Pursuant to the thought that so many mobile technologies today seem like magic (in the sense of Arthur C. Clarke’s observation that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic), what kind of magic would you like to conjure, or have conjured, that doesn’t exist now?
Keep in mind that a technology doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical object anymore, it can be a:
- Capability: something that I can’t do now in the real world that I would love to do;
- Affordance: an aspect or feature of the real world & real world objects that doesn’t exist now, but would be wonderful if it did.
But, given our deep affection for gadgets, it could also be a:
- Device: some aspect of digital fashion, fetish or function that I simply couldn’t live without…
And just for fun, describe your magical wish and predict how many years it might be until it might be realized.
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100% Immersive Reality
Something I would love to see as a mobile technology in my lifetime would be the development of virtual reality to the point of complete immersion. Similar to technologies featured in stories like “Ready Player One” or “The Three-Body Problem”, I think it would be fantastic to experience a world where possibilities are limitless within a technological reality.
Now there are a plethora of possible problems that arise with this type of technology, like addictions, the decomposition of human connections, disassociation from actual reality, and technological mastery over humans (i.e. the Matrix or similar); however, I would like to focus on the positive potentials of this.
Imagine a technology where you could completely immerse yourself in a virtual world. You would not feel controllers or VR headsets; you would not feel the room or the couch on which you sit. Instead, you would feel the soft grass of rolling hills under your feet and the heat of the sun on your face. You could smell the sea breeze and taste rich fruits. You could stand on the moon, breathe underwater, fly, or even move mountains. Anything that could be imagined, could be designed and then experienced.
As a video gamer, this would be the ultimate in gaming technology; I would be able to actually live out my favourite titles. As an educator, this would be an amazing way to bring together people from any part of the world, connect using the most advanced version of “face-time”, and travel to any space, at any time, in any form to learn with an ever flexible perspective.
Yesterday I took myself golfing. A hobby I hate to love for its unpredictable outcome, and my own inconsistency. I golf with a watch that tells me my yardage, helps me keep score, and provides some additional information about the course. As I think back on my round and my frustrations, I wonder about the future of a virtual caddy and a mobile swing analysis app, or both in one. Using special glasses, the program would be able to suggest different clubs for each hole, provide advice based on your statistics and how you were playing that day. It would also be able to analyze your swing to identify your problem areas and offer suggestions for improvement.
It would seem that the technology for the virtual caddy is pretty close due to the existing golf watches, Siri, and Google Assistant. VR and AR googles already in production make the possibility of specialized glasses not far off as well. I don’t think that this technology is too far away regarding development and production, but affordability for the common user might be.
Please see the attached link for the infographic I created about my technology wish.
The technology I wish existed was an app where all streaming services are in one place.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19EbBGhyeNA39ePXeH4WdrCtzTaoAFRGm/view?usp=sharing
There are so many innovative dreams and exciting wishes posted for this week 2 question 1 (Mobile Technologies I Want To See Someday) discussion forum. A common theme threading through them are reflective of the contemporary needs of societies from which the individual were living at the time of publication. For example, posts made by students taking ETEC 523 during Covid lockdown seem to focus on returning synchronous, social aspects of face-to-face living. Similarly, posts made by participants who are digital challenged may wish for an experience with more seamless, virtual “transclusivity” (Vogt, 2024).
Along the same vein, what is needed in the society in which I live is a complete refocusing by every single person on planet Earth to sustain flora and fauna. Human beings ought not be permitted and should not desire to continue to be watching cat memes while the world is literally burning around us. Realizing this sounds dictatorial, obviously, I retract it immediately. However, there does need to be some sort of incentive to return to focus on ecological issues rather than allowing people to connect to technology while simultaneously disconnecting with and destroying nature. We all need to take greater action to help Earth now.
Having grown up in rural northern Ontario and am currently living in the interior of BC, I have always been surrounded by wildlife and am devastated seeing the state of affairs for the planter today. So, my dream technology / capability / affordance / device is a tool that has the ability to allow humans to know where all wild animals are located to help the natural world survive and thrive. This would include an Interplanetary internet system on land, sea, air and space to identify all flora and fauna nearby without disturbing it in any way. For example, if you were to find yourself in the middle of the forest and wanted to know where the bears were, it would tell you. I don’t want to not disturb them, and I certainly do not want to get eaten by them, but I want to help them survive in the midst of human-induced environmental decay and destruction.
Reference
Vogt, D. (January 6, 2021). Week 1: Mobility perspectives. So, what’s so special about mobile learning. The future of work. ETEC Mobile and Open Learning: Canvas UBC. https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2021/01/06/week-1-mobility-perspectives/
Honestly, I want the best of both worlds: the portability of mobile phones, but the depth and input detail of desktop machines.
As much as can be done with mobile devices and improved interface design, the limited screen size and input options remain issues that are solved with compromises at best. For any serious amount of reading I can’t stand constant scrolling on a mobile screen, nor do I enjoy typing anything more than a modest email. For any design work involving more complex manipulations (CAD designs or laying out 3d printing projects), I don’t even bother.
Solutions now are clunky. As much as voice recognition has improved, writing a long piece of work via dictation is logistically problematic and not the work flow I’m comfortable with. Finger or stylus manipulation on a screen is much more clunky than a mouse or even larger size screen. I end up with three devices: my phone as my primary, always there accessory, a book size tablet for reading or more in depth research, and my laptop for working on serous production. If I could combine those into the form factor of a phone, a true “go anywhere, do anything” device would be created.
Not sure how that will ultimately play out. Virtual keyboards and screens projected into the environment are interesting ideas. I already wear glasses, so an augmented reality mixture would be a reasonably foreseeable next step.
I would love for an affordable device to allow my students to have a hologram on their desks for any video. In tech ed classes, often, the students need to be able to see physical demonstrations. This would allow students to see step-by-step specific procedures at any time without the need for me to recreate those procedures for them.
As a sports fan having a smaller hologram of the game happening right in front of you I think would be awesome.
I think it’s the transmission of more senses. Now that it is basically possible to achieve visual and auditory recording and transmission without time lag, is it possible for smell, taste and touch to be realized in technologies such as AR or MR? In addition to mobile technology, this should also be connected to neuroscience. Everyone must have fantasized about truly being in someone else’s shoes. If such technology is realized, I think it will truly break the distance limit.
Specifically, integrating scent and sense of smell into AR/VR is on my mobile technology wishlist. The sense of smell is fascinating because it directly connects to the brain via the olfactory bulb which is part of the limbic system. Smell impacts memory retention, mood, focus, and concentration and emotional assosiations, all of which can be used to improve learning experiences. Is technology enabled smell possible to be integrated into multi-sensory learning experiences and how would that work in a world that is increasingly becoming scent-free?
As someone who works in a school with over 90 ELL students, translating can be one of the most time consuming and difficult parts of each day. While I understanding translating technology has come a long way. For example, there are typing, audio, and picture functions. I would love sometime in the future for real time automatic translation through devices and earpieces to be possible. While this may hinder language acquisition, in some instances, especially for brand new learners to a language, it is necessary for basic understanding of what is going on.
I severely struggle with facial recognition, which can be especially hard as a substitute teacher. Sometimes students will give me fake names, or switch names (so a seating plan doesn’t help), and there have been days when I’ve had five different classes, resulting in having over 120 different students in one day, so it can be impossible to keep them all straight.
I would love to someday see a part of smart glasses paired with AI facial recognition technology. Students’ pictures are taken at the start of the school year and added to student files. I would love a pair of smart glasses that could pair with the school system, and when I tap a button on the side of the glasses while looking at a student, it would use AI facial recognition and show an overlay that would provide me with most importantly, a student’s name, any important medical information, and any other information deemed vital in relation to that student. I believe that facial recognition technology of this calibre already exists as it is used in airports, and with some surveillance systems in countries like China. However, I am unsure how advanced smart glasses are. I predict something like this could potentially exist within the next five years.
There could be several benefits of this imagined technology. It could help teachers more quickly learn the names of their students at the start of a school year, helping improve student-teacher relationships. It could also assist any students on the autism spectrum who struggle with facial recognition and build relationships with their peers. However, there could also be many potential failures, like the fact that such a technology could potentially violate some privacy laws. AI facial recognition also has a documented history of misidentifying BIPOC individuals, often because not enough racial diversity is used in AI training tests. This could lead not only to misidentifying a student but also result in some racial biases as well.
Once of my biggest pet peeves is running out of juice on my mobile devices, and then waiting hours for a full charge. In the future, I would love seeing smartphones charge from 0 to 100% battery in seconds or smartphones that never need any charging (self charging capability). I’m optimistic this will be the standard sometime in the future.
In a big classroom with many students doing video presentations, I would like more technology to cancel out other students’ audio and focus solely on that student’s audio. I know external microphones can help, but they will still pick up noise as it gets louder. I have also learned how to remove sounds from audio when this happens, but I would like it to be done more automatically. This may involve the technology needing to get more familiar with the voice of the person talking to remove the others talking.
I would love a device or an application on my phone/computer that allows me to easily control what my students view on their laptops and phones in class. While I’m sure there is a way to lock computers on a website for the technically gifted, I’m not there. I envision this app receiving webpage requests when students in my class want to access a site or app not already pre-approved. This would be similar to requests they need to send to access our Teams account; however, they would need to request access to other sites while in class. I would ideally be able to preload approved websites and banned websites.
Elvio,
I had this same query and mentioned it off-handedly to an IT colleague who directed me to LAN SCHOOL , software to monitor student performance.
https://lanschool.com/
I am able to view live screens, lock internet priviledges, and send individual comments to students, to name of the few affordances. It is fantastic and I am thrilled to have found it. I was disappointed that it was through my own measly grapevine rather than made explicitly available as ProD training, which in its current state is too often harder, not smarter.
LAN SCHOOL is one of many different options to oversee student development by reducing assessment cheating and enhancing clear, critical, creative thought. Importantly, as with other such pedagogical tools, if students falter there ought to be chance to rectify their wrongs rather than suffer immediate punishment through academic failure.
With the proliferation of video conferencing methods, I wonder if mobile developers are capable of projecting the whole person that you’re talking to out of the phone – maybe something along the lines of a high-quality hologram. Some technical specs that I can then think of is audio. If they were to pull this off, developers need to make higher quality speakers in our phones. However, I would hazard a guess that they would design ultra high-fidelity headsets to pair up with this kind of technology to upsell the consumers.
Video calls are great because people can talk and see each other visually. From experience, while living far from family members, I still wish I were in the same room while talking with them. This tech could maybe help fill that longing.
Other good use of this technology is enhancing the experience of online job interviews. The interviewers can see overall body language and presentation that doesn’t really get fully communicated in today’s video conferencing. A downside would be that interviewees can no longer be half dressed (Wearing an appropriate shirt and blazer while wearing pajamas for the bottom – HAHA).
A decade before the pandemic popularized Zoom to the extent it is now a verb in the dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/zoom), I was teaching with an esteemed group of online universities using Zoom, AcuitySchedule and Blackboard for classes and meetings.
One fine day when delivering an online Zoom onboarding session for new students, I was suddenly disconnected.
Or, at least, i thought i was.
Being extremely new to the online learning environment amd LMS delivery in 2009, I panicked. I lacked any online experience to determine where to start troubleshooting. So after the few unsuccessful solutions to get back online, I quit trying, started crying and proceeded to waddle across the room on full camera display from head to toe. Sure enough, I had been sitting just as you described above: office superstar from the waist up, couch potato, pajama slob southward. I then performed
unmentionable actions causing utter mortification when I realized the camera and audio buttons were green , indicating power was either back on or still on. I ran to my laptop, shut it and all but blocked this humiliating experience out of my professional memory.
I wonder if I will ever again meet any of the students in that webinar, and if they would ever even remember that event?
I recently got a puppy so as a total beginner owner, it would be super helpful to have a smart collar working with an app that can assess pet behaviors, detect their emotions, predict bad behaviors forming and suggest training solutions using AI. The collar would be able to track behavioural biometrics, analyze sounds and have environmentals sensors. For example, my puppy is pretty socialized and does not get scared of sounds or common things on the street. One day, she was walking calmly and suddenly she started sprinting. I almost tripped on the leash…Then, not long after, she was all fine. I still do not know what triggered her. So, it would be good to get some support in understanding her.
I think it will not take a long time before such product becomes available because I came across a similar smart collar before writing this post called PetPace which tracks, predicts health issues and detects pain. If this smart collar can also have the functions that I mentioned plus the idea of language translator that was mentioned by a previous student in this forum, we would have a very powerful collar!
The AI integration with training solutions is a great idea. If someone call pull this off, they instantly have a market full of loving pet owners. The language translator app is also good. This reminds me of the pet talking buttons I see dogs and cats use on all the socials. I wonder if these buttons would be converted into a digital format – say on a tablet like tech that animals can access through tapping their paws. But for the language aspect of it, I wonder if dogs or animals in general have different languages depending on the geographic region they’re born into – like humans. I wonder if we would have some answers if this tech would be developed in the future.
I’d love for somebody to create an app that allows you to see where your personal data is being used, sold, resold etc, in real time.
Let’s imagine a future where governments get together and agree upon a set of privacy standards that companies need to adhere to, including being transparent with the way they collect and use personal information. Now imagine an app or service that allows you to look at specific companies, or specific items of data (e.g. your email address) and displays a graphic illustration showing how your data has been used. Extend this to the ability to flag companies or data and report these, and we’d have a very powerful way of making sure that companies no longer play fast and loose with our data.
This is a pipe dream, of course. It would take enormous amounts of computing power to track the data, and it would probably need advanced AI tools to interpret and display it in a way we could understand. It would also take collective will on the part of international governments to make this happen, and the tech companies who rely on our data would oppose it at every step.
But let’s say we can overcome these issues – we could have the means of tracking all our data in the very short term, I think. We are already facing enormous challenges in collecting and understanding complex data (e.g. when predicting the effects of climate change), so this may not be as far-fetched as it sounds.
I would love to see some social-emotional guidance tools for students. There are many apps and resources for specific skills. However, I wish the technology would understand and personalize solutions for each child. Working at a school with students coming from various backgrounds, I sometimes find understanding students’ struggles leading to some behaviours challenging. Some students come with traumatic experiences and do not have skills for self-management or even understanding their emotions. They have difficulty communicating their feelings or how others could help them. In addition, it is difficult for a classroom teacher to give full attention to one child, especially at the beginning of the year. If some technology could walk and guide them through their emotions with suggestions to proper tools, possibly providing a safe space through a VR system, it would help the classroom teacher to understand how to support these children, especially in a mainstream classroom, to provide appropriate education for all children. One of this program’s main challenges would be protecting students’ privacy since it contains sensitive information.
CULTURAL TRANSLATOR
I just spent half a day exchanging emails with the professors of another MET course of mine. I had to explain what I meant by criticizing the resources for this week reading.
