On second thoughts, I think the Holographic displays can actually go much beyong provided they let us interact in the correct manner. Imagine, applications for engineers, Doctors, students, scientists which allow system analysis with complete interactive environment instead of 2D and 3D videos. The technology and content required will be huge but the application could be immense for some groups in particluar. I can see this being a key technology in the military facilities of the future.
It is obvious from the volume of discussions about power resources that this is the one single area of future innovations that will define electronics. Batteries are determining the form factor of many electronic products today but there are still concerns in the market about how much of the power in batteries are wasted and how many equipment could be even smaller today were we to have smaller power sources. Heat dissipation in PCs, cars, heating systems, cooking systems and even our bodies is interesting to companies seeking ways to make money by reducing the incident or even harnessing this in future products. IBM touched on these two important factors and I give the company credit for this.
I pretty much agreed with your observations. Here are some thoughts:
1.-3D - This already exists and it's in use in different ways. Education is a field where 3D comes pretty useful and interesting for both teachers and students. Some schools and colleges are already using 3D in education. There is good application for it in virtual worlds like Second Life. It comes useful also in training. This is not new. It will improve in the next 5 years, sure, but it's not a novelty at all. I also think the examples I am giving presenting are more useful than using 3D to interact with holograms of your friends. Maybe cool for kids and teens in 2015. Even though it could be just as normal as speaking on your cell phone by then. To answer to your question, yes, it has a business application, too.
Batteries will breathe air to power our devices:This is a long time project that has some prototypes in laptops. If I remember correctly college students were testing them.
You won’t need to be a scientist to save the planet: I agree with you. Many of us are doing what we can to contribute for having a healthy planet again, or close to healthy, and we don't have to be rocket scientists to do that. And the same as you, I am grateful to the good scientists who have contributed with wonderful discoveries for humanity.
Your commute will be personalized: I like the idea but I am not sure if I see it happening. France should build a totally new subway system in Paris to start with.
Computers will help energize your city: Recycling energy? Show me and then we discuss. -Susan
IBM, like other technology companies, must transform R&D innovations into actual products. By moving away from consumer products, the company yielded small form factor products to the likes of Apple and Dell, yet this is today the area that has been able to use existing technologies to advance new designs, production techniques, etc.
When I look at most of the technologies identified by IBM, I wonder how many of them the company itself can bring to market. Will IBM benefit from these technology innovations or will it develop them and license the technology to others? I can bet Apple would be interested in eliminating batteries from its iPhone, iPod and iPad to dazzle consumers with new tantalizing designs.
Rich, My view exactly. I don't want to be cynical but numerous are the innovations that never moved beyond the lab. IBM identifies 5 innovations it hopes will change our lives each year. I wonder how many of the previous predictions made the grade. If you go back and watch old sci-fi movies you would see flying cars and "Beam me up Scotty" devices. I think IBM was being more practical this time around because all of the innovations it identified are already technologically feasible. Moving beyond this to production is a different issue the company did not challenge.
Hi Rich...Yes IBM is an American company which works on that manner. But hey they do have offshore offices in India,Philippines,Costa Rica and some parts of the globe where the work is continued while their american counter part is sleeping:-)
IBM definitely has its advantage when it comes to technological innovation. It's got the capital and resesarch infrastructure. But then due to market pressure, it needs to also cut down spending on R&D in order to become more profitable for the short term trend. For the time being, IBM is doing a decent job in promoting the smart planet and Business analytics and optimization.
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Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
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Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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