The changing landscape of technology

Can we start planning for Mars already? Well, probably that day is not that far away when living on Mars is no longer impossible. Perhaps Arthur C. Clark is not wrong when he says: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic". Innovation and creativity has been the motto of this age of technology, and the incredible results that it has yielded is strengthening our belief that it is just the beginning of an infinite era. Survival of mankind is a great motivator, it inspires us to thrive for more and achieve the unattainable. Pupils of science have taken this to heart and they are making remarkable strives towards the impossible, they are trying to bring changes that will change the current landscape forever, for good.
The future holds many things uncertain, obviously it is for certain there will be technological advancements and futuristic innovations in the coming days.
Invention about age: For Professor Jun-Ichi Hayashi, age is just another number because his breakthrough research on human cell mitochondria has proven that the age of a cell can be actually reversed. The thought of age reversal technology may seem like something from a Christopher Nolan movie but researchers are certain that it can be achieved despite expenses and ethical dilemmas.
Robots: The westerners are very concerned about job opportunities that are taken away by the immigrants, but perhaps the whole mankind should feel insecure about their jobs because the use of robots in every job sector is inevitable. This clearly indicates that the industries are moving towards mechanisation overhaul because of its inexpensive and efficient nature.
Techno-agriculture: At this age urbanisation is most prominent, it is inevitable. We are striving for better quality of life and resources but in midst of this we are moving past the ways of traditional agriculture. Therefore, researchers are keen to explore the arena of techno-agriculture. The UN predicts that by 2050 more that 80% of the world's population would live in urban areas, as a result vertical pink farms were conceptualised to decentralise the food producing industry. These farms were designed to grow crops of all kinds in an automatically monitored climate which will reduce the use of resources. In near future, given the high rate of urbanisation and limitation of resources, vertical pink farms may well be the only way to ensure food protection.
Atmospheric water harvesting: The impacts of global warming are already visible. Climate change is having a huge impact on the lives of hundreds from the coastal lines of Bangladesh to Arizona of the USA. Climate change due to global warming is causing unprecedented droughts and salinisation of water in different parts of the world is leading to crisis of clean water which is elementary to our survival. Researchers have developed an innovative way to retain water from the atmosphere, which is better known as atmospheric water harvesting. Most often this is done by using micro nets that collects water from the atmosphere and stores them into collection chambers which can be later used for multiple purposes. We are facing a dire challenge given the current environmental conditions and atmospheric water harvesting seems like the most promising way to combat the issue of water safety.
3D printing: Now a days, 2D is old fashioned and even most movies are in 3D. The emergence of 3D printers has introduced whole new possibilities to the way we look at things. Once unimaginable is now possible, we can now print any desirable objects in 3 dimensions and use them for respective purposes. Scientists, researchers, and designers have taken this opportunity to print 3D models which enables them to better comprehend their work and bring about effective changes if needed. The impact of 3D printers are widespread including education, pharmaceuticals, and electronics; each of these fields has yielded enormous benefits from the 3D printing and will continue to do so in future.
Technology has evolved over time to enable mankind to achieve the unachievable, it has been key to our survival and will be detrimental to our survival in the future too. It would be foolish not to prepare for what is yet to come; the future is near, therefore, we might as well be prepared for it does not always unfold thefinest. Mark Kennedy once said, "All of the biggest technological inventions created by men- the airplane, the automobile, the computer - say little about his intelligence, but speaks volume about his laziness". At the end of the day may be it is laziness that will be key to mankind's survival. So the question remains, are we lazy enough to aim for Mars?
The writer is a second year Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE)
student at North South University, Dhaka, [email protected]