Looking Forward: 2005's Top Ten

What advances in technology will we see in the next 10 years? How about PCs that will fit in a back pocket, smart systems able to control the manufacturing process from beginning to end, molecular-level manufacturing, or even anti-aging creams that actually work.

These are among the possibilities compiled by researchers at Battelle (Columbus, Ohio), an international technology company that works with industry and government. Battelle polled some of its leading scientists to get a consensus "top ten" list of strategic technologies for the next decade. Borrowing from "The Late Show's" David Letterman, following are the top ten strategic technologies, in ascending order of importance:

10) Edutainment - educational games and computerized simulations.

9) Hybrid fuel vehicles. Smart vehicles will be equipped to handle several types of fuels and will select the appropriate fuel for various conditions. A car may run on reformulated gasoline and use natural gas or electric panels as a backup. Gasoline will still be used, but will be reformulated and combined with other energy sources to reduce emissions and increase performance.

8) Medical treatments, with highly accurate sensors and problem locators, and drug delivery systems that will be highly specific to precisely targeted parts of the body. For example, chemotherapy would be targeted for just the cancer cells, thus reducing the side effects, such as nausea and hair loss.

7) Anti-aging products and services, ranging from genetic code manipulation to aging creams that actually work.

6) Cost-effective systems that integrate power, sensors and controls. These "smart systems" will continue to develop and eventually control the manufacturing process from beginning to end. This has extensive consumer product and industrial applications.

5) Miniaturization of electronics for personal use. Interactive, wireless, data centers in a unit the size of a pocket calculator will serve as a fax, telephone and computer with a hard drive capable of storing all the volumes in a city library.

4) Digital high-definition television (HDTV) will be a major breakthrough for American manufacturers and a major source of revenue, eventually leading to better computer images for advanced computer modeling and imaging.

3) Compact, long-lasting and highly portable energy sources, including fuel cells and batteries.

2) Super materials. There will be computer-based design and manufacturing of new materials at the molecular level. There are an unlimited number of molecules, and researchers will change them to create new, high-performance materials for use in transportation, computers, energy and communications.

1) Mapping of the human genome for genetic-based personal identification and diagnostics. Researchers will look for ways to treat diseases before they occur. Genome mapping also could lead to cures for specific cancers.

Click here to return to Table of Contents for the Intelligent Manufacturing April issue.