Top 10 Technology Trends of 2016
Let us take a look at some of the top technology trends of 2016.
1. Virtual Reality
The human advances to the league of forms. VR is the future of humanity. Though it has long been used in military training, it was not until recently that VR became available in retail outlets. What with the release of HTC Vive and the birth of VR cinemas, 2016 marks an important year in the development of this revolutionary technology.
2. Drones
The rise of the drone continues. Forget Deliveroo! Takeaways will soon be delivered via drone. Drones will soon be delivering medicine and blood. The postman should be afraid, very afraid; for the drone is coming to get him.
3. 3-D Printing
Like most of these technologies, the idea of 3-D printing was conceived long ago: it is simply a case of the technology catching up with the idea; so that what was once fantastical, or at least only basic in its functioning, is now highly possible and increasingly sophisticated. Thanks to recent innovations at Harvard and Sydney University, it is now possible to “bio-print” capillaries.
And thus we are one step closer to printing living organs. Moreover, 3D printing is having a huge impact on the world of gastronomy, and we are not too far away from the synthetic food machines of science fiction.
4. Driverless Vehicles
Vehicular technology is making real inroads: inter-vehicle communication is increasing, and vehicles are growing more and more autonomous. Though stuck in the semi-autonomous stage for the nonce, there will come a day when cars drive themselves, without human support, and talk to each other in their own informational language. The likes of Tesla, BMW, and Uber are all working hard on self-driving technology.
5. Augmented Reality
2016 saw the release of Pokemon Go, a real boon for would-be pedophiles and those solicitous for the welfare of our increasingly sedentary young ‘uns. ‘HoloLens’, an exciting new product Microsoft has in the works, promises a brave new world overlaid by digital information.
6. Internet of Things
As society develops, the links between discrete entities seem to proliferate. We are tending toward unification, it seems apparent. Not only individuals, inanimate objects, also, are growing increasingly connected. The ‘Internet of Things’ refers to this integration of household appliances mediated by the internet. One day our floor—or, rather, a camera trained on the floor—will talk to our vacuum cleaner and tell it needs cleaning.
One day, wearing our augmented reality visors, we will see a big cross sign over certain foods, thus showing us that they are out of date, and thus inedible.
7. Live Streaming
2016 saw the release of Facebook Live, enabling both the victimized black to record maltreatment and Donald Trump to connect with his fans. It seemed the next logical step in a world increasingly bent on self-documentation. What next? A live stream of our internal monologs? It shouldn’t surprise us.
8. A.I. Robotic IQ Continues to Rise
Now they’re talking about A.I. running banks. And you thought your boss was a mechanical, heartless robot! Imagine an actual robot running the show! And they’re even writing songs. They’ve just written one called ‘Daddy’s Car’, which is especially bad.
9. 4K TV
TV is getting even more defined. I thought they couldn’t stuff any more pixels into those screens. But I’ve been proven wrong. Turns out they’ve had their strongest, most determined men working at it. And they’ve only gone and done it. What’s next? 5K? UberHD? Who knows what they’ll call it?
10. Growth of the Exocortex
The internet, awash with information, can now tell us almost everything we could possibly hope to know. We are outsourcing our remembering ability to the internet. Is this for good, or is this for bad? I DON’T KNOW. Widespread internet access now enables us to look up word definitions, images of sexy singers, and facts about animals wherever we are.
