The UK’s Department of Science has released a series of bite-sized introductions for some of the most exciting emerging technologies of our time.
The guide details a variety of emerging technologies, including neural technology, metamaterials, computing, carbon management technology, fusion energy, robotics, and humanoids.
They use the latest evidence and expert insights to set up recent technological developments, potential applications, and opportunities for government along with challenges.
How will new technologies rebuild the industry?
Emerging technologies guides can be used by policymakers to support strategic decision-making. They are:
Neurotechnology
This emerging technology is being improved by better sensors, smaller, less invasive designs, and using cutting-edge artificial intelligence.
Several small yet exciting demonstrations of neurological technology have raised interest from helping people walk and communicate again after an injury to play computer games with their brains.
However, taking neural techniques from the lab for clinical or commercial use slowly and difficult.
The future of neuroengineering development and use in medical and non-medical environments is highly uncertain. There are clear possibilities to help you understand and treat a wide range of illnesses, but there are risks and challenges to expanding this technology to commercial products.
Metamaterial
Metamaterials are made up of repeating substructures known as metaatoms. These can be designed, designed and combined to produce advantageous properties.
Most are designed to interact differently from energy that travels into waves, such as electromagnetics. Others are designed to enhance mechanical, structural, or thermal properties.
Metamaterials are considered an emerging technology that is important for future networking, such as 6G. As the diversity of metamaterial technologies under development increases, so does the area of potential applications.
For example, high temperature management of space applications, compact augmented reality optics, biosensors, antibacterial materials, or more efficient solar panels and wireless charging.
Future computing
To meet the ever-growing demand for performance, scientists and engineers are innovating chip design and software and exploring new materials. New technologies in computing, such as quantum and neural morphology, provide potentially substantial performance and efficiency improvements or solutions to currently unwieldy problems.
The new computing paradigm is unlikely to completely replace classical computing, but is likely to be increasingly integrated into hybrid systems to enhance performance in specific applications.
For example, optical components can increase speeds between chips, while neural variation chips can allow for efficient processing of analog signals.
Carbon Management
Many different approaches are under development. They range from capturing carbon from industrial point sources directly from the atmosphere and the ocean, to nature-based systems used to capture and store CO2 using environmental functions and management.
Research and development (R&D) efforts focus on increasing the efficiency of these emerging technologies and demonstrating their effectiveness on large scale.
This involves not only optimizing the process of capturing more carbon dioxide at less energy and costs, but also conducting extensive testing and pilot projects to verify the performance of the technology in real-world industrial environments.
Fusion energy
Fusion uses very high temperatures and density to fuse hydrogen atoms in reactions that release energy. This is captured as heat and is used to create electricity.
There are multiple approaches to create the required extreme conditions using strong magnetic fields, compression, or combinations.
Although some private companies have set up the 2030s for pilot power plant delivery, there is still much to explore. Some experts believe that fusion will likely make a significant contribution to the energy mix from the 2040s onwards.
Fusion Research tackles the extreme challenges of physics and engineering and creates emerging technologies that can be used in other sectors.
Robotics
Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, sensors, materials, batteries and electronics enable increasingly highly capable and versatile robot designs, supporting use in a wider range of applications.
Advanced robots can function autonomously with accuracy, collaborate and quickly adapt to new tasks and situations.
For the remainder of the last decade, robotics technology is likely to continue expanding into new sectors and applications, especially if costs drop, and costs fall in areas such as dexterity and autonomy, and advances continue.
Artificial intelligence is very likely the key to unlocking new, improved robotic capabilities, such as autonomy in difficult environments.
humanoid
Humanoid robots require a very complex combination of technology, including high-precision and resilient hardware, sensors, and software.
Since the 1980s, humanoid robots have developed substantially, becoming more mobile, dexterous, and able to better recognize and respond to the environment.
However, implementing general-purpose humanoid robots for commercial use remains a critical technical challenge.
The most advanced humanoid robots are being tried out in highly structured environments such as factories and warehouses. In the future, highly capable, mobile, dexterous, and autonomous humanoid robots have potential applications in most areas of the economy and society.
A quick evaluation of the future of technology
A bite-sized guide to emerging technologies is part of a series of rapid technology assessments (RTAs). They are being added to RTA, covering artificial intelligence, new batteries, digital twins, 4D printing, nucleic acid technology and synthetic genomics.
Professor Angela McLean, Chief of Government Scientific Advisor, explained:
She concluded: “We hope they will spark conversations about what the UK needs to do to make the most of these technologies.”
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