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Technology


Overview

Question:

What new technologies are emerging? Will new software and hardware disrupt how cities are run in 2030?


Submit Trends:http://crowdsensor.mit.edu/trends/2016/technology
Rules:All entrants must agree to the Crowdsensor rules and Terms of Use
Deadline: Friday, September 30 at 11:59:59 PM Singapore Time

 

 

Background

Moore's Law, proposed in 1965, predicted that the number of transistors that could be embedded in an integrated circuit would double every two years. Since then, Moore's law has held overwhelmingly true -- with the effect that our devices have become smaller and more powerful year after year. Cellphones today are a thousand times more powerful than the first computer, ENIAC from 1946, which cost about $6M and occupied 1800 square feet. One can only imagine how technology will change by 2030.

Not only are there increasing advances in computational power, but there are constant improvements in materials such as light yet incredibly strong graphene sheets; software innovations such as blockchain which can enable secure transactions; and fundamental discoveries in areas such as quantum physics that could serve to increase the speed of communications.

Technology can increasingly become embedded in our everyday items and  accomplish a greater variety of things, which is the linchpin of the Smart City. We have the capacity to embed sensors that measure light, force, sound, motion, and many other types of phenomena, in devices that we wear or that can be placed in many types of infrastructure around the city.

It is also possible to implement an increasing number of actuators or batteries in smaller spaces, to power devices that can serve a myriad of functions. It is not hard to imagine a future with automatic food delivery nationwide or emergency levies that rise automatically to protect from incoming tsunamis.

Resources for Trend Authors

See this Sample Trend in the Technology Category for an example of how a completed trend submission might look.