Instead of doing something more productive, I had to deal with the self-analysis describing my origin and dominant ideology of the place, my education and ability to analyze the results of the dissertations, my emotional state and current geopolitical situation, common misconceptions about my nationality and how to use them to our advantage and so on and so forth.
I understand they meant well, but this is such a waste of time! And to think that they initially asked for the critical reflections on what we read. Oh, the irony.
So, to avoid those misunderstandings and save time, I currently wish there were the cultural translators where all those more or less stable factors (origin, age, gender, mentality etc.) were put once and for all for the professors/students to connect the device with the online/offline text for analysis, push the button and realize immediately what Anna actually meant in her discussion post. Would help greatly in international communications too.
Similar to the AI Content Detector, you know? https://writer.com/ai-content-detector/ I can predict that in the future such a technology will go further and evaluate the attitude of the author toward their written content too, like you put my text there and you get: … % of anger, … % of surprise, … % of doubt, … % of sarcasm etc. Thank you!
If I allow my imagination to run wild, I’d like to have a mobile technology that can help me teleport, be invisible, and time-travel, at least into the future. I guess if this was possible my future self would travel back in time and inform me that such a technology will exist….wait…. no, never mind, no one came.
But on a slightly more serious note, just for the fun of it, I would love to have an intelligent machine or robot that can provide accurate and insightful psychoanalysis for people and suggest innovative solutions for their psychological problems. This would not be simply a replacement for a psychiatrist, it would be a sophisticated software or a gadget installed somehow on or inside a person to observe, track, and study how they were raised, their reactions to the methods their parents choose to raise them, their decision-making process, their intellectual and emotional growth,… It would know a person better than they know themselves and help them make the choices that are right for them. I predict it would not take too long for such a technology to be developed. Maybe 10-20 years from now?
Having grown up in the Star Trek the next generation era, I have always wanted something like the holodeck. With the current state of VR headsets, I could quite easily see something similar existed in the near future. A fully portable VR headset, like the Meta-Quest, could link to other headsets and recognize their location in space. Cameras on the headsets could allow for the users to experience the environment as a mixed reality, making it more useable in a regular classroom since the users could still see obstacles such as tables and chairs. Imagine a virtual model of the solar system taking up the entire classroom worth of space, and fully interactive allowing users to zoom in on various planets, moons, or asteroids. Imagine moving all of the tables to the side of the classroom, and projecting a topographical map on the ground that can be explored from every angle. Or imagine playing a virtual game a volleyball with six players on each side of the net. Currently, it appears as though there are some group VR experiences available, but it appears as though there is a limit to the number of people of around six. I would predict that something like what I am describing could be possible within five years, and maybe even a common place within 10.
It would be interesting to see a live view of student’s emotions in the form of an emoji. For example, if we could use AI to analyze the person’s facial expressions to display current emotion using emojis to the people it is shared it. We will be able to tell if the person is feeling happy, sad, confused in the current moment, helping others understand the current emotional state of the other person. This would be beneficial for teachers and also for students with non-verbal learning disorders who have trouble reading emotion in facial cues and body language.
Ohhh! This idea intrigues me, Vithu! Here are my thoughts.
On a wider scope, having a pocket AI to evaluate the emotions of others in all encounters has exponential value. For children, I imagine simple emotional bucket images – it could be paired with the book, “How Full is Your Bucket?” (Rath & Reckmeyer, 2009). This learning app could help everyone better understand the ranges of human emotion, how our interactions directly effect each other and provide immediate and ongoing feedback to the user. Everyone from first responders and customer service workers, to politicians could imagine a benefit to reading emotional states. The downside – would we all become better “maskers” of our emotions inn order to preserve privacy? What are some some situations where your emotional state could be used against you?
Mu husband envisions an AI driven tablet or laptop that can track eye movements and thereby track a student’s progress as they go through various lessons on the tablet (or device). The reason for it to be AI driven is because the AI can adapt to what the student needs; knowing when to present a concept or lesson in a different way to ensure understanding, much like repeating levels in a video game. The platform would follow a student throughout, providing educators with a really accurate view of every students’ strengths and weaknesses, and eliminating the need to go back and find out if there were just some foundational lessons that were missed. The reason for the eye tracking would be to ensure the student is actually paying attention to what the student is doing. The program would adapt to the individual student needs by repeating lessons as needed or going the other way and providing extensions for gifted students. This is becoming more and more likely, but I think it may take another 15-20 years to get the security and privacy truly managed, as well as the programming, which should be more open sourced so that bias can be reduced. This could also provide early interventions by identifying learning disabilities earlier, and providing support and alternatives that match the student.
Your prediction might be even closer than you think. Eye tracking heat maps are used quite heavily in marketing, product testing, and UI design to see what aspects of a webpage or digital screen get looked at the most. Since they use a webcam to track, the ability for this to be incorporated into education for data analysis is within reach as (almost) all mobile devices have forward facing cameras. I like the idea of knowledge checks to accompany the tracking – did a student not spend much time on a particular page of content because they know it or because they weren’t interested? This kind of understanding can inform better notifications for review or to present the material in a different way. From someone who loves to make data-informed design decisions, I like this idea. I only wonder if there are privacy considerations that would go along with this.
Here’s a good blog post about eye tracking and how it’s used currently with some good examples of heat maps: https://vwo.com/blog/eye-tracking-heatmap/#:~:text=What%20is%20an%20eye%2Dtracking,length%20on%20that%20individual%20element.
Privacy is my main objection to this idea, but by the same token, it would be so nice to see what a student missed, and gaps in foundational knowledge.
What a great blog site! The heat maps are super interesting…. especially when the photo of the bikini clad woman is heat mapped by gender… far more women seemed to look away from her face than men. The differences would be fascinating to explore!
Mobile Technologies I want to see and experience in this lifetime is real-time video conference with 3D effects. You may recall Marvel movies when the character sends a signal, the real-time visual picture will be shown without needing a physical projector. Now, this may sound a little too good to be true. I’m not entirely sure if I would live until that day LOL. But I think game-changers like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are both working on their own fields to advance technologies. We’ll see how it goes.
So I have two technologies that I would love to see. The first is something I get frustrated about a lot and that’s my posture – especially when I am working out. You could have clothes made of certain fibres that could be analyzed on your phone and give you real-time feedback on your positioning. It could also just remind you of your posture when you’re living your every day life or remind you that you may not be lifting that box in a recommended way.
The second (a bit more far-fetched) would be to be able to scan an object with your device and know its entire history. When it was made, what it was used for, anyone who’s ever touched it. It would be great to help solve a murder mystery from just the murder weapon. Or find out the use of some strange historical object.
In terms of mobile technology, I would love to have an app that could inform me of all the upcoming events in our community. For instance, I could ask the app, “What is there to do this weekend”? Currently, if I am interested in locating upcoming events, I use a search engine, Facebook, or local newspaper listings. However, if the app was able to collect all the available opportunities, then we would not miss local events, and waste time web searching. This would also boost event attendance as well and would be ideal for travellers! Maybe the app could be called, Findmesomethingtodo.
That’d be so cool! It would be even better to have your digital assistant pull up that information for you using voice control. I trust Google Assistant & Siri are both working diligently on that. On the other hand, that would mean giving full access to a ton of your personal information. That sounds a little worry-some to me. How does that make you feel? I mean I’ve already given pretty much full access to IOS, so far it didn’t cause me anything trouble yet. However, I still believe we need to be mindful of digital information security.
As you are likely aware, wearable technology such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch can detect heart health such as heart rate and blood oxygen levels, however, what if you could scan your mobile phone or wearable technology across your body in order to catch pulmonary embolisms and or plaque buildup? Having had a family member lose their life to CAD (Coronary Artery Disease), it’s hard not to think about the “what if he had this?” ideas. Evolutionary medical technology such as this could drastically decrease the potential for sudden heart attacks. It is hard to get into a family doctor in order to be prescribed a CT angiogram, especially if you aren’t showing any physical signs of disease. This idea could not decrease the stress of those who have CAD, but ultimately save lives. Furthermore, if this personal MRI could be developed, it would save a lot of time and money for the medical system as MRI’s can have a lengthy wait time.
I am one to hate trying on clothes when I’m shopping for myself or my children. It would be great if technology existed to scan my body, and determine my height and size. Then, as I shop, I can scan the outfit and it would “wear” it for my on the app in 360 view so that I can see what the outfit really looks like on me without actually trying it on. This would be great for children where getting them in and out of clothes is always a fight.
Yes, this is a cool idea! Especially during the pandemic, most stores did not allow trying out clothes. And even if they do, the process can be tedious and time consuming, I can definitely see this happening in the future, probably through AR. Something similar to the IKEA AR app, along the lines of creating a projection of yourself and then projecting the clothes on top of that. It’s interesting to think what could be the privacy issues around a topic like body scan. Probably that’s why the body projection would have to be done from our device instead of allowing a third party to scan our body,
This idea is giving me Clueless vibes. There’s a part in the movie where the main character can kind of test out outfits on an image of her and I used to absolutely love it. Having a 3D avatar of yourself that can show different outfits accurately would be pretty cool. Especially when located in areas far from stores.
Wow, I would love this! I hate trying clothes on. If all stores had the exact dimension of their clothing, you could either scan the item in the store and virtually try it on, or try it on from home and order. Of course, from home, you wouldn’t get the “feel” of the material, the firmness of shoes, etc. I have used a similar technology for trying on glasses: https://www.clearly.ca/glasses/virtual-try-on-glasses This site allows the buyer to take pictures of their face and then virtually try on the glasses to see how they would look on their face.
As I was reading your post, I also imagined this app to be able to project the clothing on you in the form of a hologram. However, I am not sure how it could do it in a 3D way so you can turn around to see how it looks from the back…perhaps with another gadget projecting from another direction. It would also be cool to include some sort of function that allows us to feel the type of fabric it has.
Reading through this thread, what I would like to add is the affordance of being able to 3D print your own clothes. In our theoretical question game for this week 2 discussion, once the technology dreamt of above would established, lets take it to the next level. If machines could scan our bodies to find outfits to buy without needing to try them on first, could we also adjust digital settings to personalize color, shape, material, etc. If that holds, we could also then ask ‘Computer Fashion Barbie’ to print outfits that have been through various scenarios, such as boots that have just walked through mud or a jacket with fresh snow fallen upon it. I dream of this technology to be solar/wind powered with biodegradable/recyclable materials.
I would love to have a fitness app that is operated by AI. I know there are many fitness apps, but none of them are personalized, and if personalized you need to stay in contact with a coach and it can be expensive. I spent many hours and days figuring out the perfect exercise routine and I wish I had an AI that knows everything about my physical capabilities to generate the perfect exercises for my body type. The AI would gather data like weight, height, body measurement, DNA, daily routine, fitness goals, fat percentage, etc. It would personalize a workout routine depending on your goals and body composition, it would also modify the programs according to your success or failure rates. I believe this technology is not far off from reality and I hope that I would be able to use it soon.
Yes, something with a high degree of personalization would be fantastic and allow users to reach their fitness goals faster and more efficiently. I had a recent conversation with my sister about this, who was telling me that she’s using an app that does some of the things you are mentioning. Can’t remember the name of the app but I imagine it would be something like this: https://www.fitnessai.com. I think there might be some AI fitness apps but perhaps we will see this level of depth in the future. Probably sooner than later considering how fast AI is developing and how people are opting for practical and time-efficient ways of exercising,.
I wish this app was available on Android. I am sure these types of fitness apps will be available very soon, we already have access to DNA testing, so they only need to combine data from both fitness and DNA apps in one powerful AI fitness coach!
I would like to see an app that could be used to fact check social media postings for accuracy and detect deepfake technology. Students need to use critical thinking skills when assessing the accuracy of online information, and it is becoming more difficult with advances in technology.
Hi Tamaka,
I personally have students refer to snopes.com and politifact for our digital literacy classes. Although it is far from perfect, the site tries to find current trends to fact check!
One mobile technology that I would like to see is to have an enhanced version of a wearable health monitor. While we currently have monitors that check for traits such as heart rate or oxygen levels, it would be incredible to have one that scanned for deeper, less obvious health issues and alerted the user immediately or even directly consulting your health professional. Imagine being made aware of a potential cavity in your teeth, but the wearable has scanned your mouth, determined a timeline, and booked an appointment with your dentist based on your connected cloud-based calendar. For procrastinators of self-care such as myself, this would be revolutionary in keeping people healthy and giving healthcare providers accurate information in a streamlined manner.
That would be pretty good, Braden! This reminded me of a technology I found while researching for this week’s content curation, named digital tattoos. I didn’t post it in the end because it seems like it hasn’t advanced much since it was published (2015), but the idea is quite interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iFuTaqD4fM&ab_channel=ChaoticR%26D
This sounds like a wearable “X RAY.” I would like to spiral this to think about those with diabetes and often need to pinch themselves to check their blood sugar. Possible having a wearable technology for them where it is constantly worn and read.
One technology I would like to see is one that catalogues what’s in your fridge, when it’s going to be spoiled, and curates a list of optional recipes to use up what’s in your fridge. That way you can use your groceries effectively, and know when the condiment that’s been taking up space in your door is done. All of this can be done on your phone while you ‘scan’ the contents of the fridge using the camera function that takes the bar codes and can automatically upload them. That would be my wish for technology as I stand in front of my fridge wondering why I decided to buy broccoli and lamb shank and what can I make with that.
That would be nice, Jennifer. I see that augmented reality applications that scan product information at groceries stores have been created. I can imagine this would function in a similar matter, meaning scanning the objects and getting information. It would be more complex in this case though because it has to assess conditions (although it could also scan expiration dates).
That sounds like an interesting idea Jennifer. I can imagine fridges replacing that water filling station with a barcode or visual scanner to “check-in” one’s products before putting it into the fridge. I can see this working well with managing unintended food waste situations as well!
I think it would be interesting if the live music industry could produce augmented reality concerts in which you see a band performing in your space. Of course, you would need plenty of space to project an entire band so most likely the projection would have to be resizable (such as in Star Wars holograms). This could be coupled with advanced audio reproduction technologies, such as the emerging ‘spatial audio’. I remember how during the first year of the pandemic musicians were offering online concerts and can imagine having this technology at hand would allow them to reach their audiences more effectively. It could also be used for theatre or even sports. Watching a soccer match as a hologram would certainly be an amazing experience!
When PS4’s VR came out they released a concert you could be an audience member of (I think it was for Playstation Worlds). Of course, this is different than an AR concert. As a massive music fan (and especially live music where someone screams at you – we named our son after the singer of our favorite band ‘Dance Gavin Dance’), I think both concepts have potential for success. A VR concert with a more energetic where you want to feel the energy of the show and an AR concert where it would feel the artist is performing just for you and thus has a more intimate feel.
Here’s a link to a VR concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec4Lcx5wE48
Wow – so cool! Thanks for sharing, Michael. Just by watching the youtube video, I felt immersed. I like your observation about how VR and AR could offer different experiences a user can pick from depending on the mood they’re in. I think that both VR and AR concerts is something we can expect to see in the near future. The same applies to theatre and other performing arts.
