The Best Gadgets Coming in 2017

MIT Technology Review: The Best Gadgets Coming in 2017

Here are the likely standouts among the smartphones, VR headsets, and smart watches hitting the market this year.

Smartphone geeks have a lot to look forward to in 2017. Phones dominate our list of the six most significant gadgets we expect to see this year.

Apple iPhone 8

To mark the iPhone’s 10th anniversary this year, Apple is expected to overhaul the phone’s design. One model could swap its liquid-crystal LCD display for one made of OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) that will wrap around the gadget’s edges. OLED displays are thinner, lighter, and more flexible than LCDs. Samsung’s Galaxy Edge phones sport a similar design and have been called gimmicky; Apple appears to be trying to make the feature more useful by enabling the phone to react when you touch any of its sides instead of just one.

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The Endless Mini Is A $79 Desktop CPU (Video)

CSN Editor: Their website is here.

The Coolest Technology At CES 2016

ABC News: CES 2016: The Coolest Technology We've Seen So Far

The annual CES technology show is a time when we're given a glimpse into what the future could look like, new technology stars can be born and of course, zany ideas are celebrated.

"With 2.4 million square feet of space and so many categories from robotics to 3D printing to drones and driverless cars, there is a lot going on," Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association told ABC News.

The 49th annual show, officially kicks off in Las Vegas on Wednesday, but ABC News has already checked out some new technology ahead of the event.

What will we be talking about when this week comes to a close? Here are some of the biggest standouts we've seen so far. Check back throughout the

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It Will Soon Be Possible To Read An Electronic Display That Can Also Be Rolled Up

(LG Display)

FOX News: CES: LG Display to showcase 18-inch panel that rolls up like a newspaper

LG Display will use this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas to showcase a prototype display technology that can be rolled up.

The OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology is “the world’s first 30R 18-inch rollable display that can be rolled-up like a newspaper,” according to a press release from LG Display.

OLEDs feature images with enhanced clarity, deeper color saturation and sharper contrast than liquid crystal displays.

Although additional details of the innovative foldable display have not yet been released, the technology could serve as a compact companion display for smaller mobile devices such as smartphones.

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CSN Editor: The article says that additional details on what this tech is capable of ave not been released .... that is not surprising .... their are probably getting their patents right now.

How New Scanners Will Revolutionize Security And Warfare

Cutting the queues: The laser scanners will be ten million faster than existing security scanning technology, which would presumably shorten lines at airports but also cause privacy issues

Homeland Security Buys 'Big Brother' Laser Scanner That Can Tell If You Are High, What You Are Carrying And Even What You Had For Breakfast... From 50 Meters Away -- Daily Mail

The latest scanners acquired by the U.S. government will be able detect the most minute traces of molecular discrepancies in both individuals' bloodstream and carry on luggage from 50 meters away.

Using advanced laser technology, Picosecond Programmable Laser scanners will show traces of drugs, chemicals, weapons, and even food you recently digested at the push of a button.

A non-governmental company originally developed the technology but has since partnered with the Department of Homeland Security, implying that the scanners will likely be deployed throughout airports and other high-risk areas.

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My Comment: The security and military applications for this tech .... which is portable .... is astounding.

The Science Of Hypersleep

Prometheus, Alien And The Science Of Hypersleep -- The Telegraph

Ian Douglas looks at a series of experiments that hint at the real possibility of suspended animation.

Noomi Rapace is describing waking up from a two-year sleep. She’s one of the stars of Prometheus, a prequel to the 1979 film Alien, in which long space voyages are accomplished by putting the travellers to sleep in pods, only waking them when they reach their destination.

‘I actually did a detox for a week before. I wanted to drain my body and clean it, and train it a bit. I had an idea that everything should appear sunken. Because it’s hard to imagine, how it is to be sleeping for two years. We talked about it: how groggy are we, how aware are we of the things around us.’

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My Comment: Love the video.

Bringing Computing Into Our Cells

Chemical Circuit A chemical chip can deliver a neurotransmitter like acetylcholine, which enables chemical control of muscles. Linköping University, Sweden

An Integrated Circuit Made of Ions Could Bring Computing Into Your Cells -- Popular Science

The human body isn't a metal machine, but it's still plenty complicated, and regulating it like a machine is tough to pull off. That's why a new discovery by Klas Tybrandt, a doctoral student in Organic Electronics at Linköping University, Sweden, is exciting: he's developed the first integrated chemical chip, similar to silicon-based electronics, but for biologic material.

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Can Our DNA Be Turned Into A 'Living Hard Drive' Able To Store And Erase Data?

