1 year ago
108 The task of selecting technologies for this database ever sparks lively discussions and statement wrong our team. We person to marque pugnacious calls astir what to see and what to permission out. Below are a fewer technologies that staffers nominated this twelvemonth but didn’t yet marque the cut.
Digital fashion
Fashion brands and designers are present selling digital covering and accessories successful the metaverse and connected gaming platforms similar Roblox. And radical are buying these garments to formal up their virtual avatars, successful a caller signifier of online self-expression. The integer manner marketplace is increasing rapidly and already influencing real-world trends. But our editors felt different technologies had greater imaginable to impact much people’s lives successful a meaningful way.
Next-generation abstraction stations
The International Space Station closes successful 2030. What happens aft that? NASA volition rent abstraction connected a backstage abstraction station, plans for which are present being developed by 3 abstracted teams. China has its ain space station, and Russia says it volition motorboat 1 too. But since galore of the plans are inactive preliminary and it’s not yet wide what caller subject mightiness look from these next-gen facilities, our editors thought it champion to wait.
Chore robots
The imagination of a location robot that folds laundry and does the dishes has captivated technologists for decades. Are we getting closer? Amazon has stake large connected location robots with its acquisition of iRobot (the shaper of Roomba vacuums) and release of Astro, present a roving information bot. The appliance institution Dyson precocious teased “secret” chore robot prototypes. However, a existent general-purpose chore robot is notoriously hard to build. We’ll judge it erstwhile we spot it.
The EV pickup
Electric pickup trucks are starting to deed the US market, including Ford’s F-150 Lightning and Chevy’s Silverado EV, on with models from Rivian and GMC. Americans bargain astir arsenic galore trucks arsenic cars, truthful these EVs are an important portion of the electrification story. Ultimately, though, this thought felt excessively US-centric. Our editors disquieted it ignored important EV advancement successful China, India, Latin America, and Europe. So you’ll spot a broader framing of this technology—“The inevitable EV”—on this year’s list.
Partial cellular reprogramming
Several caller biotech firms purpose to dilatory oregon adjacent reverse aging by uncovering ways to coax big cells to behave much similar stem cells recovered successful embryos. Venture capitalists person poured billions into these startups, which person recruited superstar scientists to pb their efforts. But arsenic Antonio Regalado, elder exertion for biomedicine, points retired successful his caller communicative titled “How scientists privation to marque you young again,” these projects haven’t yet delivered the technological results to backmost up their claims.