As a what if, concerts could be redefined as musicians/bands/singers can virtually perform anywhere in the world through the use of hologram technology while decreasing the complexity involved with global logistics when organizing shows in various countries. Concerts can still be held normally with the only difference being the performer is merely a projection. As long as the hologram quality is good enough (eg: would be weird if the projection on stage starts glitching out), I don’t think there is a huge difference as to whether the performer is physically there or not as most good concerts are driven by fan energy, audience synergy and overall excitement of being part of an event. Same applies to other forms of events, classes, meetings or anything which requires human interaction
Personally, I’d want to see language translation apps taken to the next level. As of 2022, a mobile translation app can translate text (typed or via image), real-time speech, and webpages (desktop). With the advancement of deep learning (greater linguistic accuracy), telecommunications (faster data), and computing (more powerful devices), perhaps these translation apps will be able to support real-time translation within the next 10 years. The further removal of language barriers will have a significant impact on the future of foreign language education, as well as how corporations operate and hire.
I agree, Aaron. I recently did a post about augmented reality to break language barriers through instant translation, and think that if this technology continues to evolve it could have huge positive implications on our global community.
This is a pretty neat topic and a good opportunity for the class to get creative. I think it would be neat if over the air charging was invented where our devices could be charged through radio waves, bluetooth signals or other forms of wireless tech. Similar to Wi-Fi in nature, it would be convenient if wireless charging was extended to other devices such as electric vehicles and appliances, though realistically speaking, power sources would need to be redefined in order for this concept to work. Holographic displays on our phones or computer screens would be an interesting evolution to our current solution of using webcams, Imagine participating in meetings where the participants can show a holographic avatar of themselves, it could potentially make mobile communication more engaging for users.
Hello John. Thanks for sharing your ideas. I also think that it would be interesting to see how holographic displays change how we communicate. It’s a fascinating technology I have been waiting on since I first saw Star Wars movies!
Hi John. I remember how videos on the Metaverse promoted the use of holographic displays and these projections. Perhaps it is something that is not too far away!
One capability that I dream could happen someday is inspired from the Green Lantern. How magical it would be to have devices that can transform itself or other matter into different shapes or functions. For example, manipulating a mesh structure into a can opener or condensing garbage to make it more easily disposable. I can’t even count how many years this would take as it feels like it probably breaks many laws of science.
That’s an interesting idea Jackson, it’ll definitely be handy if there was a mobile tech which is flexible enough to transform and adapt to the situation (a smart multi tool perhaps?) or one that’s only limited by the user’s imagination sort of like how the concept Green Lantern’s ring works
My dream technology would be similar to that of the DNA memory-experience technology from the Assassins Creed video game series. For anyone unfamiliar with the game, you play as a modern day person who is in a simulation of the life of an ancestor from different time periods throughout the game series. The technology is based on the notion that memories are stored in one’s DNA, and anyone with that DNA can relive those memories. I think that this kind of technology would be an excellent way to learn about history and to understand what it was like to live without modern comforts. Day-to-day life and important events could be seen through the point of view of someone from the time, and given our current ability to provide greater context with historical knowledge, students would be able to have an amazingly enriched understanding of the world.
My dream technology is similar to Miguel’s desire for a mind palace, but I believe separate enough to warrant a new comment rather than a reply. I would love to have technology that allows a visualization of thoughts. For example, when trying to describe a dream to someone it is often impossible to describe the experience your brain took you through in your sleep. But what if you could display an image, sensation, or sequence from your brain to show to others rather than merely describing it in words? In pop culture, the scene in The Matrix in which everyone is watching Morpheus and Neo fight for the first time (in their minds) is one representation of this – what if you could let others see a snapshot of your thoughts on a video monitor? I’m intrigued by the idea that different individuals might process stimulation differently and think it would be so neat to see into others’ thoughts in order to better understand their experiences.
I love this idea! I often wish that I could share the songs playing in my head with friends…
I know that there are a lot of mobile fitness apps out there, but I’d love to see some that are much smarter and can combine more features together so that the user can have a bigger, better picture of their fitness information and overall health. For example, I am working with a trainer right now and I am trying to track all of my workouts and food into calories in and calories out, and add them all into the MyFitnessPal app. The workout part is tricky and time-consuming because I need to search for and enter the exercise, weight, and reps for all of the different exercises I do. It’s the same as the meals; everything needs to be entered in almost ingredient by ingredient unless I am eating a meal that is processed and already uploaded to the app. Even when I do all of this, I know that there is a significant margin of error due to a variety of variables. I’d love it if there was a device that can detect ALL of one’s biological, food, and exercise data using sensors. One that could process all of this information and inform people of their next steps to reach their health and fitness goals.
I have two mobile tech wishes that have been on my mind this past year – both practical to deal with problems. The first is a way to make AR apps less data consuming so that they are not slow, consuming large amounts of space on your mobile device. For the magic that I am looking at creating with AR storytelling for natural and cultural history, this currently poses as my team’s and my greatest obstacle to find a solution for. If anyone has ideas of where I should look for that solution, I’d love your advice.
My second wish is more of a practical one for my somewhat travelling life in which my feline monster, Miss Ella, is often along for the ride. For that, I’d love some sort of mobile tracking device for her that sustains a charge of more than a few hours, is accurate, and has a decent range to it. This would give me piece of mind, in case she gets out to explore while we are in transit between places.
A future technology that I would love to see is a device that can scan and provide medical information without invasive tests. It’s always one of my favorite parts of any Star Trek movie, where they can quickly scan a person and create a 3D image of their physiology and then determine a course of treatment. I think it would be amazing to be able to offer that as part of medical treatment and just imagine the time, resources and money it would save as we would no longer have to go through a series of tests to determine the cause of someone’s pain, illness or the cause of their symptoms. It would revolutionize how medicine is practiced if we were able to manufacture a device that could offer that.
Oh my, this would be wonderful, provided no one misused it. Even better, such a device that could then fix the patient’s ailments without any invasive measures. Being the kid that regularly has probes inserted along my spine to emit radio frequency waves, and giant needles injected near my vertebrae, I am getting a little tears eyed at the thought of this.
When I read this discussion question, my mind went to the exact same place!
The link below was a very interesting read about projects currently being researched and prototyped by Sanjiv Sam Gambhir and his team at Stanford’s “Ghambir Lab”. These projects, already in development include a Smart Toilet which can detect glucose and pH levels of your urine (indicators for diabetes and kidney stones) as well as a Smart Bra designed to continuously image and scan breast tissue for minuscule tumours.
Though the author points to some fairly significant hurdles when it comes to designing the technology itself, she is also careful to point out what strikes me as perhaps one of the biggest challenges that comes along with the integration of this type of technology: how will society feel about constantly monitoring their health metrics? With people having immediate access to these test results, how will these technologies play a role in handling the very delicate matter of making a diagnosis and delivering said news?
Link to the article: “Diagnose this: A health-care revolution in the making”
https://stanmed.stanford.edu/2016fall/the-future-of-health-care-diagnostics.html
And if we would like to take your question concerning integration, and how society will feel about this omnipresent monitoring, I would consider potential impact on individuals’ access to insurance. With such detailed and constant monitoring of health metrics, and the privacy concerns that comes along with this, individuals may face increased barriers. To what extent can/would insurance companies gain access to such information; how is this information protected and, along with this, where does it ‘live’?
To add an estimated timeline to this, I would guess that in the next 10-20 years, we will have quite advanced versions of this medical technology. Already mobile health technology is advancing quite rapidly. I still remember my first Garmin watch that I purchased about 10-12 years ago. The watch could tell you your heart rate, track your distance ran quite precisely with GPS technology, help you find your way back to the start of your run if you got lost and of course, tell you the time! At the time it was extremely cool technology to me. Now flash forward ten years, many of the wearable Garmin devices still do all those things, but now include a myriad of other health based applications. My current watch (which is three years old) can sync to bluetooth headphones and play music directly from the watch, monitor my “stress” levels, measure blood oxygen levels, measure the amounts of breaths I’m taking per minute (and the list goes on…) Although I’m not fully sure the mechanics behind these features, it goes to show that this technology is continually growing with a clear focus on wearable health-based technologies that integrate with our mobile devices.
As Asha shared, to get to the point in which these devices can reliably tell us information that may actually prevent potential health issues, would be oh so cool!
Inspired by movies, I would like to see mobiles devices that generate 3D holograms in real-time. I think this would be beneficial for social and individual learning. I see possibilities for using holograms of specialists (SME) invited to a class like astronauts or physicians. They can participate in their work environments and interact in real-time with students. 3D holograms can continuously mobilize students’ attention because they bring students closer to real life.
When working on a team project, hologram technology could facilitate some students to explain their ideas or projects to other team members. Architecture, arts, design are some fields that would benefit from this feature.
Regarding individual learning, I would like to see mobile devices that provide 3D holograms. Learners will be able to do research and explore features of several objects anywhere and at any time. The 3D hologram generation will allow people to learn outside educational programs (learning for life).
There was a video game called Time Traveller in some of the arcades about 20+ years ago that used holograms, or simulated holograms, for its display. I really thought this would be the beginning of it all. Perhaps the game was itself from the future as we still haven’t seen an uptake in volumetric displays. There would be so many cool uses in a school setting and meeting settings as well.
We have all heard of the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” If I could conjure a mobile technology that does not exist now, it would be technology that could take the information from print or audio and quickly render it into animations. Imagine telling a story and having your words rapidly become a visual animation of precisely what you have said. With the power of cloud technology and large web databases, such technology could instantly link words to images to help it produce visuals. The AI could create even further detailed images on the spot depending on the details provided by the user, for example, distances between objects. I think such technology would be highly beneficial in almost all aspects of life. The lived experiences of others could be understood much more vividly. Technical concepts could be explained in much more straightforward ways, task explanations, and workforce training made simple. Maybe this technology could come to fruition through holographic lenses or some sort of mobile projection technology. We already have speech-to-text features, so perhaps speech to animation is not such a distant possibility.
Hello Graham,
I like the idea of using holography technology to facilitate storytelling. However, we need more free images for the AI to produce images. I think this could be the most important issue, but the idea is great.
This is such a tricky topic to discuss; I find it really difficult to distinguish between technology that I actually want to see in the world that could feasibly exist, and technology from pop culture and sci-fi that I want to see but I know will contribute to the downfall of society as we know it. I have mentioned on a previous post that I wear a piece of technology that helps me monitor my blood sugar levels in an effort to control my diabetes, and it feels selfish to say that I would love to see further technological advancements in the apps that exist already that can help facilitate this. I think in a broader sense, I would like to see development for a more holistic, all-encompassing health regulation app or program that could help individuals better monitor their health in a realistic, day to day sense. It’s wonderful to have an exercise app that tells me to do a certain amount of cardio in a day, but I cannot readily see my own progress or the benefits for doing so, and thus apathy and entropy occasionally take over. If I were able to see down to the minute details of how what I am doing can positively (or negatively) influence my life, I think the impact and retention of users would soar. However, the pessimist in me realizes that this level of intrusive data mining and the ramifications of having this data out in the void or controlled by an app or parent company is exactly how we end up in black-mirror-esque dystopian futures.
Am finding I am having the same battle in my head, Cody, between medical technologies that could do so much to make live easier, but similarly could be used to do so much wrong.
A mobile app I have always thought about is “Teacher Find”. This could be strange but as an ESL teacher, I notice a massive continuous demand for private tutoring. Sometimes, learners desperately need tutors to prepare for a proficiency test or a daunting academic assignment. In most cases, students check their social media groups to find a teacher available to teach the subject the night before the presentation or a week before the test. Rarely do they find the right instructor for the right purpose the time they need him/her. What if we have an app similar to Uber where they can check the available teacher near their location with all the details registered in the profile, including qualification, experience, skills, and a portfolio of their work. The keyword here is ‘convenience’. You can practically order a teaching/training service to be rendered within 15 minutes, saving time and unnecessary phone calls or posts asking for urgent help. I reckon that an app of this sort would provide opportunities for professional collaboration with guaranteed benefit (based on the particular need of the learners). Naturally, the learners would rate the service and review the instructor base on how successful the experience was. On the other hand, teachers can benefit from this app by building a reputation and a strong online presence. This app would transform the educational services to a higher level, eliminating redundant third parties just like Uber shortcut taxies. This can be particularly useful when you are new in town or studying where you have no connections. What do you think?
Great idea Feras! This could be a useful app for so many because there are often no central means to find a tutor!
I’m in! I am a math tutor always looking for more students. I often advertise myself either through Facebook or through word of mouth but an app would be so helpful. I really like the idea of it being like LinkedIn where people share their qualifications, skills, and experience to attract more customers and choose the right tutor. I also like the idea of an Uber type app where you can coordinate meet ups for tutoring and share locations and even exchange messages back and forth. So, yes, just like Mobile Learning can make learning more “convenient”, I believe your idea can be very convenient for us teachers. My only question would be, what safety concerns might such app bring? Nowadays there are so many fake profiles and scams! I find it’s a scary world out there when it comes to social profiles and meet-ups…
Hi Miguel.
I am glad that there are other teachers who think this would be a useful thing to do. Regarding your question about how safe it could be, I guess the management of the app can verify the professionals with some measures similar to what Uber does.
Hello Feras,
I find your idea great and feasible. I love the idea of having filters to choose from several factors depending on what the user needs. And providing comments to the community about the experience is another excellent feature. However, I find it challenging to manage negative feedback because it could easily damage someone’s reputation, but the rating is highly subjective.
What a fun discussion topic! There are so many tools/devices/technologies I would love to see become a reality someday. Most of the technologies I would like to see are pop-cultured inspired but still very much relevant to the field of education. I had mentioned this idea Frontiers Poll, but one of the reasons I loved the novel “Ready Player One,” aside from the constant video game and pop culture references, was the school system the protagonist attends. In the novel (I will ignore the film for now as it omits much of the education part of the novel), our protagonist, Wade, does not physically attend school. Instead he straps into a haptic suit which virtually places him within a classroom. The classroom is structured like a traditional classroom, in the sense that it is still very much teacher driven, which leads something to be desired, but activities and assignments take place in a virtual world where practically anything can and has been recreated. Imagine a lesson on our rapidly decaying ocean ecosystems and instead of reading about it or watching a video, you are taken virtually to an area of the ocean that has been decimated by pollution. Instead of only engaging your eyes and ears in the classroom you are able to engage your senses of touch, scent, and to some capacity taste. How much more impactful would an experience like that be for learners? There many logistical, ethical, and technological issues with this type of technology but its effect on education would be profound should we ever reach that stage.
I absolutely LOVE this idea! One would gain incredibly deeper understandings by experiencing learning like this rather than in more traditional ways. I do think we are going to get there in terms of the technology. It will be very interesting to see how educators integrate this type of tech!
