We may not have those hover cars we imagined in the mid-20th century, but technological advancements have far surpassed what we predicted 50 years ago. We live in a world of constant connectivity, where one tap on a screen can connect you to someone halfway around the world. Tracking our every movement is easier than ever before, and cars are starting to drive without us.
The 2014 Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing in Las Vegas, and we’re all excited to see what technology trends we can expect this year. Frog design has a few ideas, shared on Fast Co.Design today. Below are a few of these trends, and our thoughts on the future of technology in 2014.
Drones Will Be Everywhere
Or, if not everywhere, they’ll at least be more prevalent than they are now. With the FAA green-lighting drone testing in 5 states, we can only expect to see more drones buzzing in our skies. Companies are perfecting the technology, and if we’re to believe Amazon’s CEO, we might even have our packages delivered via drone in the near future.
Drones are controversial, like most technology, as they can be used for both good and evil. Delivering packages, keeping track of traffic patterns, searching for missing persons – drones can help. But, they can also spy on U.S. citizens, a particularly touchy subject right now.
Ditching Our Ever-Present Technology
As technology folds into every part of our lives, we’ll start to crave more time away from our devices. Movie theaters, libraries, even a section of your house might become off limits to technology all together. No smart phones, no computers, no televisions, no smart watches. Those zen, back to nature retreats will rise in popularity, and we’ll all be jonesing for a vacation from our technology.
The flip side? Some people won’t be able to disconnect. No matter how hard they try to designate some alone time from their devices, they’ll find themselves reaching for the smartphone, “just to check email really fast.” Some of us may want to disconnect, but others won’t be able to stomach it, and this could have some pretty major implications for human relationships.
Augmented Reality
Technology helps us solve problems and become even greater versions of ourselves. Until recently, technology was always separate from us, a device that had its own autonomy and wasn’t directly tied to our experiences. But now, with the invention of Google Glass and other wearable technology, we can expect to see more and more technology integrated directly into our bodies. People with robot arms, legs, hands, feet, and even eyes? Really not that far off.
As augmented reality becomes the reality, we’ll be faced with dilemmas left and right. From whether Google Glass is okay to wear while driving to whether or not location-enabled wearable smart watch data should be available to the government, we’re in for some major discussions about the future of our world.
The Reinvention of the PC
Despite claims to the contrary, the PC is not yet dead. In fact, we don’t see it dying off anytime soon. While mobile is great for the occasional email, surfing Facebook, and logging your hours in time tracking software, it can’t replace the productivity tasks that the PC can.
The PC will be reimagined and updated to fit into our modern, hyper-connected world. We still need PCs to be effective at work, and we’ll see manufacturers rising to the challenge to create machines that even the most avid mobile user will love.
What other trends can we expect in 2014? Check out the full article here: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3024464/15-tech-trends-that-will-define-2014-selected-by-frog
