More than eight years ago the film Minority Report exposed the real possibility of future technologies. Few would have guessed we would see some of these technologies in present-day 2010! From talking visual billboards that analyze consumer demographics, to amazing cyberspace computer interfaces, these technologies are set to change the way we receive and interact with information.
In this article we’ll explore several new technologies that exist today which originally unfolded on the big screen back in 2002.
1. The Future of Computer UI
We all remember Tom Cruise using his magical hands to move, rotate, and manipulate data across multiple computer screens. The concept defied conventional point and click methods still in use today. Before we go bashing the computer mouse, just remember who invented it.
Many believe our hands could be much more useful and creative if we could actually touch and manipulate content on the screen. This is the future of computer UI. There has been remarkable advances in touch screen technologies over the last five years. To give you a glimpse into the not-too-distant future, here are two videos of two separate technologies demonstrating the future of computer UI.
John Underkoffler is the master mind behind the science in Minority Report and he has recently (February 2010) shared with the world his newest vision of UI technology at The Ted Conference:
Minority Report science adviser and inventor John Underkoffler demos g-speak — the real-life version of the film’s eye-popping, tai chi-meets-cyberspace computer interface. Is this how tomorrow’s computers will be controlled?
2. Digital billboards watching the consumer
There is a good chance advertising is not going away any time soon. Japanese researchers from NEC (The system — called the Next Generation Digital Signage
Solution) have created new high-tech digital billboards that watch consumers shop. Small cameras take the consumers photo, matches their age and gender and tries to figure out as much about the shopper before issuing an advertisement it thinks matches well with the consumer. Déjà vu anyone?
According to telegraph UK, the camera can distinguish a person’s sex and approximate age, even if the person only walks by in front of the display, at least if he or she
looks at the screen for a second,” said a spokesman for the project.
This does beg the question of privacy. But has Facebook already prepared us for this?
3. 3-D Holograms
Remember the scene where Tom Cruise is watching a film of his wife and child? That was supposed to be a 3-D Hologram. The closest we have scene of this technology was in 2008 when CNN covered The Presidential Elections. According to wired, “…the anchors and reporters being videotaped weren’t actually looking at holograms. Instead, they were looking at monitors, and CNN
used 44 small, fixed cameras and 20 computers to insert virtual holograms with real-time effects processing.”
This is just the beginning of the 21st Century. If we look back over a hundred years ago, the assembly line was just taking ground and telecommunications was in its infancy. Imagine what the next 100 years will bring us. What’s next?
I hope you have enjoyed this article and if you find it interesting or disagree with some of the information, please leave a comment below. I would enjoy hearing what you think about the similarities of today’s technology and the technology of Minority Report.
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