescentlight bulbs
Artificialphotosythesisof hydrogen
Syntheticjet fuels
Transparent(organic)solarcells on skyscrapers
Biodegradablebatteries
Motorway lanesfor autonomousvehicles
In-roadinductivechargingfor electricvehicles
Synthetic meatin supermarkets
Thoriumreactors
Wave discengine forvehicles
Insect-burgerfood vans
Hyper-loopmass transitsystems
Tokomak nuclearfusion for powergeneration
Iron-fertilisationof oceans
Satellite-beamedspace solar-power
Micro-scale wind& water harvestingbuilding facades
High-speedpedestrianwalkways
3D-printed soilfor verticalagriculture
Commercialocean thermalenergy conversion
Travelling wavenuclear reactorsFuel-cell powered light
passenger aircraft
Large scalecarbon capture& storage
Beamed energy forecological monitoring& military UAVs
Ambient RFenergyharvesting
Animal-freeleather
Ubiquitousbio-sensing
Analyticalunderwear
Last antibioticdiscovered
Personalisedmicrobiome
therapy
Prophylacticantibioticsbanned inanimals
RFID implantsfor personaldata storage
Malaria eradicatedby introductionof GM mosquitos
Human geneticengineeringlegalised
Tattooed circuits(video tattoos onthe human body)
Cloned humanbeing
Microbe-sensingfood packaging
Pandemicby syntheticorganism
Bioluminescenthousehold lightingOver-the-counter
genome test
Stem cell treatmentfor Parkinson’sdisease
3D printed bio-nanoscaffolds
Artificial musclesmade from spunnanotubefibre
DNA-baseddata storage
Humanorgan
cloning
Brain-computerinterfaces widely
supplement keyboards
Routine brainfinger printing
of air travellers
Dream imaging andrecording via fMRI
Communications deviceswidely embedded inside
the human bodyArtificial neuro-writing
of basic thoughtsBrain prostheses
to enhance orerase memory
End ofdementia
Eye-trackingin mobile phones
Artifical retinaimplants
Adaptive electronicassistant to prevent
information-overload
Intention decodingalgorithms
Thoughtcontrolledwheelchair
Hangover-freealcohol substitute
Mood-sensingmachines
Hacking ofimplantedneuro-devices
Cochlearimplants
Brainfingerprinting
used in court
Prostheticlimbs controlled
by thought
Neuroimagingof active brainareas
Nootropic drugsfor medical & recreational use
Quantum computersfor crypto-cracking
Realtimelanguagetranslation
Unassistedroboticsurgery
Insect-sizedsurveillance
robots
Holographicdata storage
AI inautonomousdrone-drone
combat
Solar flareknocks out
GPS network
Smartdustsensor
networks
Recording ofentire human
life from birthto death
Lifelongavatar
assistants
Internet of thingsexceeds 1 trillion
devices
Robotsoutnumber
human beings
Warfaremerges with
gaming
Commercialairliner highjackedvia smartphone
War forecastingalgorithms
Graphenesupercapacitors
Cities banhuman drivers
Battery-free wirelesscommunications
Autonomouselectric taxi fleets
Physical creditcardsbecome obsolete
Hapticclothing
Lip-readingCCTV
Internet ofthings exceeds
50 billiondevices
Cyberattackcauses city-wide
powercut
Domestic fridgessense use-by
dates
Opticalcomputing
Quantum computersused for material design
Fully autonomousbattlefield robots
Mobilephones
outnumberpeople
Augmentedreality glasses
Basic brain computerinterfaces for gaming
Cryptocurrencies
Life-logging
Mobiletraffic
dominatesinternet
QR scannablegrave stones
Intercontinentalrobotic surgery
FacialrecognitionCCTV
Avatargirlfriends
NFCfingerprints
AI in GPsurgeries
Internetconnected
toothbrushes
Crimepreventionalgorithms Antibacterial
nano particlesfor clothing
Nano particlesin cosmetics
and sunscreensNanotubesfor syntheticneurons andneural implants
Methanol fuelcells for consumerelectronics
IBM makes feature filmfrom animated atoms
Autonomous self-replicationof crude non-biological
systems
Quantum dotnight visionwindows
Room temperaturesuperconductors
Polaratronics enablescomputing near
speed of light
Fully plastictransistors
Meta materialantennae
Self-healingpaints & surfaces
Templatesfor proteincrystallisation
Quantum dottelevisions
Printedplastic
electroniccircuits
Scrunchable screens and devices
100 atoms per bitdata density
Lab demo of opticalmeta materialcloaking
Next generationsuper lightweight
composites
Graphenesupercapacitors
Periodichypertable
Nanotubes forsynthetic neurons& neural implants
Nanoparticlesfor cancer imaging
& treatment
Dronedeliverypizza :) Timeline of
Emerging Scienceand Technology