Two words: MIND PALACE. Imagine if there was a way to have more control over your mind. Someday I would like to see a technological DEVICE with the CAPABILITY of giving you full access to your mind. Picture this, just like you would put on wireless earbuds, imagine putting on wireless “mind dots” (my version of earbuds but a sticky dot that you can put on each temple, I know, very original, thank you), where when activated, you find yourself in a Mind Palace like Sherlock Holmes (BBC S2E2) or like when Tony Stark uses his holograms to move and swing data around like if it were physical or Peter Parker’s new fancy glasses (Far from Home). You would be fully awake and conscious but only you can see and organize your mind however you would like. Sorry Geek Mode was activated! Anyways, I would love to use this in the classroom to help students organize their thoughts to improve the way we can express our beautiful thoughts. Anyone care to join me on this? Pros and Cons?
Hi Miguel,
Awesome idea! I wanted to write something about Tony Stark’s helmet as well but I didn’t want to bounce around too much in my original post. This may seems strange, but lately I have been noticing that I have little to no knowledge of different types of trees and when someone asks me, “oh, what kind of tree is that?” (This happens surprisingly often. No idea why.) I would love to have a tool like Tony Stark where I can just bring up all the information I need about the tree within seconds. Probably not the best use of such advanced technology though!
I was so inspired by this discussion topic this week that I had the same exercise with my students and we had a blast. I got to hear some fascinating ideas and ventured into detailed discussions about each others ideas and even argue against each others ideas. I told them about my idea and asked them to challenge it in order to practice the idea of not only criticism but constructive criticism. Than of course this led to talking about Marvel stuff. They all agreed that learning would not only be much more effective with holograms or VR, AR, MR, or memory simulations, but incredibly fun. I believe that “fun” is what often initiates a passion to learn. I really can’t wait for Tony Starks glasses that he gifted to Peter Parker!
Hi Benjamin,
Not to worry. There is an APP for that!
http://leafsnap.com/
Next time you will be ready for that question!
Hi Miguel,
I just thought I would mention that your post inspired me to look further into Mind Mapping this week in our technology review. I make the argument that Mind Mapping tech is kind of like a ‘first step’ towards this future (hopefully) reality of tech that could help us create Mind Palaces to map our ideas. Do you think that is a fair conclusion? Either way, thanks so much for the inspiration! Copying the post link if you’re interested ( I credited you int he post): https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2021/09/18/mind-mapping-first-step-before-mind-palaces/
I feel so honoured! Thank you! I read your post on Mind Mapping, what an amazing piece of work, we’ll done. I really enjoyed watching the video you posted and your thoughts on this whole idea. Bravo!
I agree this is a very exciting idea! I’m so glad that you qualified your idea as a DEVICE because I would definitely want the ability to turn it on and off. The thought of being on all the time I think would be exhausting not only mentally, but psychologically, emotionally, and physically as well…
The mobile technology that I would want to see as mainstream one day is a Mixed Reality (combination of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality) for educational purposes, schools, classrooms, etc… Basically, once the equipment is put on by the students (e.g., AR/VR smart-glasses) the students would be connected to a virtual environment that enables them to transport in time and space. Currently, immersive technology is mostly used for research purposes, however, with the right planning, infrastructure updates, teacher training, curriculum design, and proper budgeting, we can expect to see this happen in the short-to-medium-term.
Hello Saeid, I just read your article on “The impact of Augmented Reality (AR) on Education” and also wrote a piece on the impact of VR, AR, and MR in Special Education and this discussion topic is very much connected to our topics of interest. As a high school teacher, I would also love to see this type of technology in the classroom. We have a few VR rooms in the library. I don’t use them as trying to share the VR with 30 students is a bit complicated and time consuming. Hence, which brings me to what you said: “with the right planning, infrastructure updates, teacher training, curriculum design, and proper budgeting”. I agree, there are many challenges of using VR, AR, MR in education like cost, technical support, staff training, safety, implementation, and other logistics that need to be set in place. However, let’s move into the future! Pretend this is all happening, and the students have the equipment. Do traditional learning strategies still exist in this future? Or is it all mobile based? How would you balance this Mobile Learning with Traditional learning? Do you think we should replace our old ways and move forwards to new ways? I am curious to hear your thoughts on these questions.
Hi Miguel,
Thank you for reading the article and for taking the time to leave comments/questions. These questions got me thinking…
To answer your question, I would have to say that these two (2) strategies/experiences are not mutually exclusive. I see AR/VR/MR as continuous improvement initiatives in Education where we assess and identify the existing gaps in education and act/adjust to close the gaps.
In other words, the educational application of AR/VR/MR enables the students to transport across time and space and allows them to have contextualized experiences when they learn something from their teacher. Put differently, this experience is not replacing the existing/old ways, but rather complementing/harmonizing it by supporting teachers to create a much more responsive learning experience.
I hope this answers your question,
Saeid
Hi Miguel!
I was totally surprised to read that your school is equipped with VR rooms in your library. Can you tell me a bit more about what the set up is like (ie. one headset in the room)? I have felt like VR/AR/MR have been on the horizon in education, but just beyond our grasp in terms of actually integrating them into our classrooms!
Great question Alexis. I agree, pleasantly surprised to hear that it has actually been integrated in some schools.
Hello Saeid,
Mixed reality is something that I would like to see in education environments. I see a lot of potential in this technology but very few adoptions. I work with adult learners, and I am convinced that even this public could benefit from using VR and AR.
However, I would also like to see VR and AR in workplaces. Moreover, because we are adopting remote work as a new reality. I think the mixed reality technology can bring closer the teams and facilitates communication as it is in face-to-face settings.
Hi Deisy,
That is such a cool idea. How do you envision this? Which industries could benefit the most from AR/VR/MR implementaation? For example, the first thing that crossed my mind was that architecture and design firms can definitely use AR/VR/MR for workplace. But how about Oil & Gas? Is there potential for using it there?
Also, do you see any barriers to adoption at workplaces?
Look forward to reading your feedback.
Thank you,
Saeid
One mobile technology I would like to see full immersion exercise games similar to a 4-D version of Ring-Fitness Adventure. Personally, I am very keen on staying physically fit and active. I like to play a variety of sports. However, the challenge for me is always work out. I find work-out sessions to be too robotic, monomous, and simply boring. That is one reason I bought a Nitendo-Switch and Ring-Fitness Adventure because I need some motivation to work out. As a gamer myself, Ring-Fitness Adventure is the ideal product for me. However, the draw back of Ring-Fitness Adventure is that it is not completely immersive and the battle scenarios mechanisms are still quite simple. Thus, I would love to see a 4-D Ring-Fitness Adventure type of Mobile technology would provide more incentive for me to work out. I believe this kind of technology will not take long to come out as much of the technology such AR and VR are maturing rapidly.
I also love this idea! For a good, quick cardio workout I use my son’s Oculus and do a Supernatural workout. The trainers are so fun, and you get to work out in amazing places all over the world with amazing recording tracks to listen to. It definitely makes my cardio workouts something to look forward to, rather than avoid!
Hi Dana,
I would personally love to see Discovery being invented. I personally had two long distance relationships that were broken up because of the limit of space and time.
Both girlfriends were in China. Before Covid-19 pandemic, travelling between Canada and China was not convenient but doable. We need to coordinate the time, find affordable flight that does not do too much transfer, and travel more than forty hours back and forth. During Pandemic, travelling almost became an impossibility because of the length of quarantine time and more strict visa screening. Thus, Discovery is definitely something I would love to see happen so that others do not have suffer through this kind of pain that I have suffered through.
I would love to see on the fly language translator. The basics of language translator apps today lack the conversational attribute of human interaction. One word or phrase apps can not openly assist an individuals’ need to learn. On the fly language translator technology can help endangered languages revive or assist the average traveler. The current database for translated languages is priced at $25,000.00 USD. The translated language is stored on a central server and is basically owned by the company. The technology is in place for countries and large language groups but not on the public level. On the fly translator would be a great asset to any school and teacher.
https://people.apache.org/~jim/NewArchitect/webtech/2000/09/infrrevu/index.html
Disney is a leading competitor in technology advances on all levels of industry, construction and education. Electrovibration technology was first introduced in 2017. Disney has many electrovibration pattens in development. Electrovibration takes touch screen technology to a new level. The main concept behind electrovibration is the ability to feel texture through smarts phones and tablets. For students dealing with speech, blindness, and other learning issues electrovibration can assist learners on the fly. Apple has also introduced similar electrovibration platforms as well. The capabilities of electrovibration can heighten a learners educational experience.
https://la.disneyresearch.com/publication/teslatouch-electrovibration-for-touch-surfaces/
A technology I would love to see would possibly use Google Glass or Microsoft HoloLens to measure, weigh, and portion food. We all lead busy lives, and this would help someone to easily create a recipe. The benefits would be using less utensils, pots, pans, and leaving less food waste. For example, the user would look at potatoes and on the the display it would say how many grams, or display a grid to help the use cut 1 inch squares. Furthermore, it can also help you with your knife skills by tell you how to position your hand or if you’re cutting too fast.
This can be beneficial during a high school Home Ec class. The device could maybe even send data to the teacher seeing if the portions are correction or if their mixer is too fast or slow. The possibilities in the kitchen are endless.
Hey Mark, that would be super interesting! I think the technology to do that will be available very soon. This reminds me of the new home robot assistant that was demoed a few days ago. The robot has the ability to scan for material awareness to measure how much tactile strength it needs to grip it safely without breaking it. I think the field of lens scanning of a material object to be something that we would use often in our daily lives.
What a great idea!
I hope it will support setting personalization to adjust to someone’s needs or preferences. An amazing idea, I would use it!
Admittedly, I’m not “dreaming big” here, even as I share the desire for teleportation, manipulable holograms, etc., but as my technologically-feasible dream, I’d like it if my technology could be more of a seamless and transparent extension of my identity.
My phone can receive calls made to my number (presumably, “to me”) and my email app is configured to send and receive mail from my mail account, so in that sense my phone and mail app know me. Amazon is kind enough to remember me in between orders, so I don’t need to re-enter the same information time and again, and that’s good too. But if I visit a new website, buy from a new vendor, sign up for a new account, post a new comment somewhere, etc., I’m often required to start from scratch with Name, Street Address, and so on. We may feel as though our phones and tablets have our whole lives in them, and know everything about us, but it also feels at times like we just met and they don’t even know my birthday!
It would be convenient if, once my phone or other gadget knew all about me, it could then represent me when needed. If my phone knows my phone number, why can’t my phone enter it if I allow that? Surely such a wish would require me to consider my own privacy and security, including the physical security of the device itself (which is to say, I wouldn’t want it to continue “being” me when needed if it were stolen or lost) but it sometimes feels like we’re not just swimming in a sea of technologies and information, but that all of this technology and information is not integrated in sensible and intuitive ways, and beyond patchwork solutions like cookies or automatic form fillers, I think we could do more.
The mobile phones are portable and convenient to use, however when it comes to typing a report or creating the assignments, students prefer laptops due to enlarged screen and keypad convenience. The mobile technology I would like to see someday would be a mobile phone with holographic functionality which can extend the multiple screens including the phone keypad on the physical surface. Students can extend multiple screens with customized size on the top of their desk or in front of them. The keypad of the phone can also be extended for typing convenience. Learners can use multiple screens simultaneously without changing screens and switching between apps.
Hey Loveleen, there’s actually a prototype holographic keyboard that conceptualized a few years back. It used lasers to display a keyboard out of light, and the breaking of the light patterns was what triggered the key presses. It would be amazing if it came alongside the phone or companies created cases that had the function built in. Do you think the extending and foldable phones to be the start of this line of technology?
I think this is so interesting! Thanks Wynn Zhang for adding your reply as I didn’t know that a prototype was conceptualized for this, that’s very cool. I would love a device like this as it offers so much functionality and for a busy mom like myself who is often working in a variety of different places depending on what activities my kids are involved in, this would be a great tool to use. I think we are far from having this realized but we used to live in a world where an Iphone was hard to imagine and now it’s part of daily life so this would be an interesting device to see developed in the future, I would definitely be interested in buying one.
I would love to see the Microsoft Hololens (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens/hardware) to be available for everyone, affordable enough and readily available. Right now it’s mostly for businesses to use, but I think if there can have more everyday AI assistance functions, even lighter wearable frame, and affordable pricing, it would be ideal for me to use. I would love to wake up, put on my glasses and see my daily calendar in life-size form in front of me, and I can add to it, rearrange my schedule all just with my voice command or hands physically moving the blocks in the air. So many times as I am brushing my teeth or putting on make up in the morning, I think about what I need to do later on, but it would make my day so much easier and productive, if I can do them at the same time as getting ready in the morning.
Emily,
I feel the same way about Microsoft Hololens, and besides every advantage, you have already described, imagine how much paper would not be spent? How many trees would not be cut? How processes could be safer with more immediate vision sharing? Distortions will be corrected quickly and safely.
Hey Emily. I think the digital assistant adds so much to the Microsoft Hololens. I think the only thing that I would be concerned about is the amount of space it used. I would love to use it at home where I have ample space, but I wonder how the technology would fit in a classroom. I teach in a portable so we’re barely able to have distance between the students during COVID, much less having the space for 25 bodies to move holographic items around.
Just to circle-back to Microsoft Hololens, discussions surrounding its use, and more broadly, holographic virtual entities in the classroom: There is an interesting piece in The Conversation https://theconversation.com/holographic-teachers-were-supposed-to-be-part-of-our-future-what-happened-108500 that ponders why so-called ‘holographic professors’ did not stick as predicted c. early 2000s, and how rather mixed reality technologies will continue to impact the classroom moving forward. At the close of the piece, the authors state: “While it’s not a standalone “holographic professor”, mixed reality is likely to disrupt the way we teach, transform the style of teaching that occurs across a number of disciplines, and revolutionise the learning experience.” Aside from the points already stated in other posts of a related contexts, what additional ways can such mixed reality technologies – Hololens, etc – disrupt the post-Covid post-secondary classroom?
Mobile technology is both too big and too small. Phones are getting to big to use with one hand and comfortably carry around while a the same time content has become so rich and detailed that only the best can make mobile experiences acceptable to the users. One technology that is on the cusp is the rollable screen, I am so looking forward to this scroll type device in my lifetime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObI4KPYFT5Q&feature=emb_title
But beyond that, what I really what to see but don’t expect it soon enough is true inter-ocular and inter-aural implanted devices, do away with the limitations of a physical device and dump the images right into our eyes and ears!
Wow! I love that idea Stephen, thanks for sharing it. I think it would bring a lot of possibilities, and potentially new uses to our mobile devices. I wonder if this screen technology is going to be monopolized, or will it become a feature that we can see if many different brands of phone devices?
I would love to tackle social awkwardness with a mobile app! Imagine a chatbot in which you enter snippets of a conversation you have had or expect to have, and use the chatbot to help you develop a means to overcome a socially awkward moment, be it political, religious, or a matter of taste. This chatbot could also help you work on developing conversations beyond the general small talk of weather and zodiac signs for more fulfilling conversations.
