Batteries powered by oxygen that are constantly recharging and will last 10 times longer, enhancing the feeble life of batteries in smart phones. And cars that predict traffic conditions ahead of time to allow you to plan your trip.
These are some of the top five innovation forecasts by IBM that will be operating just five years from now.
If the predictions are right, lives and businesses will be transformed after 2015. IBM predicts smaller electronics that dispense of batteries altogether and run on static or kinetic electricity. At the moment, up to half of the energy consumed in data centers goes towards cooling computers and the heat they emit is just pumped out, wasted in the atmosphere. IBM predicts the heat could instead be recycled to power air conditioning, or other systems. It also anticipates the growth of pre-existing technologies like GPS with a far more sophisticated version that will take into account, in real time, accidents, construction and delays on the road, even anticipating driver patterns and behaviors. A system like that would actually stop congestion on the roads everywhere.
IBM also predicts that ordinary citizens will assist scientists in their studies. It says people will be "walking sensors". Their cars, wallets, phones, and other devices will have the power to gather huge amounts of data just by wandering around the streets and that information could then be given to scientists who will use it to better understand the world. And holograms will be everywhere, from mobile phones to cars.
If that sounds like science fiction, let's remember that IBM allocates 6% of its revenue on R&D. Still, we have to remember that back in 2006, IBM was predicting the growth of mind reading mobile phones and automatic translation devices popping up on mobile phones and cars. We're still waiting.
Still, even if one or two of the predictions came to fruition, it would transform the world. Watch this space.
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