Future Trends 1

Computıng ıs relatıvely new and ıs developıng at an ıncreasınly fast rate. Because computers are general purpose instruments, they can be used in many different ways.It is impossible to predict with any certainty how compters will be used in the future, but some new developmants have already taken place which are certainly likely to become more important in the future. Three important computing topics considered in this unit are robotics, virtual reality, and smart cards.

Robots in human form have often featured in science fiction. Robotic arms are commonly used for car manufacture, nuclear plants, and for bomb disposal. In the future, insect-sized robot micromachines (tiny mechanisms built on electronic chips) may be used as sensors or for doing work in very small spaces which are difficult to access. They may even be used inside the human body for drug delivery, curing common ailments.

Virtual reality (VR) is already used for games and entertainment. The user wears special headgear that projects 3-D images into their eyes, and special gloves to provide a sense of touch. It is likely that VR will be used in many ways in the future, including providing a home shopping entertainment, and allowing premises to be guarded remotely. It is also likely to be used for air traffic control and for training doctors, allowing them to practice difficult operations safely.It might even be used for virtual travel.More speculatively, computers may be connected directly to the human brain using a direct neural interface (DNI) to change the brain of the user, allowing them to do things they couldn’t do before.

Smart cards are already being used for storing information about the user, for controlling access to facilities, and a means of providing money in an electronic form. Medical cards, which store information about the user’s medical history, may become common;and banks are already experimenting with the use of smart cards.Smart cards will have a wide variety of uses and are likely to become very common in the near future.

Voice and language recognition will provide an easy interface, avoiding the problem of technophobic users. Telecomms applications will be more common. They will contain smart databases and virtual environments with identity verification (ID), encryption, translation and other services based on voice processing. They will include a natural voice interface to talk to the computer, artificial intelligence, voice synthesis and visualization technology.

Electronic money will be used on the Net. Changes in work practices may lead to teleworking (working at home while communicating with your office by computer, telephone and fax). High bandwidth connections (communications links with a high signal capacity) will be available in trains and planes. Smart phones will help users to deal with the deluge of information from the electronic revolution.

3 Answer the following questions:

1 Is computıng developıng at an ıncreasınly fast rate?

2 Is it possible to predict how compters will be used in the future?

3 What are three important computing topics considered in this unit?

4 How may insect-sized robot micromachines be used in the future?

5 What may a direct neural interface (DNI) be used for?

6 What is VR likely to be used for in the future?

7 What are smart cards being already used for?