Hi Evelyne,
When I was reading your post, I was picturing a few of my more socially anxious students and I think this would be helpful for them. I know that just having a Teams chat available for these students to ask questions has been a game-changer, as they don’t feel comfortable speaking in class.
Hi Evelyn
This definitely connects to the comment about VRchat earlier in the course. Being able to be out of “yourself” to chat with others and to have some social emotional learning via the app could definitely have positive impacts on students who need support being more social.
The mobile technology I dream of experiencing is a functioning “Magic School Bus”. This magic bus could instantly travel to any place and time, and transform itself and its occupants to any size required to experience the setting. For instance, it could travel inside the body of an animal or human, or back in time to interact with dinosaurs, or into space to visit the planets. This would be such an amazing way to learn! I think this technology does exist as an AR experience now, but will we ever be able to physically experience a real “Magic School Bus”? I don’t think it’s possible.
Yes, this would be absolutely incredible!
Mobile technology I would love to see one day is right out of Star Trek: Discovery – the mobile human transporter. I know this may be way beyond our time. But I always thought mobile devices are magical and just can not conceive how it works at all. Since we cannot conceive the capabilities of a mobile device, why not explore the idea of personal transporter to take us to different places. In the near future, I believe that the idea of transporting our image and senses in 4D to each other via mobile VR glasses is very near. Eventually, we will evolve to not needing VR glasses at all to project our image and senses to mobile transporters that will teleport inanimate objects to humans. Teleporting affords transportation – this would be very revolutionary and require regulation. Imagine teleporting from one place to the next with the use of some mobile device.
This would be a complete dream come true! It could limit crash related deaths and injury, increase accessibility of jobs, education, even meaningful personal relationships. Beyond the ease of travel and reducing travel sickness (the bane of my existence), a mobile human transporter could be a great tool in the education field as it could expand the reach and type of field trips students could take, and allow them to truly immerse themselves in the topic of study. What better way to learn about island biogeography than to visit the Galapagos?
As someone who traveled more than 20 hours and dealt with travel sickness to get to the Galapagos, I completely agree! The possibilities of seeing how others live are amazing, but think also of the reduction in air pollution without the need of so many jets crisscrossing the skies (assuming this new transporter uses more environmentally friendly energy sources, of course).
Hello Andrea
I also would love to see on the fly translator or Star Trek tech. I love Star Trek but more a Star Wars geek. My interest in a full conversational language translator is the concept of saving endangered languages. The technology is in place but at a steep price of $25,000 USD. In my opinion, the tech will be available within 2-3 years.
Hi Dana,
I would personally love to see Discovery being invented. I personally had two long distance relationships that were broken up because of the limit of space and time.
Both girlfriends were in China. Before Covid-19 pandemic, travelling between Canada and China was not convenient but doable. We need to coordinate the time, find affordable flight that does not do too much transfer, and travel more than forty hours back and forth. During Pandemic, travelling almost became an impossibility because of the length of quarantine time and more strict visa screening. Thus, Discovery is definitely something I would love to see happen so that others do not have suffer through this kind of pain that I have suffered through.
Mobile Technologies I want to see someday:
self-sustainable but slow-responsive application, which could is tolerant to slow thinking and belated feedbacks. Most of the time, I find that mobile devices rotten people’s patience. With smartphones and social applications, people could not tolerant late replies or waiting for profound answers. The most questions that I have been asked in recent years were “could you provide quick feedback, which needs no further details or profound thoughts”. Technologies are changing in an accelerating way, especially after mobile concepts were invented. However, scarcity is always in its way. People’s energy, attention, and time are scarce. Mobile technologies could evolve quickly in terms of hardware, while software might not follow the speed of changing and thus left people behind.
Usually I use different devices to do different things. I use the smartphone to stay in connection with others and for leisure; use the e-book to read when I am in bed or on the road; while for learning and working, I prefer to use the laptop. I use them in different situations, mostly because of their different screen sizes, weights and interfaces which fit to different uses, or just because I had them in different time order. The current state is, I have to shift among the devices frequently. When I travel, I have to take them all, not to mention their chargers and accessories. Every time I place them one by one on the conveyor at an airport security checkpoint, I can’t help but think why I didn’t just leave even one behind.
I appreciate technologies that make me realize mobility anytime and anywhere. However, I think about why more technologies have always made my life a little more cumbersome. How can I become a lighter traveler? I would like to see that my mobile devices are compressed into one universal mobile device which applies to all the scenes. I hope it can be transformed into a phone, a booklet or a laptop applied in multiple situations; its screen can be more flexible to be stretched into a laptop size or folded into a pocket size, and thin enough; it’s better to be equipped with a laser keyboard so that I can abandon the so-called smart keyboard completely. I hope this is not very difficult to realize.
Here’s another one:
A smart phone that could project “holograms” of objects/scenes/interfaces that the user could then manipulate with their hands.
Again, some connection to design solutions, designing a better world, solving problems, or AR/VR without the full immersion and the required stand alone headset/gear.
Mobile Technologies I want to see one day:
One: Not sure if this qualifies as a mobile technology, but I think it would be good to have the “Hyperloop” in existence. Could it replace air travel? Could it reduce emissions drastically? Could it allow people to live in affordable areas while still working in the city?
Prediction: 10 years
Two: In the field of education, I wonder what the benefits would be if public education moved to a model that was a combination of “Outschool” and mobile Distributed Learning?
Prediction: Never
I have some ideas for each of the “technology categories”.
– Capability: Experiencing space. Yes, we already have the ability to do travel to space but I would love to see some sort of technology that can “deliver” that experience.
– Affordance: Portable medical devices. I remember watching a Sci-Fi movie and seeing a medical device that can diagnose, perform surgeries, and treat illnesses. It was like a chamber (almost looks like an MRI machine) with a touch-screen for selecting different options. What if there is a portable device that can do (if not all) some of that? I wonder what Alexei thinks about this idea as a healthcare professional!
– Device: An all-in-one device. We have phones that can act as a watch, a digital camera, a camcorder, a calculator, a gaming device, a wallet, etc. What if we can have a device that can do all of that plus more? Maybe we won’t have physical phones anymore and use smart contact lenses instead. Maybe we don’t need laptops anymore because we can just “see” the screen? Smart contact lenses are already starting to get developed and we have foldable phones that have been out for years already. The things we saw in the TV series, “Black Mirror” might happen in the near future.
I would really like the technology of the teleportation device from The Fly (1986) to become real (without changing us into hideous giant fly mutants of course). Just imagine, we could tear up all of the highways, roads and parking lots and leave that space for nature to move back in. No more 45 minute (if your lucky) commute to work, no need to remember to fill anything up with gas, no need to pick up groceries as they can just be teleported directly to you from the farm. I could visit my relatives on the other side of Canada anytime I want and they could visit me anytime they want (hmm maybe they should add a setting to the teleporter that limits visits to once a month).
How long do I think it would take for this technology to exist? I would probably say never unless we get visited by from some friendly aliens that already have that technology and more to share with us.
Hello Neil – I had the exact same idea, except my inspiration was ‘Star Trek’ where they transported people by changing matter to energy and then back again. I think that teleportation transportation would be one of the greatest solutions to global pollution and traffic crowding. They actually have been able to transport light photons, so it is a technology that may be closer than we think.
Check out this link..
https://www.thoughtco.com/star-trek-instantaneous-matter-transport-3072118
A mobile technology I would like to see is a blend of high-quality AR, GPS, and Heads-Up-Displays found in vehicles, but I would like to see the tech implemented on a pair of goggles (for snowmobiling). I want to be able to have my surroundings scanned to tell me elevation dips, where streams might be located under snow, if a piece of terrain looks too hazardous… I want to just look at the top of a bowl and have my goggles determine how imminent an avalanche is, I want it to tell me decibel thresholds and everything. I also want it to lay breadcrumb trails in AR if I get lost, or if I am trying to route somewhere specific. Basically I just want it to do everything! That said, I wonder if such a device is a good thing, because as we have been discussing here and there, more tech can cause less knowledge in the individual. It’s important that I can currently look at a cornice and judge it’s threat… these goggles would make future riders unable to determine such things without their tech with them (because they never practiced how to).
I like this idea, Johannes! I can see it having relevance to many other sports as well as search and rescue. I imagine this tech could be available in just a few years for closed tracks and set trails, depending on demand.
I wonder if the answer to the issue of users losing important skills is to hold back the AI a little. Perhaps it could only give information if it notices an urgent danger or certain things a human just can’t see. If the information would simply make for a more comfortable ride it wouldn’t be presented but if the information could prevent serious injury then it’s shown.
Anyone else here a lover of traveling and exploring the hidden wonders of the world, alongside meeting amazing individuals on our journeys? I have always wished I was born 20 years earlier so I could have traveled the world without the mobile technology we have today. I find it very hard to meet new people on my journeys because people my age tend to spend more time on a device or screen than they do sharing their stories and experiences with people around them. Since the start of the pandemic, this extremely extroverted individual has been struggling to cope, and resorting to collaborative online games has not been successful in replenishing my cravings of being around people. Usually I travel internationally each year and my most valuable memories are those I shared with people I met on my journeys. This is something I so desperately want to do now in the real world, but I can’t due to pandemic constraints.
I discovered VRChat a few weeks ago: an online platform where people from around the world can sign in and travel to premade worlds to talk, play games, and explore. It can be accessed in full immersive VR or on a Laptop. (I recommend VR if you can try it! Looking at the avatars of people wearing full Kinetic sensors is truly remarkable.) For those who have seen or read “Ready Player One”, this program is the closest concept in existence to the Oasis. For the first time since social lockdown began in early November, I felt I could reach out and meet new people in safety. I could explore their culture, background, practice languages, and see incredible new sights, just like traveling. What I started to realize though was that many of the players spent more time online in VRChat than they did in the real world and my concerns of technology absorbing us whole came back.
I started to inquire to various players as to why they preferred to socialize in this context. Many of them explained that they had incredible social anxiety and this platform allowed them to be themselves, without having judgements from others about how they presented themselves or how they looked. Many players were embarrassed by their true physical form, voices, or gender. In this program, they became who they wanted to be, not having to work with what they were born with.
Now imagine we took our classroom into this environment. Imagine taking a group of students who had never seen each other before. Never conceptualized judgements of their background, ancestry, or current social circumstances. Imagine that we allowed each child to build who they wanted to be and change what that looks like in an instant. What would this do for our social upbringing in real life? Would they be able to maintain a double paradigm of identities?
What I found most curious is that when I left VRChat and ‘returned to the real world’, I found I had more self confidence and a more positive self image. I smiled more. I was happy as if finally after all this time in isolation, I had recharged. It is curious to know that we are never really alone, even if in the time of Pandemic, when I find myself sitting alone, with no one around but my cats pawing at my shoulder for attention and treats. (As they are currently doing.)
Hey Elixa,
It’s really neat that you were able to use VRchat to socialize and recharge! I log into it once in awhile and yes, one of the astounding things about the program is just how social it really is (and usually wholesome-ish, for the most part). You pose interesting questions about the use of such tech in an educational context and I too wonder how it would affect the ongoing situation of offline vs. online identities that people develop. As you point out, a lot of people use VRchat in order to get over some sort of ‘handicap’ in their life, and they feel as though this method of communication is where they feel most like themselves. Interestingly, there is actually a growing host of videos being curated that are recorded conversations that organically take place in VRchat – here is an example of one that went viral 1.5 years ago (and it focuses on a middle school kid so it’s all the more relevant!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZWOXgc7PA4&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=Syrmor
Elixa,
Thank you for introducing VRChat to me. Travel is also something that I have desperately missed since the pandemic. I love to travel with my partner, best friend, or sometimes just solo. It is incredibly invigorating to experience a new country and all the culture, landscapes, history, and cuisine. Until I can get on a plane safely again, I will definitely check out VRChat so that I can “escape the real world” for a little while.
Really interesting post, Elixa!
I’m really interested in the positive effects the experience had on your mood and wonder if it would be the same if we were not in the pandemic? It seems like VRChat can fill a need (socialization during a pandemic, acceptance of self regardless of insecurities). I imagine in different circumstances a user could become disinterested in “real-life” or have a greater desire to be the avatar represented in the virtual world. I’d be interested to explore the various impacts on mental health.
Hi Elixa,
I had never heard of VRChat before reading your post, but when I checked out the video Johannes posted, I was struck with the possibilities for students to build their confidence not only in everyday speech, but I also thought of the anxiety many of our students have with public speaking and presentations. This could become a low stress way for students to present to their peers, or rehearse a presentation before doing it in front of a class.
The number one thing that I miss right now is going to see live music in venues or concert halls. If I could wish for any mobile technology, I would love to be able to walk with my phone into any space and for it to have the capabilities to read my rooms dimensions. Then if I could pick my ‘experience’, like concert hall, pub, etc. and then enter certain interactive objects/people to match what’s in my environment, I could go to a concert again! Maybe my boyfriend and I could even go together.
This mobile technology would have to accompany VR glasses, but how wonderful would it be right now to be in my apartment, bumping up against other show goers (virtual), walking to the bathroom (that is actually my bathroom), and watching my favorite band play in front of me. Maybe if some of my friends in other cities wanted to ‘meet’ me there, we could make it a special reunion. Sigh. If my phone had this capability I would be very happy right now.
This is also one of the biggest things I am missing right now as well. I am a concert junkie and regularly go out to see live music. I have tried to support artists by attending Zoom concerts throughout the pandemic but the social aspect is missing. VR glasses that allow you to run into an old friend you haven’t seen in awhile as you share some great music …. if only.
Hi all,
I had the opportunity to watch a U2 concert at the IMAX, and that was almost as terrific as being in the front seat! I would like to add the idea of the sonic vest to the VR experience. One such technology is the Woojer: https://www.headphonesty.com/2020/09/review-woojer-strap-edge/
This strap or vest provides the low frequency vibrations that headphones cannot convey. Imagine seeing a locomotive engine in action while you hear and feel its gears moving, or in the sense of the reunion app – if another person logs into that room with you (à la zoom or google meet) then you see that person with you, and a hip bump could be felt through the sonic vest!
When talking about mobile technology, I find two advancements in particular would satisfy the transhumanism in me. The first is AR technology in the shape of a contact lens. My mind immediately jumps to the Black Mirror episode “The Entire History of You”, but with less memory storage, but more functionality. I guess you can assume it to be a more condensed version of Google Glasses with the AI technology to back it up.
The second advancement is in Neuro-Interfacing. Having smaller devices is great, but UI of these devices are still key in being able to use them functionally. Neuro-interfaces could be the next big breakthrough that gives access to technology such as AR lens. Being able to produce words or picture via thought could create learning opportunities from almost everything, and would transform our learning targets from content to competencies.
With these two pieces of mobile technology, I would be certain that the human experience, including education, would be greatly changed for the better.
