Today, almost every day we hear about new gadgets, technologies and supposedly revolutionary inventions. In this article I will talk about 7 technologies that can really change our future, and they do not exist in the form of little-known theoretical developments 'on paper' created by enthusiasts in a conventional basement at home, but have multimillion-dollar investments and real prototypes.
Train with a speed of 1200 km / h
Hate spending a lot of time commuting from home to work and back? Relatively soon we can get rid of this problem thanks to a promising project by Elon Musk. The founder of SpaceX, PayPal and Tesla promises us to create a network of Hyperloop trains that accelerate to the speeds of a modern airliner. In a nutshell, the technical idea behind Hyperloop is to create a long (580 km) tube that will hold small wagons in a vacuum; they must be set in motion with the help of powerful electromagnetic motors. If everything goes according to plan, then the journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles, for example, will take 35 minutes instead of almost 8 hours on a regular train.
Extinguishing forest fires with sound
It is likely that one day we will use drones to fight forest fires, directing special loud sounds to trees. Since sound is composed of pressurized waves, it can prevent oxygen from being supplied to the object of combustion (in our case, to the trees). At the right frequency, the fire simply goes out, and as researchers at George Mason University in Virginia have demonstrated with their 'sonic fire extinguisher', low frequencies are best suited for this task.
Space balloons
If you want to become a space tourist, then most likely you will realize your dream in a hot air balloon, and not some kind of Shuttle. World View Enterprises is going to send lovers of new sensations into the stratosphere, at an altitude of 32 km using hot air balloons. Technically, space starts at 100 kilometers above sea level, but 32 kilometers is enough to observe the curvature of the Earth as Felix Boomgartner saw it during his 'extraterrestrial' jump. The first tests of the space balloon for tourists took place in June 2016, and tickets should be available soon at a price of about 100 thousand dollars.
Cars that recognize alcohol in the driver's body
If the above projects are technically complex and require huge financial investments for their implementation, then everything is much simpler here. Developed by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a system of devices that 'sniff' the driver or scan his blood in the fingertips of the steering wheel, automatically stopping the car if the alcohol level exceeds the norm. The system will not be included in the standard equipment of cars, but the drivers who installed it will receive benefits in the form of significantly reduced insurance premiums.
Internet for everyone
After Elon Musk once again decided to improve the quality of life of many people on the planet, residents of the most remote corners of the Earth have a very real chance to be provided with stable Internet access. And although Musk is now awaiting permission to launch 4 thousand small satellites into low-earth orbit (from 160 to 2000 km), it is worth noting that the process is not standing still – the satellites have already passed the first tests, and the full-scale launch of the project is scheduled for 2020.
However, Elon is not alone in this endeavor: he is competing with the famous British billionaire Richard Branson, who plans to cover the entire Earth with a Wi-Fi network.
Autonomous cargo transportation
We are almost used to the concept of self-driving cars, despite the fact that they are almost never seen on the road. But self-driving tractors with wagons may soon become commonplace even in Russia. The use of self-driving trucks promises continuous benefits for transport companies: a computer-controlled tractor consumes less fuel, travels faster on straight sections, and smoother on winding ones, there is no need for the driver to idle while sleeping. On the other hand, autonomous heavy trucks will leave a huge number of people out of work, starting with truckers themselves, and ending with service personnel at specialized parking lots (this problem is especially relevant for the United States, where the trucker profession is considered quite prestigious and almost elevated to a cult).
Four-day work week
Surprisingly, the less we work, the better the result of this work is. Numerous studies show that the less time we spend in the workplace, the less absenteeism and wasted work hours. At the same time, labor productivity and people's interest in moving to a new job increase significantly. Potential benefits of a shortened work week include a reduction in the emissions of harmful gases produced by cars.
