Monday, June 12, 2006

The next revolution

Many people are asking: What's the next big thing?

In the past it has been the fire, the wheel, written laws, democracy, the radio, the automobil, TV and most recently the Internet.

These are things that have change the way we live, the balance of power. They've revolutionized society in ways that could have not been predicted before they happened. So... What's next?

Here is my prediction: Video glasses.

Not that they are new. The internet was more than 20 years old when it started changing the world thanks to the WWW.

With the ability to provide a personal video space the possibilities for the video glasses are far reaching:

They can revolutionize medicine, entertainment, transportation, social interaction and many other human activities.

Here are some simple examples:

Driving:
What if the glasses were connected to rear view/cameras or front infrared cameras in your car?
What if they provided a driver with 360 degrees view as they do in combat aircraft?
What if important dashboard information was presented through the glasses?

Medicine:
Looking inside a body in full 3D while operating
Having a close look at organs and injuries (Even from the other side of the world)

Entertainment:
3d "video" On demand, any time, anywhere
Full immersion electronic gaming.
Concert goers with a personal close up of the artist on the stage.

Social interaction:
Video conferences as common as today's cell phones.
Business conducted in a virtual meeting that feels real.
Real time information.
Subtitled real time translation.

These examples just extrapolate what we already imagine. In reality they will have applications we cannot currently even dream about.

For now I'll dare to dream. I hope to come back to this blog in a few years and realize I was right.