Thinking about the the friction I encounter on a daily basis, I immediately arrive at meal planning and cooking. I love to eat, but it takes over an hour to purchase groceries and another hour to cook something delicious. Sure, I can buy premade meals, cook in bulk, and choose dishes that are easier to make, but these options often decrease the nutritional value of food or the taste. 3D printing has been around for a while now and there are 3D food printers, but they are big and their menus are limited. I wish there was a handheld device, a miniature lunchbox, that you could bring anywhere and it would print any dish you wanted. If all food is made of a common set of ingredients, and all ingredients are made of atoms, then perhaps in the distant future, there won’t be a need for a large collection of ingredient cartridges (which makes the 3D printer so big in the first place), but instead, only a need for a set containing the common organic elements, like C, H, O, S, P, N, Na, K, etc. Wouldn’t it be convenient if we did not need refrigerators anymore and that in addition to water pipes, we have ingredient pipes that hook up to a food printer instead? We could “charge” this portable lunch box by selecting the meal we want and the appropriate ingredients would pump in for our use the next day in the office.
I think this technology is still far away. Currently, our methods of synthesizing compounds are limited to the lab and these syntheses are long and complex. We would have to be able to wield physics, to be able to join atoms and molecules together without waiting for them to come together on their own based on their electronegativities and intermolecular forces. We would have to be able to ignore the laws of thermodynamics and still create molecules for this lunchbox to exist. The technology currently only exist in Star Trek.
One can dream.
Hi Ying,
Looks like we both went for the food-route. I truly wish cooking, meal prep, and meal planning didn’t take up so much time. But I am definitely on board for the 3D printed meal, as long as it still somehow managed to still taste great. My fingers are crossed!
Your dream may not be as far as you think, Ying! It might just look a little different
No-kill, lab-grown meat exists and has been approved in Singapore.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/02/no-kill-lab-grown-meat-to-go-on-sale-for-first-time
https://bistro-invitro.com/en/bistro-invitro/
When I think of new mobile technologies that I would love to see, I think of mobile technologies that currently exist, and I think about the things I need. It is difficult to invent something that doesn’t exist yet, because whenever I think of something “new,” in this world of technology and content, it usually turns out someone has created it already.
I do have an idea for something “new-ish” and it is a result, of me wanting to save time in my daily routine. There currently are meal delivery systems, curbside pick-up, and some grocery stores even deliver.
The technology I would want, is the Amazon Smart Fridge, to recognize all the food in your fridge, and to recommend recipes for meals based on what you have in the fridge. At the end of the week, it will suggest new meals based on how you enjoyed the past week’s dishes (using a basic litmos evaluation), and then automatically order the groceries needed for those items for delivery. The Amazon Smart Fridge is integrated with Amazon Alexa, so you can also ask Alexa to add things to your grocery list as you think of them, for example, toilet paper, etc. and it will be added to your weekly grocery order. The Amazon Smart Fridge should also have an option for “favourite brands” and “assigned budget” so it acts as closely as how you would pick out items in the grocery store. I am curious to know what you all think, and whether you can think of other tasks that the Amazon Smart Fridge can do.
Something that I have always wanted in terms of food technology is sort of along the lines of what you are describing but even a step further! If you ever watched the cartoon “Lloyd in Space” they had a portal in the wall that they would tell what food they want and it would either fetch or create it for them right in the device! I wonder if somehow there could be a smart fridge like you mentioned that, with the ingredients in your fridge, could make the meal or snack for you?
I love this idea Emma! As a Foods teacher I am always trying to teach my students how to “see” a recipe just by looking at ingredients. A Smart Fridge would do just that! It is super hard to come up with ideas, especially at the end of a long day of work/school/kids! I have found that there are so many awesome blogs and collections of “20 things to make with ______” or “50 uses for leftover ______”. I show these often to my students and then give them choice. Just on Friday I pulled a bunch of part packages of tortillas out of the fridge and had my class use them up – I demo’d a quick empanada that some decided to make, others made chips, nachos, tacos, quesadillas …. so many different things.
Until you patent the Smart Fridge, try searching for “what to do with _____” – maybe you’ll find a new favourite recipe!
Thank you Meg, that is a brilliant lesson for students! I’ve had to learn from trial and error to use everything up, so having blogs will definitely help. In the meantime, I fully give Jeff Bezos permission to steal my idea… as long as I get a free Fridge out of it!
I would love to see an AR app that would allow students to explore lighting design in real time. The app would allow a student to view a stage space or set through their device’s camera, but then apply different stage lighting effects to see what the outcome is. Rather than just applying an overall filter, students would be able to choose which stage lamps they’d like to employ as well as being able to change the colour, intensity, shape of the light, using gobols (which are metal discs with cut-outs to create specific shapes in the light), and practicing transitions. This would be an amazing way to teach lighting to younger students, or in classrooms that are not equipped with theatrical lighting.
I can’t remember the specific name of this (I will have to ask my friend who works in film) BUT THIS EXISTS and is being utilized in film, especially since the start of the Pandemic where they have been utilizing VR for film sets and having the actors filmed in front green screen for embedding. You can take a space, render it into a VR environment, then alter all of the lighting impacts of the environment.
Unreal Engine has been applying this through ‘Virtual Production’ on a very high level, but there are no software’s available at this time for high school or university level.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voVPO8w9-x4&ab_channel=UnrealEngine
Hi Elixa, You’re right! It was explored in the “Behind the Scenes” for the show “The Mandalorian” on Disney Plus. We are truly in the age of technology!
3D printing is something that I’ve always found very fascinating. I know that this technology already exists in the medical field in the form of organ models that are used to support health professionals with the training process. But, it saddens me that so many people die waiting for donor organs to become available. I would love to see a 3D printer that is able to print out real organs to help with transplants. This piece of technology would have the potential to save so many lives.
I think the technology is on its way! A bladder has been successfully printed and transplanted so far.
Just one more. I would like to see an app that reads pdf articles to me in a text-to-speech voice that passes the Turin test. That’s it, that’s all. Then I could get my readings done while I cycle to work. My daughter thinks it would be great if it could mimic a voice of yourself or a loved one.
Google’s Tacotron 2 is amazing but it is not an app.. 🙁 https://www.yuqo.com/can-tell-difference-ai-real-human-speech/
This has become a pain point for me – I have screen fatigue and duties such as gardening or weeding I could take care of while listening to the readings I need to do for the week. I downloaded Speechify but the fluency just isn’t there or intonation and that distracts me.
I would love it if this app was also smart enough to ignore reading out loud in-text citations, headers, footers, and page numbers.
Yes, When I was still “driving to work”before working from home, I would have my readings read to me and it was so irritating to have the footnotes and everything read out loud. The voice was terrible too!
This is a great idea, and it also points out how universal accessibility is still an after-thought. I would love if all sites were created with a personalizable text-to-speech selection, much like we can change colours and enable dark mode.
The mobile technology I would like to see some day is a mobile food replicator (following the trend of wishes from Star Trek). I would just carry the replicator with me, and have delicious on-demand nutritious meals. This device might take 50 years from now to be available, perhaps it won’t have the full array of food choices we have by just cooking our meals, but certainly some meals would be available with the mobile food replicator. Currently there are 3D food printers such as Foodini by Natural Machines. Foodini is a smart kitchen appliance or a IoT/Internet of Things kitchen appliance. It is available to consumers, and can print food from ingredients that you put into the printer capsules. You can make raviolis, cereal, and many other foods.
A link to Foodini website.
https://www.naturalmachines.com/foodini
Virtual spaces to replace websites. What if you put on your VR set and instead of having a flat website projected onto the space in front of you, you are transported to a virtual space owned and managed by the company/organization/individual you are aiming to interact with. You want to go try on new clothes and are greeted at the entrance by an “intelligent assistant” who walks you through whats in stock (no longer physically limited, you could even be browsing products that wouldn’t exist if people didn’t order them).
We know that learning is tied to physical environments, what if each of the courses you took online had a corresponding virtual space you could inhabit where you could maintain the context of the course, where you could interact either through recordings (video/audio) with your classmates in a sort of “phone tag”, or arrange to “meet” virtually to discuss topics.
There are so many ways to represent knowledge and understanding, and we are capable of much broader means to interact that just reading text on a screen and typing out responses. This could have the potential to support a much broader range of intelligences, and give us the flexibility to learn/interact from a much broader range of locations.
I don’t think this is as far off as you might predict, the technology to meld the virtual and physical world is already here, but not yet mainstream. I see it existing in specialized environments at first (where we can clearly appreciate the utility and adapt the technology more rapidly) and expect you will begin to see this in the next 3-5 years as the hardware becomes more mainstream.
For me as a Star Trek fan I would love to finally have the medical tricorder which would allow anyone to find out how they are feeling, what disease they have etc. This could save millions of dollars in medical tests. Star Trek has influenced many technological ideas and from reading we are coming closer to having that technology which just blows my mind that these tools from a sci-fi show in the 60’s.
YES Tyler!
My step-father passed away from pancreatic cancer a number of years ago, and part of the problem was we didn’t catch it early enough. Pancreatic cancer is one of the ones that sneaks up on you because you can’t really tell you’re seriously ill. He thought he was having back pain just because he was getting older and had been gardening, when in actuality, it was the tumour pressing into his nerves. How awesome would it be to just be able to give yourself a quick, cheap and cheerful scan whenever you weren’t sure if anything was really wrong or not?
The last course that I took – ETEC 523: Ventures in Learning Technologies – included an assignment that asked us to put together both an elevator and venture pitch for a (most likely hypothetical) educational technology venture. I took that opportunity to dream up a mobile app that would do wonders for both my students and myself. It would have the ability (like the highly popular algebra-solver Photomath currently does) to provide step-by-step solutions to students for math problems, but would go beyond what’s currently available, offering students an endless supply of additional practice questions. If you’re interested, here is a link to the posting for my fake venture, “Questions – the Algebra App”: https://virtual.educ.ubc.ca/wp/etec522/2020/03/28/a3-questions-the-algebra-app/
With recent discussions surrounding what next school year is going to look like, and many (at least within my school) talking about transitioning to flipped classrooms as a way to manage the uncertainty of how much in-class instruction students will receive and how much learning will continue online, I know that a big struggle will be providing enough unique practice to students. An app like Questions would be incredibly valuable in providing students with additional practice without burdening teachers with needing to source additional materials.
Now, if I don’t build it, do I think it will still happen? Absolutely, there are programs out there that create questions based on algorithms, but they’re not yet provided in a model that’s easily accessible to the mass public. I do feel that this may change soon though (say 2-3 years), and I wouldn’t be surprised if the brains behind Photomath end up leading the charge.
Pieces of this already exists, but I haven’t been able to find a quality/easy to use version that has everything I need. One of my passions is interior design and decorating. My customer problem: I spend an incredible amount of time both shopping and returning items that I discover don’t work in my space. Worse – I buy and never use and never return. I would love to have an app or site that easily works with all online stores/vendors to help build my room. I’ll explain. Say I want to decorate a nursery. I go to this app and put in my room dimensions (window and door locations, etc.). I then to go say, Benjamin Moore’s website and play with colours in the room. I then go to BabiesRUs and find a crib and change table, click a button, a both crib and change table pop up in my virtual room. I play with layout and see exactly how it fits in my room. I then go to Urban Barn and find an overpriced rocking chair and side table. Click a button, and they too pop up in my room. I play with layout. I can then go back to Benjamin Moore’s website (or link to it in some way) and change my room color now that I see my pieces in them…. you get the gist. I just want everything to be connected, which is not impossible. I don’t think this is too much to ask and it can easily be done soon.
To take this a step further, what if you could use VR/AR to “visit” each of these stores and pick out what you want, and then explore a physically realistic space to do the layout. I feel being able to physically explore the space (whether real or virtual) is such a crucial component of how our minds work when planning this sort of thing.
My imagination of a mobile technology is something that focuses on enhancing the experience of people’s conversation. It can project an image of “emote” above one’s head or moving around the people. Players in League of Legends can pop up emotes above their characters in the games to express their feelings, happy, sad, shocked or chilled. This function is a shortcut for players to express some simple emotions as an add-on to the communication system because players quite often can only communicate by typing in the chatbox in the game, which is pretty low-efficient. Although people in the real-world can talk face-to-face using non-verbal language to express themselves, it would be nice to have such a device to visualize those that cannot be easily expressed. The “emote” can be highly personalized because everyone can make something for his/her own.
I forgot to put when I want it to be realized. This is a pretty simple function, but it requires something like a tiny projector which can post something in the air. It is pretty hard to realize. I don’t expect to see it in 10 years.
Increasing communication efficiency is definitely one of my big focuses recently. I think a lot of young people still enjoy more of a distant but close feeling through texting or instant messages. However, for people in a working environment, the need to have better communication is urgent than before. Typing is definitely not the most efficient way of communicating. In recent years, personally, I’d like to make phone calls for important things and then repeat what we have talked about with instant messages just for the sake of saving a copy of what has been covered or what kind of agreement we have come to.
I favour the idea of having something like a holographic projector installed into a watch (this idea has appeared in many scientific movies) so that to make it portable and just vivid enough for people to have something close to real face-to-face conversation.
I also think this tech will be beneficial for students. I wanted this tech to be pervasive already during the COVID-19 online classes.
Thank you for your reply. You mentioned a good point. This tech will be very useful in situations where people have to keep the social distance. I also think it would be interesting to make the conversation more visualized and personalized.
Mobile technology I would like to see someday is that of interactive “smart” glasses. Take the idea of Google glass that was introduced in 2013… and make it way better. Much like what Tony Stark or Spiderman used. It is a shift from the hand held mobile device to an almost completely hands free device, allowing the user to search the internet, communicate, project images, play music and so much more.
This is exactly what popped in my head when I first saw this discussion. I believe the coolest thing of such a pair of interactive smart glasses is that it will change how we “see” things. It is going to blur the edge between the “real” world and the “virtual” world and mix them up. Just like how people were doing on the spaceship in Wall-E. Everyone is chubby and stick in their floating chair with their screen. To these people, everything on the screen seems more real than it is in the real world. They don’t even think about looking at the real world around them. This is how such powerful glasses will change our life.
When smart glass came out back in 2013 or the idea of it I remember seeing a news program that showed viewers what they were working on and I remember seeing “future desks for students” and it reminded me of the old pac man games. A big glass table that students would be using as their desk and could basically do any task asked of them. It was really cool, however I dont think it came as quickly as they thought. The price alone would keep school districts away.
I had the very same idea after watching “Ready Player One”; the opening scene shows students working at what seem standard desks until students tilt them upward as they become video screens. I think I would really like to see this technological capability coupled with something like Samsung’s “dex” mobile operating system so that students could simply link their mobile device with the desk screen so that it might serve as a kind of screen share/projector. I think the cost is still prohibitive for school districts, however, I would be interested to see if University lecture halls could afford such a system in the near future.
Even better, what about smart contact lenses, or even just the lens inside the eye itself that can be implanted, so to eliminate the need for a wearable altogether?
