What technology do you most want to see developed in the next 4-7 years?

Question

Robotics? Artificial Intelligence? mag lev transportation? SuperStructure Buildings?

Answer 1

Limiting myself to technologies that I believe can actually be developed on the next few year:

1) Space Elevator. We are very close to having everything we need to build a space elevator and different organizations around the world are working hard to get the last few pieces into place. With a Space Elevator, the costs for putting objects into orbit would drop by 90% or more, allowing private investors to finally be able to get involved in space exploration. What happens after that is anyone's guess.

2) Near-Room-Temperature Superconductors: Being able to move electrons without losing energy to generated heat would be an incredible boost to everything you mentioned: Robotics, AI, and Mag Levs. OK, Superstructure buildings may not benefit directly, but they will benefit indirectly by enabling supercomputers to better analyze structural factors. Such a superconductor would also allow for electricity to be efficiently transported, allowing energy to be generated in the most appropriate spots, rather than being generated from a nearby station.

3) Next-Gen Internet: The next generation of the Internet will make what we have today look like Pong looks now compared to Need For Speed Underground.

Answer 2

I completely agree with Joe eoJ. Fusion power should be humanities next goal. Fusion power uses water (actually a very small part of water, deuterium) to fuse atoms together. The amount of energy given off is immense. Currently, a fusion power plant is being built in France by ITER. As of right now humans have difficulty with the engineering aspect of the process. Our materials for containing such a hot process (hotter than the sun) are lacking. We currently use magnetic containment fields that are very large and expensive. A shift away from fossil fuels to a completely renewable source such as fusion would make mankind leap forward in ways never thought of. The United States has the power, money, and technical know how to do it. We need politicians for the permission and funds unfortunately.

Answer 3

We urgently need a working fusion-technology. This would allow mankind to stop the fatal increase of CO2 in the athmosphere and the global warming. It may even allow us to reduce the CO2 amount in air.

This technology would also make us all more independend from oil countries and oil companies. Though the question is how the goverment will react if everybody installs a "Mr.Fusion" in the garden and cuts all incoming power lines and will no longer pay taxes for energy. ;-)

Answer 4

First off, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen... It already exists, havn't you been watching discovery or the news? Some Japanese cars and Rusian cars even run on pure water, splitting the attoms hydrogen and oxygen, using the hydrogen as an energy source and the exhaust is pure water again!
I would love to see some sort of HUGE machine that would BUILD Massive skyscrapers ALL BY THAT ONE MACHINE. Of course humans would only have to work on insolation plumbing (all the inside building maintanance. But the machine I am talking about would build the main skeloton of the skyscrapers, they would build the outside walls, floors, elevator shafts, inside walls. It would revolutionize the building of our suciaty, large towers that would take years to build would take only months, maybe weeks!

Answer 5

The Human Brain.

Answer 6

I would like to see anti-gravity propulsion developed. This would help in further space exploration and with EMS transport. Maybe with the use of anti-mass shield generators or gravity invertors or who knows, but anti-gravity propulsion is what we need.

Answer 7

The technology to produce cheap energy. Something to replace fossil fuels that is inexpensive

Answer 8

Warp drive & a vehicle safe enough to accomodate it. Maybe then we can start looking for new frontiers to explore. Before we start thinking of populating other places, though, we need to learn how to NOT abuse a planet's resources.

Answer 9

none. i want humans to use their gift talents and abilities more efficient. That by-far outweighs an advancement in technology

Answer 10

the ability to split common water into hydrogen and oxygen effectively, for it to be used as a fuel and oxidizer.