Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by HESTA. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words.
Good news, everyone.
Recently, I quietly celebrated the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future by Googling two words: hover boards.
And while we don’t have them yet, despite the iconic 1985 film’s predictions, there are plenty of other amazing things on the horizon for human beings – and most aren’t that far off. Phew.
Here are six awesome reasons not to worry about the future. At all.
1. Solar roadways.
A former electrical engineer in the US has invented a type of solar panel that could be used to pave roads, footpaths and parking lots to create energy farms and generate power for the whole planet.
Inventor Scott Brusaw ran a successful crowdfunding campaign to support his research and received donations from people in 165 companies worth more than $2 million USD.
If successful, the project could mean the end of power shortages and the need to burn coal and fossil fuels.
It would also mean electric cars could recharge anywhere, so we would no longer need to run vehicles on petrol.
Find out more about the project here (post continues after video):
2. Self-driving cars.
Google has invented a self-driving car. Just think about that for a second.
The vehicles contain sensors, which can detect objects up to two football fields away and help them to navigate city streets.
There is a lot of testing that needs to be done to ensure the vehicle’s safety, but we could see them on the market in a number of years.
That would mean that aged or visually impaired people wouldn’t have to give up driving, you could spend your trip to work doing whatever you want and most importantly, 1.2 million lives could be saved each year as car accidents become a thing of the past.
3. Living longer.
It might seem hard to believe, but in the near future, advances in biomedical technology could mean that humans in developing countries could live well past 120.
Innovations in organ replacement and stem-cell therapies are being proven, cancer survival rates are increasing slowly but surely and we have learnt a lot about disease prevention, from healthy eating to how to exercise better.
And now that we’re living dramatically longer and healthier lives we should all be thinking about our superannuation to make sure that we’re also living comfortably as we age. Putting aside just $20 a week will make a huge difference down the track. It’s an easy, smart thing to do right now that will pay off big time in the future.
4. 3D printed everything.
Like the self-driving car, 3D printing already exists, but we haven’t yet seen its full potential.
3D printing is a manufacturing process and means three-dimensional products can be made from digital files.
The technology has a broad range of potential applications and at present can be used for things like prototyping, building architectural models or reconstructing fossils and artifacts.
It also has potential applications in medicine and can be used to build prosthetics or even organs and other body parts further down the track. Whoa.
5. More robots.
A recent report focused on the future of Australian jobs found that robots could do around 40 per cent of them within the next 20 years.
Most obviously affected will be our manufacturing and agricultural industries but we might also have robots that can manage nursing jobs, surgical tasks, meal preparation, driving and even supporting lonely people.
6. Forget Earth, humans could end up on Mars.
The future of manned space exploration is bright. According to experts, humans could one day tread across alien planets that, at present, can only be studied from a distance.
The Mars One project aims to not just have humans set foot on Mars, but to establish a colony there.
NASA engineer Adam Steltzner helped design and test the Mars rover Curiosity, which is currently exploring the planet.
He thinks we will soon be able to send more than just robots to our nearest neighbor.
“I look forward to human footprints on the surface of Mars in my lifetime,” he said.
I have to say, I’m looking forward to it to.
And I’m feeling pretty optimistic about what’s coming.
With or without a hover board.
Which one of these are you most looking forward to?
Speaking of the future, have you seen these classic futuristic films?
DEBRIEF DAILY