My magical wish would be absolutely frivolous when it comes to mobile technology. I would like to have a tool that could catalogue my entire wardrobe and organize an outfit for me every morning. To build on this, I would like it to have an alert that would let me know what items are missing, what needs to be replaced, recommend things to buy and to alert me of new trends. It could have a hologram projection of myself wearing that outfit, so I can see what it looks like on even before I try it on. Other than the hologram aspect, I feel as though this technology, if it doesn’t already exist, could be available within the next 5 years.
An AI-fuelled app for this would be a lot simpler than the way I’ve solved the problem of outfit choices taking up too much decision energy – everything I own is black, so it all matches, and I have about 3 wardrobe “templates” that I don’t stray from, so I can put pieces together without thinking about it in the morning. If I find a piece of clothing I like, I’ll buy multiples of it so I don’t have to worry about things wearing out. I have 40 pairs of the same black socks!
Cool idea! This is even something you can do from your bed the night before. If we wanted to get super fancy, your closet could be “smart”, electronic/moveable and connected to your phone. The closet would know which item was on each hanger and pull out the items for you in the morning so you didn’t have to go digging for them. I know sometimes I have an idea for an outfit and can’t for the life of me find the pieces in my closet.
Kristin,
This sounds amazing. Maybe some sort of AI shopper too to buy you new clothes. How much time and mess would this save. Some mornings I try on several outfits and have a mess. Maybe I need a robot to hang all my clothes back up when I am done too!
Reading this, I can’t help but think that I want something similar to this, but for my fridge (I know smart fridges exist, but the price is prohibitive and many people simply can’t switch out their current fridge for a high-tech model). In the same way that your closet could suggest outfit combinations, I would love an app that takes stock of what I have in my fridge, and suggests different dishes to make. Maybe there are apps out there that already do this, but if there are, they clearly aren’t being marketed well enough.
I love this thread. I think the gist is that we want mobile AI to take mundane decision making off our plates for us. I’d also love to have an AI plan meals for me!
Have you see ‘Clueless’ Kristin? Cher has a rotating mechanical closet and computer app combo that did this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNDubWJU0aU
Check it out!
A magical wish that I would like for mobile technology combines grocery shopping, AR, and allergies. Tech innovation is just getting started in grocery stores and many have jump on board with new technologies during this pandemic (at least here in Winnipeg). What if AR Glasses was combined with grocery shopping to provided details about about items on the shelf, specifically, I imagine nutrition facts and allergies. I have a gluten allergy and spend a lot of time reading labels to identify if it was safe to consume. What if I could wear a pair of glasses that would be able to identify the items on the shelf I was looking at and could tell me if its gluten free (or peanut-free etc.). AR glasses in grocery stores could also direct a person to exactly where an item is on the shelf by navigating them through the store. Many times I go to the store and need assistance but have to a) search for someone to help, or b) have to wait for another costumer to receive the help they need. AR glasses in grocery stores would remove that. As Google and Apple have already begun development of glasses I would predict that the mobile technology could hit grocery stores in 5 years, that is if mobile grocery stores doesn’t happen first.
This sounds like a great idea! Maybe you could even type in your preferences, in your case gluten free, and you can get suggestions. As you walk down the isle, perhaps items can have a green check mark beside it showing you that you could eat it. A red x may indicate that you shouldn’t even bother picking it up. This is also great for someone who is eating low calorie or keto.
The idea of AR glasses kind of scares me – taking us one step too far towards becoming robot hybrids. That said, if it helped me with my grocery shopping…sign me up! I have moved enough times within the last few years that I never seem to get too accustomed to where everything is in my local grocery store. Even when I am quite familiar with the store layout, I end up creating lists with produce on both the top and bottom, and I inevitably end in walking back and forth to the same aisles. I would love a piece of technology that could help me increase my efficiency with this task by organizing my list based on which grocery store I’m in, and help me keep track of my list as I go through it (and yes, nutritional information and allergen checking would be a bonus for some, as well).
I want to see a technology than can seamlessly gamify aspects of life – a type of augmented reality.
There are check boxes on our fridge for chores, goals we’ve made for ourselves with awkward progress markers and even apps on the market (ex. SuperBetter).
BUT they are boring to use – gamification SHOULD be fun! Can there be a technology of the future that can take input from the world and automatically gamify it for you? Give you automatic feedback on your progress after every time you sweep the floors, solve that math problem or run another 100 meters?
There is one technology on the market (I can think of) – that has revolutionized the field – which is FitBit.
A wearable technology that a user puts on and forgets about which processes all of the users physical activity and provides that data in a concise manner.
I’ve tried a few life gamification apps (including Habitica, where you play an old-school RPG style character earning XP for completing tasks in your real life), and I have yet to find one that actually did make the gamification of my life FUN. I wonder what’s so tricky there – what do you think would make life gamification fun? What are gamification apps missing?
I’d love for a mobile technology to help me experience things my normal human self can’t i.e. I would like to see it enhance or alter the way in which I perceive my world in some way or another. What I mean by that is I’d like the ability to visualize sound (an ability that some have) or to see other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum e.g. UV (something that the painter Monet could do after he had a cataract removed from his eye).
I am always curious what the sensory world must be like for dogs, who have 40 times stronger sense of smell than we do. What information are they getting that we miss? How could we translate that information into a sense we can understand? Is there a way you could translate “smell data” into a visual infographic that humans can understand?
Hi Anne, wouldn’t that be so interesting? Well, the way I understand it is that the reason why we can’t smell as well as our dogs can has to do with our receptors for the molecules responsible for what we smell. Dogs have more of these receptors so they can pick up molecules in low concentrations that we can’t. The receptors when activated send a signal to our brains to register what we are smelling so in essence we need some kind of technology to analyze what the volatile compounds are in an area that our dogs could pick up on and then send neural signals to our brain to “mimic” the normal pathway. I think this could be pretty interesting with taste too e.g. you know how the wine experts are always pointing out those unique flavors present in wine like blueberries and tobacco notes etc.? Well I don’t know about you but I can’t taste or smell any of them…. Imagine if a technology existed that could amplify those tastes or aromas for us that we all got the experience them?
I wonder if that would actually take a huge learning burden out for some fields – a lot of learning cooking, or art, or music production is developing your sense in that field so you can actually tell what you’re tasting/seeing/hearing. Similar to cooks with taste, audio professionals are able to hear things in sound that other people can’t because they’ve trained their ears, and artists/designers are able to see details that others can’t, and those senses take a really long time to develop. It would speed up learning those creative skills if you could just use a mobile app to tell you what you aren’t sensing.
Hi Carla,
I think this is a fantastic idea. To expand further, I wonder if this technology could be used not just for sensory experiences but emotional ones as well. Perhaps if we had the ability to feel what others were feeling it could build empathy and strengthen our relationships. Essentially using tech to bypass the clumsiness of language- we won’t have to try to explain how we feel. A lot of potential for therapeutic uses such as couples counselling, etc.
You are walking down a street in Vancouver during your lunch hour eating a sandwich and you receive a call on your mobile device. As you continue walking and talking and eating the caller sees everything around you. As if she is actually walking beside you. She can see everything your eyes can see. That is because the person calling is your girlfriend and when you took the call you allowed the device to show everything around you. When you are done eating she is talking about something and you say, “Oh I have to see this”. At a tap of your finger you can also see where she is and you see everything her eyes see. You have to work late today and so you decide to meet up at the Tim Hortons just for coffee before your girlfriend goes to work on her course she is taking at UBC. After work you go to the Tim Hortons and buy a coffee and pay for a private pod. The technology a long time in the past was called Virtual Reality. Your girlfriend is at home but she is waiting to join you at Tim Hortons. When you sit in the pod, your girlfriend (who is physically at home) joins you in the pod at Tim Hortons. You and your girlfriend are together in the pod as if you are physically together. You see her as exactly as she is at the moment except that she is snacking at home and you are eating at the Tim Hortons in downtown Vancouver. Both of you spend time together for a while until you are done eating. You are finished eating and say “I have to leave now as I will try not to get home too late”. You say your goodbyes and she disappears from the pod and you leave the pod and go back to the office. Meanwhile your girlfriend is also leaving home and about to get in her car in the driveway at home.
This reminds me of the movie surrogate. Humans no longer go out. They just live their lives from their home. Humans would be able to control androids (who looked liked them) from their home while clones of themselves would go outside and do whatever they needed to get done.
It gives a lot to think about. Maybe what technology is offering is comfort, but we are losing our social interaction and connection to the real world.
Would carrying the pod be the same as having someone beside you? Relationships are based on social interaction. Do you think that this type of interaction would make relationships (any kind) last? Does this mean “spending time together”? All of a sudden I am thinking of busy parents. Some parents already use iPads or cellphone to entertain kids so they do not have to deal with them. I can already imagine parents using this kind of pod to somehow replace the attention that they should devote to their children.
Yes, I agree with you. This is no replacement for real relationships and actually being present with the person. I think it is how we use technology. Cell phones were meant to allow people to speak to someone far away but these days the technology is being used to chat with someone sitting next to you in the restaurant. Mind you if you don’t want others to hear the conversation the texting solves that problem so in this case the use of the technology is a good thing. Similar in the future when you can have someone be virtually next to you should not be used for a replacement for being physically present with the person. The technology should be used to virtually visit a spouse on a foreign business trip, for example, but for real human relationships people should be physically together.
To me this sounds like an anxiety inducing Black Mirror episode. Where technology rules the world and humans are just “hosts.”
The mobile technology that I want to see involves translation/communication. I want to see a universal translator that automatically translates a foreign language instantly into English (or the person’s native language) without the use of our phones or a handheld device. It would be great if I could speak my language and have the person understand what I’m saying and they respond in their language and I understand exactly what they’re saying and have this process be seamless without the need to fidget with Google Translate or pass a device back and forth to speak to each other. It would just be like having a casual conversation with friends that sounds natural.
In terms of how it could happen, perhaps it could be an earpiece that people wear but the software that picks up the sound will need to be more refined than it is now (Google Assistant gets about 75% of what I’m saying). I would guess maybe this could happen in 5 years as parts of the technology are already in existence.
Sidenote: This would be even cooler if it could understand animals as well (like Dr. Dolittle or the collars for the dogs in Up).
Hello Juliano,
That would be great! But then translators would be out of a job. The translation apps or devices that are out there might get more precise every day, but the downfall is that translation are still very mechanical. What needs to be worked one might be “context”. I mean context interpretation by mobile technology would improve translation. So far, that is what is challenging for these automatic translations.
My thought when I read your post, I imagined that in the future we could download certain language pack that could be “loaded” in our brain. If so, that means that the technology would have to be installed in us. Should that happen, then we could have any other still installed in our brain. That would be easy learning.
The part about downloading the language pack and having it installed/loaded into our brains reminds me of The Matrix. Now that would be another mobile technology that would be interesting to see! I’m not sure if I would want a device implanted into my brain but the idea of learning things just as a file download sounds pretty cool!
Hi Juliano and Sylvia,
Very interesting discussions here! I’d love to share with you a YouTube video I found regarding this topic, a quite entertaining one :
Top 5 Best Electronic Language Translator In 2020 | Instant Translator Device To Buy Now
So Juliano, the technology you want to see is very similar to Mars wireless earbuds. The devices mentioned in the video are quite pricey right now, and my magical wish would be having this technology integrated into our Smartphones. I also looked at the Apple Store, currently there is an app called “iTranslate Voice”. Not sure how good it is, but it costs $39.99 per year.
The benefits of using artificial intelligence in translation is huge. As deep learning algorithms support the computer to use logic to draw conclusions in a similar way to the human brain, machine translation is getting more and more accurate.
According to Ofer Tirosh (2019), CEO of a translation agency Tomedes, “it seems almost certain that machine translation will one day be on a par with translations produced by humans. However, that day doesn’t seem likely to arrive in the near future, despite the latest promising advancements. As such, it doesn’t seem prudent for translation agencies and the human translators who work for them to start seeking employment elsewhere just yet.”
If you’re interested, the full article is here: How Has Deep Learning Impacted the Translation Industry?
Hello Juliano,
I would not want to have a device implanted in me either. However, it seems that we can no longer live with technology. We have become too dependent. Should there be such technology of “installing skills” in one, would there still be learning? Would that mean that education institutions will decline? Although we do not have any technology installed in us so far, I do not see much difference in those who basically live with the mobile phone. It looks like technology has slowly infiltrated within our lives.
I’m a little late to respond to this but thought I should anyway as it’s an interesting topic to revisit since my A3 had a brief mention about brain implantation.
Thanks for the links Ceci, aside from cost, those products are inching closer to what I would be wanting in translation technology without needing anything being implanted into my brain! The one challenge that AI will have difficulty with translating is keeping up to date with slang and also correctly interpreting slang/sarcasm. AI may be able to pick up some contexts but will likely translate in a more literal sense which, as learned from texting and messaging, does not transfer well when sarcasm/emotion are involved. More work still needs to be done to get over that hurdle.
Silvia, I think learning and education institutions would just be different. We may have the knowledge but may not know how to use that knowledge effectively. For example, I may know the recipe for baking a souffle, but based on my culinary skills, that souffle will likely still be inedible. With the knowledge installed, I think that training and practice would still be necessary to become proficient at it.
As nice as this all sounds as I dream of an extended stay in Budapest (unlike German or French, for example, learning Hungarian only really helps you in Hungary), the purist in me really doesn’t like the idea of bridging this divide too easily. For people that speak multiple languages, it’s a part of their identity that they have worked hard at and are proud of (full disclosure, I am monolinguistic and dream of one day expanding on my list of languages spoken). To me, one of the most interesting things about travel is trying to get by in a foreign language, and capabilities like this would take away that novelty.
I think a limitation in such a device is that not all languages can directly translate to another. What would such a device do if a word does not exist in a second language? Some languages do not have tense in their verbs. Whatever this translator device is, it would have to be pretty smart!
This vision reminds me of Roger Pen that I am going to be using with my deafblind student in the next quarter. Roger Pen is a microphone transmits the sound of voice, multimedia devices, TV or phone calls to the hearing aid device on the student. So, with this similar technology of capturing the sound, translating the content, and then transmitting the result could be supported on mobile devices very soon.
Hello Juiiano
I recently found current technology in development but is very pricy! $25,000 base price. The idea of Star Trek translator tech is closure than we know. I do not want o geek out about this type of tech but my interest would be more on the lines of language revitalization.
Bits and pieces of this already exists, but what I want to see is more predictive “seamlessness”, for the lack of a better word. What I mean is actually a lot of different things – when students walk into the school, their phones should automatically turn to “silent” or “vibrate” or “do not disturb” modes, during lessons, they should have restricted access to social media and distractors that are not used as educational tools. My phone has “routines” that I can set up that sort of works in this way, and currently I have 2 set up – “work” and “before bed”, this allows for flexibility in the notifications that are displayed, the app icons that appear on my lock screen, the screen brightness, volume, etc.