Photo: The idea of storing information in living cells has been the plot of sci-fi fantasies such as Johnny Mnemonic, starring Keanu Reeves - and today it has become reality

Sci-Fi Becomes Reality As DNA Is Turned Into 'Living Hard Drive' Able To Store And Erase Data -- Daily Mail

* Sections of living DNA glow red or green to store computer data
* Could be used like computers inside the body
* DNA storage can be written, rewritten and erased at will
* 'Took us three years and 750 attempts,' says lead researcher

It sounds like the stuff of science fiction fantasies, but scientists have turned living cells into data storage devices - like 'living hard drives'.

The idea of storing computer information inside living cells - or human brains - has formed the plot of sci fi thrillers such as Johnny Mnemonic (pictured).

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My Comment: I am curious to know what will be the storage limit from such a tech if it's developed to it's full potential.

Spychips For Soldiers

U.S. Military Developing Spychips For Soldiers -- WND

Government wants 'health' benefits from nanosensors.

The U.S. military wants to plant nanosensors in soldiers to monitor health on future battlefields and immediately respond to needs, but a privacy expert warns the step is just one more down the road to computer chips for all.

“It’s never going to happen that the government at gunpoint says, ‘You’re going to have a tracking chip,’” said Katherine Albrecht, who with Liz McIntyre authored “Spychips,” a book that warns of the threat to privacy posed by Radio Frequency Identification.

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My Comment: It is easy to foresee that one day these chips will be in all of us.

How "Seeing Around Corners" May Become The Next 'Superpower'

Why Seeing Around Corners May Become Next 'Superpower' -- Live Science

Superman had X-ray vision, but a pair of scientists has gone one better: seeing around corners.

Ordinarily, the only way to see something outside your line of sight is to stand in front of a mirror or similarly highly reflective surface. Anything behind you or to the side of you reflects light that then bounces off the mirror to your eyes.

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My Comment: There are multiple applications for this technology.

Breakthroughs In Invisibility Cloak Technology

Scientists Make 'Invisibility Cloak' Breakthrough -- The Telegraph

Scientists in the United States have made a further step towards creating an "invisibility cloak" by masking a large, free-standing object in three dimensions.

The lab work is the latest advance in a scientific frontier that uses novel materials to manipulate light, a trick that is of huge interest to the military in particular.

Reporting in the New Journal of Physics, researchers at the University of Texas in Austin cloaked a 7.2-inch cylindrical tube from light in the microwave part of the energy spectrum.

Those hoping for a Harry Potter-style touch of wizardry will be disappointed however. To the human eye, which can only perceive light in higher frequencies, there would have been no invisibility.

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More News On Scientists Making An 'Invisibility Cloak' Possible

Invisibility cloak uses 'metamaterial' to hide three-dimensional objects -- Christian Science Monitor
Invisibility breakthrough reported -- CBS/Live Science
Scientists pioneer cloaking technology -- Al Jazeera
Breakthrough in bid to create 'invisibility cloak' as 3D object is made to vanish for first time -- Daily Mail
'Cloaking' a 3-D object from all angles demonstrated -- BBC
Cloak's on you: Scientists create 'invisible' object -- CNet
Invisibility’s Next Frontier: Scientists Cloak 3-D Objects -- Danger Room
Scientists Close In on Invisibility Cloak -- Tech News World
Researchers cloak free-standing 3D object using plasmonic metamaterials -- Gizmag
'Invisibility cloak' could be used in 'super stealth' warplanes -- The Week

How Contact Lenses Will Bring Virtual Reality To U.S. Soldiers By 2013

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is working with Washington based company Innovega to develop a system of contact lenses and small wearable glasses giving soldiers a considerable tactical advantage. The ‘Terminator eye’ contact lens would enable soldiers to simultaneously focus on the battlefield and mission data, such as live video from an overhead drone, at the same time. (Photo: Innovega)

Contact Lenses: How They Will Bring Virtual Reality to U.S. Soldiers by 2013 -- International Business Wimes

It has been the stuff of science fiction for decades, but the U.S. military announced on Tuesday it is close to developing a virtual reality contact lens to enhance soldiers' vision on the battlefield.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is working with Washington-based company Innovega to develop a system of contact lenses and small, wearable glasses giving soldiers battelfield information in realtime.

The Terminator-style vision would enable soldiers to simultaneously focus on the battlefield and mission data, such as live video from an overhead drone, at the same time.

