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by David R. Brousell, MA Editorial Staff   | Abstract: | The big computer and services firm plays "connect the brains" and pinpoints five technology innovations it says will reshape our world in the next five years. |
What's the next big thing? According to IBM, it's not one thing. It's five. Based on an online "InnovationJam" it held involving more than 150,000 people from 104 countries, Big Blue says that in the next five years, we will see such things as remote access healthcare, a 3D version of the Internet, real-time speech translation, the ability to micromanage the environment, and mobile phones that will come close to "reading our minds." IBM says that work under way now, including some it is doing, will pave the way to these five developments. In healthcare, for example, IBM says that advances in wireless technology coupled with the ability to securely capture sensitive medical data will enable the movement of healthcare information from doctors' offices to wherever patients happen to be. The emergence of a 3D Internet will aid remote healthcare as well as foster interactive education and consumer goods buying. One more example: Starting with so-called "presence" technology, mobile phones will evolve into devices that can continually learn about your preferences and needs. Is IBM indulging in science fiction? I don't think so. In fact, I think that these five technology predictions, if they should come to pass even in part, could play a significant role in manufacturing in the years ahead. [Click to continue] |