We came across a very interesting article in the New York Times the other day called 32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow, a list of concepts we may or may not see in the near future that will possibly change how we sleep, play, work, imbibe, shop, and even how we sit at our desks…
Posture Perfect Monitoring: ErgoSensor monitor by Philips was recently announced as both an energy efficient 24" LCD made from 65% post consumer recycled plastics and an answer to the common problem of neck and eye strain caused by sitting incorrectly behind this or any other screen. An embedded sensor monitors how users sit (tracking the pupils), offers advice for improving posture, while dispensing break interval reminders. Think of it like an ergonomically minded Siri.
Power Shirts: We've talked about conference tables that can work to power your tech, part of NYT's roundup is an electric shirt that uses the different temperatures your body gives off in a shirt to create electricity that is then directed into charging your devices. The shirt is only predicted to charge your device by 10-15% in the course of 8 hours however.
Analytical Undies: Predicted to become available in 2 years, Myontec has introduced underwear with electromyographic sensors that can track how hard you're working your muscles during a workout. That data is then sent to a computer for you to keep track of and analyze. No need for pedometers anymore, just boxers.
Room Monitors: Mark Rolston from design firm, Frog, is aspiring to get rid of screens (like smartphones and tablets) and turn entire rooms into screens that we can use to access the web, video chat and more. To turn it all off, we simply have to swipe it away like how they do in the Avengers movie.
Video Game Subway Straps: A concept that will definitely liven up the subway ride, industrial designer Jiang Qian came up with turning subway straps into video games. Instead of a joystick, you control movement by moving the strap from side to side, with two buttons where the thumbs are. You don't have to worry about having too much fun and missing your stop because the strap will also let you know when your stop is next.
Read More: New York Times | 32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow
(Images:New York Times )
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I'm a bit worried about something like the room monitor. I'm already surrounded by so many screens and so much tech...I'm not sure I'd like to have my very *house* (or even a room in that house) be its own screen.
I was struck by innovation #20 on the NYT list - synthetic alcohol! Between that and SpaceX's recent success, I feel we're on the verge of living in a Star Trek era! :)
The New York Times can't help itself from getting political even in an article about science. Solar panels and LEDs are not a very good example of innovation because the government is so heavily involved in their development and implementation.
I don't understand that argument, @calldoctorbison. Do you want to say that something that is supported by government funding (that, as you say, government has an interest in), cannot be considered an innovation?
The government is also heavily involved in space travel, in medical research and, hell, all sorts of scientific research. It is interested in robotics and in building better bridges and roads that don't crumble as quickly. Does that mean that all of the methods and tools and objects that stem from research and development that is supported - in whole or in part - by government funds can't count as innovations? Or that an article that might point to some of these things as innovations is somehow being 'political'? Please. Go look up 'innovation' in the dictionary.
can we say Solyndra....
I don't want my underwear keeping a record, on anything. I certainly don't want it passing on information to other devices.
The problem for many older people who use desktop monitors is multi-focal eyeglass lenses. You have to crank your head a bit and look out the bottom of your glasses. I use an iPad most of the time for that reason. I still get a neck ache, but not the full upper body ache I get with my Mac.
As for a entire room acting as a "screen," I don't see it happening. Technology has a bout a three minute shelf life. Why would someone build a home or office around one function?
@verobrown - sure, and a lot of rockets exploded before we were able to get one that successfully lifted off and, eventually, got us to the moon. One failure does not translate to a failure in the larger industry. Nor, again, does that fact that some study or industry receives federal funding mean that it should not count as an innovation.
(And if we want to play politics, we can inquire about the amount of money spent in Iraq under the false pretense of WMDs relative to the amount given to Solyndra. But this isn't a thread for that.)
@ calldrbison: your comment itself was political, not the NYT article. Among other things government-funded research produced the internet, you may want to stop using it...
i also don't want my monitor telling me how to sit and when to take a break. sounds annoying.
First off I wish the background color didn't appear as soon as you start reading it... so irritating. Second I want to get the word out on film frame rates. I work in visual effects and can say that 24 frames per second is perfect. Any more and it looks like cheap home video recordings. We've had the technology for many, many years to do more than 24, but no one did because it looks awful. Now the film industry has this idea where they need new gimmick every few years in order to stay afloat, and since 3d didn't work out so well they're leaning on this frame rate thing as a crutch. the more you know...
Innovation: the introduction of something new. Sure, LEDs and solar panels are an innovation because someone invented them and brought them to the market. As I said before, they're simply not a very good example of innovation because they benefited from crony capitalism. Because the government tainted the situation, we'll never know how the LEDs and solar panels would've fared without special treatment. Giving taxpayer money to politically favored industries is not innovation, in my opinion.
Walls of screens are very "1984" --Orwell strikes again. (Clever boy, that Orwell!)
Government innovation is still innovation. It might or might not be commercially viable without subsidization, but new ideas are still new ideas. (And some ideas need some public exposure and acceptance BEFORE they can become commercially viable, so it's fine with me to subsidize the promising ones to get to that point.)
I opt out of having my monitor try to "Siri" my life. I'm a big girl, I can figure out whether I'm comfortable or not without Big Brother helping me out.
And electronic underwear is just silly. I mean, REALLY!
I like the posture perfect monitor. It could eliminate my back pain caused by working long hours on my system.