Top 10 Technologies: But Don't Stop There

MIT Technology Review has complied its annual best guess as to the 10 technologies that will be important over the coming years. There's some fascinating stuff on the list, including stuff like nanoradio (which got me in trouble over my comments about "Layla"--and for which I'm still apologizing).

The Technology Review editors are generally on target with their annual list. Past technologies to keep your eye on include aspect-oriented programming, natural-language processing, Bayesian machine learning, universal translation, cell-phone viruses, and the like.

• Modeling Surprise. Surprise modeling combines data mining and machine learning to help people do a better job of anticipating and coping with unusual events.

• Probabilistic Chips. Probabilistic Complementary Metal-Oxide Semi­conductor Technology (PCMOS) is a microchip design technology that trades off accuracy in computation for energy savings.
  

• NanoRadio. At the core of the nanoradio is a single molecule that can receive radio signals. Nanoradios, built from nanotubes, could improve everything from cell phones to medical diagnostics.

• Wireless Power. Wireless power technology transmits electricity to devices without cables.

• Atomic Magnetometers. Miniaturized atomic magnetometers the size of a grain of rice require little power, are sensitive to very weak magnetic fields, and could lead to portable MRI machines, among other applications.

• Offline Web Applications. Offline web applications, developed using web technologies such as HTML and Flash, can take advantage of the resources of a user's computer as well as those of the Internet.

• Graphene Transistors. Transistors based on graphene, a carbon material one atom thick, could lead to fast, compact microprocessors.

• Connectomics. Connectomics is about mapping all synaptic connections between neurons in the mammalian brain.

• Reality Mining. Reality mining applies data-mining algorithms to information collected by cell-phone sensors that can measure location, physical activity, and more.

• Cellulolytic Enzymes. Cellulolytic enzymes break down the cellulose found in biomass so it can be used as a feedstock for biofuels.
  

What would you have added to the list? Send me an e-mail about other emerging technologies that deserve mention. Let's compile our own list.

-- Jonathan Erickson
jerickson@ddj.com

Posted by Jon Erickson at 10:52 AM  Permalink