These Technologies Take You Beyond Human Limits

As of today, there are around 400 million monthly active users hanging out inside virtual worlds. Hmm, doesn’t feel all that crowded. But, hey, I live on the other side of your screen. So, the sci-fi future we’ve been waiting for is already here!

But technology is not all about fun and games! It’s also here to make our lives easier. And these inventions are proof of that! So, buckle up as I teleport you to the near future and show you what one day will look like!

You get out of your bed and head to the kitchen for breakfast, or to your smart fridge to be more precise... The world’s biggest tech and appliance companies have been working on developing fridges with some mind-blowing features for quite some time now. These can scan the contents stored inside of them, keeping track of what items you are running low on.

Their built-in touchscreens will display lots of information for you, from your daily schedule to a slideshow of family photos. Just like any other wireless device you have; you’ll be able to connect them to your home’s Wi-Fi. Once they are connected to the internet, they can interact with other connected devices in your home.

So, you’ll even be able to move the show that you were watching in the living room to the touchscreen of your smart fridge and not miss that big twist. This screen will also let you know when and what items you need to reorder, as well as recommend recipes based on the ingredients you already have inside the fridge. The system behind these new and improved fridges will rely on the barcode or the radio-frequency identification tags your food packaging will have.

These are actually already being used by food manufacturers to manage stock and shipping. By scanning the tags or the barcodes, your fridge can access details such as expiration dates to keep an accurate inventory of your food. And in case you’re wondering how much having a fridge that sends you a shopping list will cost you; it will range somewhere between 2000 — 5000 dollars.

Your smart fridge warns you that the coffee cream is expired. Guess it’s time to head to the store. Don’t worry about searching for your wallet, though. You will need neither cash nor a credit card to buy stuff... This will be possible all thanks to the tiny microchips which can be implanted into your hand. Don’t get too excited though... One chip won’t turn you into a cool cyborg or anything...

This chip technology actually already exists in digital house keys, e-tickets, and bank cards. What will make them different now is that once the implantation process is complete, they will get linked to all of your online accounts. This will allow you to open your front door, hop onto the public bus or the train, and buy groceries all with the flick of a wrist. You come home and finally have your morning coffee — with cream.

Now it’s time to actually make yourself something to eat... Such a bore... Or maybe not, thanks to your cyber chef! In 2015, a robotics company shook the culinary world when they presented their new invention: a robot that uses giant hands to cook meals. This master chef comes pre-programmed with thousands of recipes from world-class human chefs, so you won’t need to google how to make the perfect pie crust anymore.

The robot that’s named Moley will do everything from pour to stir, but unfortunately, it can’t prepare ingredients for the recipes it’s going to make. At least yet... Maybe I’ve seen too many movies, but it’s probably not such a great idea to give a robot a knife anyway, right?

However, if you prepare the ingredients yourself and put them inside special containers, it will recognize the ones it’s supposed to use. Once it’s done preparing food, it will clean up surfaces, too. Finally, your own bus boy! Moley can plan and adapt its recipes according to your diet preferences and calorie intake limits. However, you can also add your own recipes to its list through the touchscreen, and it can recreate your grandma’s casserole with a hundred percent accuracy for you.

But you know what? I bet you can hire a personal chef for yourself with the amount you will pay to get Moley, which is 340,000 dollars. And the best part is, they can even prepare the ingredients for you... As the clock strikes noon, you receive a text message from your mom. She reminds you about her visit, which will be in an hour. Uh-oh... You totally forgot about that... You take a look around your house and realize that you haven’t been doing any cleaning for quite some time... But she can’t see it like this...

This is where super suits might come in handy. The Guardian XO is a rechargeable, battery-powered, and mechanical full-body exoskeleton that’s designed to make you faster and stronger! Using its electrical motors and a state-of-the-art set of 120 ultra-precise body sensors, it combines human intelligence, instinct, and judgment with the endurance and precision of machines. It can increase your strength and allow you to lift up to 200 pounds of weight like you’re lifting a feather, and it won’t restrict your movement at all.

So, you can clean under your sofa, bed, or that smart refrigerator pretty easily and quickly before your mom arrives. Talk about productivity! But don’t get your hopes up too much... It doesn’t have the technology to allow you to stop buses like Superman or jump over buildings like Neo... So, it’s not really suited to saving the world, but it can surely be a lifesaver if you’re moving into a new house.

What’s great about it is that you can actually get your hands on it now, that is if you have 100,000 dollars per year to pay its rent... Wow! You finished cleaning so fast that you still got some time left before mommy’s home! Might as well go for a quick run. Because thanks to your suit, you didn’t burn that many calories while cleaning... So grab your futuristic sci-fi sneakers, and let’s head out!

This creature-like footwear called The Cryptide Sneaker is a fully 3D printed shoe. It’s made out of only one material which is a special polymer called thermoplastic elastomer. This material varies in thickness or thinness in different places, meaning while specific parts of the sneaker become stiffer, the others will remain soft and flexible.

So, it is ergonomic and comfortable, in addition to being easy and fast to manufacture. The whole shoe can be printed out in one go, and it doesn’t require any gluing or stitching. And the best part is, its shape can be adapted to your own foot. The only thing needed for that is your foot’s 3D scan!

You head back home just in time to greet your mom! She wants the two of you to spend a nice quiet afternoon together, reading or watching something. You think that’s a great idea, and you show your new favorite book to her. She goes through the pages, but you notice that she is having a hard time reading the words, squinting her eyes. “If only I could zoom in to book pages like I can do with your Instagram photos,” she says. Hey! You have just the thing she needs!

In 2019, a team of researchers created a pair of contact lenses that zoom in when you blink twice. Each eye movement you make gives distinct electrical signals. The zoom-in contact lenses contain electrodes that can track these signals and respond accordingly. The polymers that they are made of expand when a certain electrical current is applied.

So, when you blink twice, the lenses increase their magnification and make everything appear 32% larger for you. However, it looks like you will have to wait a bit longer to start wearing them. The researchers are still trying to figure out how to make them out of the material regular contacts are made of so that they’ll be safer for everyday use.

Aside from the “zoom-in only” lenses though, other researchers have been working on creating what they call “smart lenses” as well! These will have nearly invisible Micro LED displays smaller than a grain of sand, tiny navigation sensors, image sensors, and almost microscopic batteries.

They will help guide you through new cities, and give you information about the buildings and the people! Wow, traveling made easy! Aren’t you glad you have that Trust Fund to pay for this? Wait, no Trust Fund? Well, you can still have Instagram...