Others have mentioned sensing health markers and compatibility across apps and devices. To extend that further, the device sensing the health markers should be able to recommend resources and solutions to deal with them, maybe make appointments with health professionals, RMT’s, therapists, etc. accordingly (after getting confirmation). As one gets home from work, set the thermostat to the optimal temperature, pre-heat the oven, turn the lights (or music or TV or a favourite podcast or workout video) on, or whatever else needs to be done to seamlessly transition into home mode. Control the light brightness and temperature through the evening and night for optimal melatonin production, to sleep better and wake up well-rested. If I am listening to something on my Smart TV, then decide to go for a walk/run, give me the option to automatically continue on my phone. Individual apps like YouTube and Spotify do this already, so why can’t my device just do it?
Binal,
This sounds so lovely. I would love to have different settings on my phone or smart devices at my home that have the perfect settings for different times or moods of the day. Sounds like you’re describing an AI personal assistant. I am interested in this!
I’ve also spent some time thinking about this one, and something I would also consider quite convenient (and likely to exist in a larger form in the near future) I think one of the outstanding challenges that would need to be resolved is whether the location is aware of your presence or whether your phone/other device picks up cues from the environment and agrees to cooperate (based on your settings perhaps). Most solutions/offerings of the bits and pieces of this so far become a potential privacy/tracking concern as it provides an abundance of personally identifying information (including where you are and when).
Oh yes, privacy concerns and location tracking by (mis)using personal information is a serious issue. An ideal solution would be to have the AI protect our privacy – automatically adjust settings, block invasion of privacy, etc. But of course, how the data is stored and used by humans is the real problem…
Your idea is very appealing. Something like an AI personal assistant, butler, life coach, tutor and personal trainer. It may sound far fetched but “ai” absolutely think we are heading in that direction with products like Alexi and Siri. But before that I just want an app that will analyze the shopping habits of my friends and loved ones and make birthday and Christmas purchases on Amazon or eBay on my behalf. I am really very very bad at getting gifts. I once forgot my anniversary and happened to bring home a new vacuum (that I had neglected to buy for months as our old one was dying) to my wife’s extreme disappointment.
On the week 1Mobility Perspectives (future of work), Dr. Vogt introduced the term ‘transclusivity’ (“the instant, seamless meshing and augmentation of all dimensions of digital information streams and communications”), which may lend deeper insight into this tech wish.
The mobile technology I’d love to see is the option to have a lightweight expandable screen (or perhaps something holographic like Linda mentioned). For me, mobile devices have this uncomfortable trade-off of the size of the device vs the size of the screen. Like, an iPad is great for screen size, but it’s terrible to carry around with you and you can’t hold it comfortably in one hand. On the flip side, an iPhone is great for holding in one hand and sticking in your pocket, but the screen is frustratingly small for many tasks.
I want both! I want a small lightweight device that has an optional expandable (and interactive) screen that either unfolds, rolls out, or is projected holographically. That’s my magical wish. As for how long until this exists… 10 years maybe? I’m not sure that tech giants are even working on “screen alternatives” yet as it seems like people are pretty happy with the limits of glass screens for now. Has anybody heard any word on the development of alternative approaches to the “screen” interface?
There’s this foldable but not quite expandable device: https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-fold/
The concept exists in VR/AR, which will still need additional hardware.
Oh cool, that’s a step in the right direction. My ideal solution would be a small-screen device like a phone that has an optional fold-out screen for tasks where you need more space. This Samsung tech would probably work if they had it folding such that you could use just half the screen sometimes when you’re just, say, texting and don’t need the full tablet-sized screen.
I think mentioning AR/VR is key here, if you have a device that can project images directly onto your vision, any surface (including potentially the air in front of you) can become a screen and can scale to any size required. Personally, I feel that we’re quite close (~5-10 years?) to moving away from screens that display entirely in favour of direct projection onto our vision. You could look at what MagicLeap is promising (although it’s unclear whether they will be the ones to achieve it) as an idea of how close we may be.
I suppose that’s true, the solution to this problem may not be another “screen” at all. It’s funny how with innovation we sometimes dream up ideas that fit with what we know now and completely forget other possibilities, like in Star Trek how they had data pads but always had multiple data pads for different documents, like they were stuck thinking of them like paper books and didn’t realize that you could just put all of the data in existence on one single device.
Hi Anna,
I totally get what you mean. Something like Iron Man’s gadgets, a tiny device in hand which can be projected into a bigger version. Preferably, I can make changes, even stick my hands through those “images” and make adjustments. Technologies like that could make everything so vivid and engaging. Image a math teacher trying to explain a geometric problem; he or she simply needs to project that in the middle of the classroom and have students observe how the lines and space work inside. Or a biology teacher who is trying to show the structure of a human body, instead of using a skeleton, the teacher can just project a skeleton in the classroom for the students to look inside or even make changes to see what’s gonna happen if a bone or an organ is missing from a human body. The device itself is an AI with excellent calculation skills, which can give out instant responses to the changes you make. Other than its mobility and engaging interface, the best thing about this tech is that it would save up so much space that was used to store actual objects.
My tired eyes would appreciate an expandable screen very much, thank you!
Four years, three wars, two US presidents, and one pandemic after Anne’s initial 2020 post, Imran Schoudry and Bethany Bonjiourno offer screenless devices in the form of a wearable AI pin:
https://humane.com/
https://youtu.be/5fQHAZWOUuY?si=YrW7uWVJJvu7Qp-S
One of its affordances is projecting text into the palm of the users hand, rather than onto a screen. Retailing for $699 USD, will this device be the next greatest thing to replace smartphones? Will the 523 cohort of 2028 be tapping their AI pins to respond to these posts with communicator badges boasting Starfleet-esque insignia?
A mobile technology that I’d like to see is an touchable 3D holographic screen. We see these a lot in movies (eg. Iron Man). The ability to pull up and modify a holographic screen or model seems very useful to me. It makes visualizing systems in 3D much easier. It also helps reduce space needed for screens while making it possible to project the screen anywhere you need it. I think that by making screens more mobile, learning can become more mobile as well.
I was thinking of something similar, but AR with gloves. So the user could manipulate the AR image. I know controllers exist with such things as Oculus, but they don’t move quite like gloves and they are quite expensive. I think students would get a lot of value of being able to take things apart and adapt them in a more realistic setting, rather than touching the screen and moving the digital screwdriver to the piece.
Do it Yourself but digitally. Great idea!
I think I would like to see a holodeck from Star Trek franchise. I would use it more for entertainment. Yes, we do have VR these days but it has not been developed as I wish it would. Maybe I have seen too much of Star Trek. The Holodeck acts as an alternate world, users can load any kind of environment. Can you imagine going to other countries and or worlds? There is no need to plan, one can enjoy and enter an alternative world whenever he/she wants. This would allow users to be themselves in an alternative world. I believe that this kind of technology can also provide users to practice/ rehearse as many times as they want. For example, surgery. This type of feature would allow aspiring surgeons to operate as many times as they want. In this world, you are allowed “do-over”.
I need the home office version that blocks out all outside stimuli, like a forcefield.
The mobile technology I would like to see one day would be a real-life Star Trek-esque tricorder. It would be a major medical break through if the medical community could invent a mobile technology capable of accurately diagnosing the 25 most common medical conditions independent of a healthcare professional. It would continually monitor the user’s 4 critical vital signs for irregularities and fluctuations. It would also read and interpret blood, breath and urine samples. The device would ideally come in the form of an implant or patch that would transmit data to a mobile device such as a phone or watch. The system would have to be affordable, reliable and extremely user friendly.
I understand here a number or experimental prototypes already being developed as a result of the Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize competition (https://www.xprize.org/prizes/tricorder) but I suspect we are at least 5 – 10 years away from feasible large scale production – that is of course after the various national departments of health around the world give their approval.
Think of how valuable that would be for preventative medicine as well – the mobile link could catch tons of small problems and misalignments before they actually develop into heart disease, stroke, diabetes, etc.
I think the real dream of the Star Trek medical tricorder is that it’s so non-invasive. They just wave the device over you, no implants or injections required, and you know what’s wrong. Can we have that? 🙂
I agree Anne! I remember an old episode of Star Trek where McCoy the “barbaric days of medicine when doctors used scalpels and conducted surgery to cure disease”. I think it’s possible. We abandoned bloodletting and leaches afterall.
Your post and Silivia’s (referencing Star Trek) made me think of a documentary I watched years ago – so I searched for it in YouTube and low and behold, there it was. It’s a bit old and cheesy, but still interesting to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OrXLIB05RY.
Thanks for sharing Julia. I remember watching this and anticipating someday soon we would have teleporters and tricorders. Maybe some day!?
Originally Posted by Marc Tavares on 12 Jan 2019
Mobile technology I’d like to see someday is the ability to visually identify objects in public places and provide background information in real-time. For example, if I’m looking at a significant piece of street art, I’d like to identify who painted it, what materials were used, or its cultural/historical significance if any. I’d also like to be able to identify something as colour of paint on a wall, the model of a car I see parked, or when the buildings on the skyline I’m looking at were built in. The futurist in me predicts that a version of this will exist in the next 10 years as an evolution of AR, advanced optics, and the image content analysis AI/machine learning Google is already developing. It’ll probably be accessed on our smartphones, tablets, of wearables. In the distant future, say 30 years, it could be an implanted solution connected directly to the cloud.
Originally Posted by rstpierre on 18 Jan 2019
My wish for technology of the future is universal compatibility. In the business world, competition spawns innovation, but it also fractures the marketplace and leads to products that leave users/consumers trapped in a particular camp with products that are incompatible with each other. Beta vs. VHS, 8-track vs. cassette, Mac vs. PC, Android vs. Apple, etc. Often, one particular technology will win out over the other, but sometimes, we are left with divisions. There have been times in the classroom that I wanted to try a certain app with students only to find that is was available for Apple products, but not for Android or vice-versa. I don’t quite know how this could be achieved (thankfully, that’s not my job here in this post). Perhaps devices or software that dynamically reconfigure themselves to work with whatever device they are run on? Perhaps better cooperation between tech companies with focus on inter-operability rather than proprietary systems.
Originally Posted by leahbio on 15 Jan 2019
Some have mentioned interest in nanotechnology below. Beyond the integration of nanotechnology, I would really like to see an affordable mobile AI brain based integration device with 3D technology for someone who is suffering from a debilitating physical/cognitive disease that impedes their use of their mind or body. The integration of this wireless brain AI mobile technology would allow patients suffering from Alzheimer’s or a paralytic disease to communicate their thoughts/consciousness to their loved ones or health care practitioners even if they lacked the ability to vocalize through speech (the mobile device would take care of that aspect). The full synthesis of their thoughts/minds to the device would preserve their thoughts/subconscious/essence for family members but they would also still have the ability to operate an AI machine to help them walk, function in daily tasks without the need to give the mobile machine vocal instructions (i.e. paralysis, Parkinson’s). Of course, the implementation would require advanced ethical criteria. Along that same vein, this AI mobile tech would anticipate genetic markers or precursors to certain diseases/ailments to foster prophylactic treatment or advanced integration of the software for the patient. It would be incredible for the technology to heal, correct areas of the body automatically of the patient whose disease is deteriorating (i.e. fix vision occlusions or adenopathy).
My dream tech that somewhat aligns with this post is some sort of AI/machine learning-boosted memory/data repository. I consume so much information, online and offline, that I don’t have enough mental bookmarking capability or mobile bookmarking capacity to keep track of everything. I seem to always be able to remember those 2-3 keywords but tracking things down after a lot of time passes becomes time consuming. To be able to do this mentally or even with a voice command would be great. To be able to access that data and instantly track down information would be incredible.
Originally Posted by matthew turner on 13 Jan 2019
I would like to see a powerful projector built into mobile devices, allowing us to project what we see on the phone screen onto a wall, ceiling, or other surface. As a teacher who is not equipped with a projector in my classroom, this would be extremely useful for multiple purposes: showing a classroom full of students short video clips, images, how to use an app or website, etc. Outside of the classroom we could share media, project images to see them on a larger scale, or just project a light show for background visuals. Add to this better speaker functionality and our mobile devices become portable entertainment stations for more than just one person.
Originally Posted by Kamille on 10 Jan 2019
The prediction that I have for mobile technology has to deal with battery-life. I envision devices that will never need to be recharged – the concept of having to plug-in your device for several hours will seem archaic. The portability and mobility of future devices rests on the power sources that are developed to run these ‘magical’ tools. In order for mobile devices to become smaller and more integrated into our everyday lives, the engine that powers the device will become the true magic of the device. As batteries become smaller and more powerful, they increasingly become more expensive. This will be the real barrier to mobile technology.
There is always a power bank. I have those but I do not like to carry them because they are heavy. The one that is 20000mah is pretty heavy, it weighs more than my cellphone. The wireless charger is more practical because there is no need for a cable, but the charging speed is not as the wired one. It would be great if there is no need to charge our cellphones. There are solar power banks, maybe one of these they can design a solar cellphone or iPad.
It doesn’t necessarily eliminate the need to recharge but I found an article where they are using your own body’s sweat to power a battery. It uses a cloth that absorbs your body’s electrolytes and turns it into energy. Thankfully, it doesn’t require too much sweat for it to generate energy but scientists are looking at more natural alternatives to the batteries we’re used to. Besides the link below, when you Google sweat-powered battery, it seems like there are multiple places trying to develop this sort of technology!
https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/future-technology-22-ideas-about-to-change-our-world/
Wow, that is so interesting. Should that be developed, I think that those who do physical activity would have their devices constantly charged. Something that might not happen to me. I can imagine myself “running for my life” just to charge my mobile device, should I my battery die.
As someone who sweats profusely when I get anxious, I fear too many people may start asking me to charge their phones for them. That does sound quite amazing, though.
Very interesting! I can see this could promote physical activities, a healthy lifestyle, and a better health, in turn….unless you are just going to be sweating in a sauna to recharge your phones.
Maybe there’s hope in wireless charging? If quick charging can keep improving to get even faster (10 minutes for 50% to 1 minute (?) for 50%), imagine the possibilities! We could have “docks” built on buses, at restaurant tables, wherever…
Originally Posted by Mark on 13 Jan 2019
The prediction that I have for mobile technology has to deal with battery-life. I envision devices that will never need to be recharged – the concept of having to plug-in your device for several hours will seem archaic. The portability and mobility of future devices rests on the power sources that are developed to run these ‘magical’ tools. In order for mobile devices to become smaller and more integrated into our everyday lives, the engine that powers the device will become the true magic of the device. As batteries become smaller and more powerful, they increasingly become more expensive. This will be the real barrier to mobile technology.
Oh I hope that this is true! Unfortunately, I suspect the corporations that manufacture our devices would not want to loose their hold upon our purse strings. It is not a coincidence that my iPhone’s battery life always seems to drop considerably when I get too many models behind, and there is a sudden software update. Planned obsolescence at it’s best.
But I very much hope your prediction comes true!