A guide to incredible future technologies - and when they're likely to arrive

Newsletter 25 November 2009

1. Reconnaissance dust

"These so-called 'smart dust' - tiny devices that are almost invisible, but contain sensors, computers and communication capabilities - are being experimented with. Practical use of these devices is likely within 10 to 15 years."

2. Nano assemblers

"Basically, these are three-dimensional printers that can create a physical object from an information file and inexpensive input materials. So we could e-mail a blouse or a toaster or even the toast. There is already an industry of three-dimensional printers, and the resolution of the devices that can be created is getting finer and finer. The nano assembler would assemble devices from molecules and molecular fragments, and is about 20 years away."

3. Respirocytes

"A respirocyte is a nanobot (a blood cell-sized device) designed to replace our biological red blood cells, but is 1 000 times more capable. If you replaced a portion of your biological red blood cells with these robotic versions you could do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, or sit at the bottom of a swimming pool for four hours. These are about 20 years away."

4. Foglets

"Foglets are a form of nanobots that can reassemble themselves into a variety of objects in the real world, essentially bringing the rapid morphing qualities of virtual reality to real reality. Nanobots that can perform useful therapeutic functions in our bodies, essentially keeping us healthy from inside, are only about 20 years away. Foglets are more advanced and are probably 30 to 40 years away."

5. Blue goo

"The concern with full-scale nano-technology and nanobots is that if they could replicate in a natural environment (as bacteria do), they could destroy humanity. This is called the grey goo concern. When that is feasible we'll need a nanotechnology immune system. The nanobots that would protect us from harmful self-replicating nanobots are called blue goo. This scenario is 20 to 30 years away."

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