A technique for creating three-dimensional items is 3D printing.
The method of creating a three-dimensional object from a digital file by stacking it together is known as additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. Even though 3D printing might seem far less high-tech than artificial intelligence or gene editing, it has the potential to completely transform the manufacturing and other industries.
Future factories might readily use 3D printing to produce spare parts for equipment locally. Whole assembly lines could be replaced by 3D printers. Food, weaponry, and even human tissue for transplantation could all be printed in the future.
Although 3D printing technology has numerous advantages, there are also disadvantages, difficulties, and obstacles that must be solved. Technology has the ability to reduce manufacturing’s environmental impact by using less materials overall, but we also need to take into account how printers themselves affect the environment.
For intellectual property owners, 3D printing also presents a challenge because it enables counterfeiters to produce phoney licencing products quickly and inexpensively. There is also the problem of how easy it is to 3D manufacture weapons. The potential for mass customization is one feature of 3D printing that I find very intriguing. Thanks to 3D printing, products and designs can be altered to accommodate special requests for orders. Examples include customised footwear and food that is adapted to match each person’s individual nutritional requirements.
Wide-ranging Reality (XR)
Using technology to produce more realistic digital experiences is known as “extended reality,” or “XR.” Mixed reality, augmented reality, and virtual reality are all included.
In actuality, XR is used to boost consumer interaction with brands, enable consumers to try products prior to purchasing them, enhance customer service, boost workplace learning efficiency, and enhance various organisational procedures.
People can interact with their surroundings in new and intriguing ways thanks to XR technologies. Our lives have already been significantly impacted by XR technology, which will also significantly alter how we interact with technology. In fact, AR smartphone apps like the Pokemon Go app generated over $3 billion in sales globally in 2018. In addition, XR serves as the user interface for the metaverse, a virtual environment where we can assume any identity while playing games, interacting with others, going to events, or doing anything else akin to what happens in the Ready Player One movie.
Accessibility and availability are clear obstacles to overcome, though, given that XR headsets may be pricey, large, and cumbersome. However, the possibility of widespread acceptance will rise as technology gets more well-liked, available, and comfortable to use. The biggest problems will be privacy and the possible psychological and physical repercussions of extremely immersive technologies.
Human-computer interaction (HCI)
Enables wearable technology and other technological advancements to enhance human physical and mental performance, enabling us to lead healthier and more satisfying lives. Two of the most popular categories of wearables today are fitness tracker bands and smartwatches, which are small, comfortable devices that frequently track our activity and provide information that enables us to live healthier, better, and more productive lives.
Genomics-based technology
The study and manipulation of the DNA and genomes of living things is the focus of the interdisciplinary field of biology known as genomics. A series of technologies called gene editing enables the genetic engineering of the DNA and genetic makeup of living things.
As a result of advancements in biotechnology, it is now possible to alter the DNA coded within a cell, which will modify the characteristics of the cell’s offspring. In plants, this might modify the number of leaves or the colour of the leaves, whereas in people, it might alter their height, eye colour, or risk of contracting a disease. This opens up an almost infinite number of possibilities because it implies that any inherited trait of a living creature might possibly be altered.
A lot of gene editing work is being done in the medical field. One of the most exciting current initiatives is the correction of DNA defects, which can result in fatal diseases like cancer or heart disease. However, genetic modification and editing present a number of ethical and legal questions as well as hypothetical situations more than any other technology. Many nations, including a large portion of Europe, still forbid human genome editing since the long-term effects are still unclear.
With something as potentially revolutionary to society as genomics, it’s easy to get carried away when considering possibilities like curing disease or possibly eternally extending human life. In truth, it’s unlikely that such significant breakthroughs will happen anytime soon, if at all. Focusing on little issues that have an immediate influence on the real world is more likely to be successful in the medium term.
On the other side, wearable technology can also relate to smart clothing, robotic prostheses, and wearable robotic technology used in industrial settings. It is not usually associated with something you strap to your wrist or another part of your body.
The variety of wearables will grow as technology advances and becomes more compact and sophisticated, and as new, smaller, and smarter products replace the wearables we are accustomed to today. Smart contact lenses will certainly take the role of smart glasses, which are already on the market. After that, smart eye implants will likely take the role of smart contact lenses.
Many people think that humans and robots may combine in the future to generate fully augmented humans, transhumans, or humans 2.0, whose bodies have been updated to achieve improved physical and mental performance. This would completely alter medical practise and perhaps even put into question what it means to be a person.
On a societal level, it’s possible that the gap between the wealthy and the poor, the Haves and the Have Nots, is about to get wider. Only those who can afford it will be able to benefit from technology’s potential to make us live longer, healthier lives, and perhaps even give us the chance to live forever. Imagine a world where the affluent are essentially superhuman and have an infinite lifespan, but the majority of people are unexceptional and underprivileged. There is also the ethical debate about whether we should want to live extraordinarily long lives given the immense strain that would be placed on the environment.