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More News On The Development Of Virtual Reality Contact Lens

DARPA developing contact lenses with 'Terminator'-like abilities -- GCN
Contact Lens Technology Could Give Soldiers 'Terminator' Capabilities -- Aol Defense
DARPA Working with Innovega for virtual reality contact lens and eyeware combination
-- Next Big Future
DARPA Works On Virtual Reality Contact Lenses -- Information Week
Virtual Reality Contact Lenses Are One Step Closer to Reality -- Big Think
Virtual reality contact lenses that beam images directly into your eyes could be on sale in 2014 -- Daily Mail
Virtual Reality Contact Lenses Offer 3D Panorama -- Discovery News
New Augmented Reality Contact Lenses/Eyeglasses Offer Entertainment, Help Soldiers -- Daily Tech

Phase Change Memory-Based 'Moneta' System

A view of the internals of the Moneta storage array with phase change memory modules installed. (Credit: UC San Diego / Steve Swanson)

Phase Change Memory-Based 'Moneta' System Points To The Future Of Computer Storage -- Science Daily

A University of California, San Diego faculty-student team is about to demonstrate a first-of-its kind, phase-change memory solid state storage device that provides performance thousands of times faster than a conventional hard drive and up to seven times faster than current state-of-the-art solid-state drives (SSDs).

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Are Holograms The Next Step For 3D Tech?

Holograms, once seen only in science-fiction movies, are swiftly becoming a reality. Newscom

From Christian Science Monitor:

3D TV sets and 3D movies are everywhere in 2010. 3D holograms could be next.

Forget regular old 3D movies, which have crowded the marketplace with alarming alacrity in recent months. Forget even 3D TV. How about a 3D hologram – a three-dimensional telepresence, of the kind once seen only in the most speculative of science-fiction flicks? The technology might be even closer than you think.

The current issue of the science journal Nature features an extensive report from a group of Arizona researchers who succeeded in creating a real-time image – one that can be viewed without glasses – from multiple angles. (Just like in "Star Wars"!) The image, the researchers said, is recorded using a battery of cameras:

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Paper-Thin Screens With A Twist

From The Wall Street Journal:

Lots of researchers have been trying to come up with a way to make flexible displays that work like computer screens but with a literal twist—they can be bent, rolled and folded like a sheet of paper.

The Taiwan-based Industrial Technology Research Institute, or ITRI, won the top prize in this year's Innovation Awards contest for a manufacturing technique that promises to clear the way for commercial development of high-quality displays on flexible materials.

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Epicenter Mind Our Tech Business Beyond the iPad: Massive MultiTouch Displays Have Big Social Potential

Photo courtesy MultiTouch

From Epicenter:

Apple appears to have been right in betting that people would embrace a big version of the iPod Touch; the increased sense of intimacy with no keyboard or mouse chaperons is palpable. But even larger touchscreens, like the one the Finnish company MultiTouch let us play around with last week, can track each fingertip of a large group of people — a key distinction that enables a more social set of behaviors, because multiple people can use them at the same time.

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The Page: An E-Ink Newspaper That Won't Smudge Your Fingers

From Gizmodo:

For some reason I'm skeptical that the one thing keeping newspaper readers from switching to E-Ink readers is the form factor, but that doesn't make this semi-transparent E-Ink newspaper display concept any less cool.

The key word, of course, is concept, but flexible/foldable displays aren't anything new. Nor are interactive content or E-Ink. It's bringing these concepts together in a workable package that might take some time. Meanwhile, though, here's how it would ideally work (without all the wobbly images):

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A Mobile Touchscreen Projectable On Any Flat Surface

Light Blue Optics Light Touch Price not set; lightblueoptics.com Gregor Halenda

From Popular Science:

This tiny projector casts images that you can click and swipe.

When you go to a restaurant in the near future, you might order your food by poking at icons on your table -- they'll vanish when the plates arrive, and spilled drinks won't do them any harm. Light Blue Optics's pico projector is the first to turn any flat surface into a computer touchscreen. It beams a 10-inch display, which can show photos, videos, Web sites or apps running on its simple interface, and uses an infrared sensor to track your fingers' movements. Done browsing?

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Electronics 'Missing Link' Brings Neural Computing Closer

Coming soon to a CPU near you (Image: Patrick Landmann/SPL)

From New Scientist:

WHEN the "missing link of electronics" was finally built in 2008, it was the vindication of a 30-year-old prediction. Now it seems the so-called memristor can behave uncannily like the junctions between neurons in the brain.

A memristor is a device that, like a resistor, opposes the passage of current. But memristors also have a memory. The resistance of a memristor at any moment depends on the last voltage it experienced, so its behaviour can be used to recall past voltages.

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'Minority Report' Digital Billboard 'Watches Consumers Shop'

The billboard's are similar to ones featured in the Tom Cruise film, Minority report.

From The Telegraph:

A “Minority Report” styled digital billboard that targets consumers using customised advertising based on their demographics is being developed by Japanese researchers.

Engineers have developed the billboard, similar to one used in the Tom Cruise blockbuster, that uses in built cameras to instantly identifies a shopper’s age and gender as they walk past.

The facial-recognition system, called the Next Generation Digital Signage Solution, then offers consumers a product it thinks is suited to their demographic.

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