The bus of the future

Many designers have their imaginations firmly focussed on the future. As a consequence, specialist blogs regularly publish images that we would swear came out of a sci-fi comic book.

Theoretical aeroplane projects or cars from the year 3000, the craziest ideas are sometimes born from the unbridled creativity of artists who often have their hearts set on inventing concepts that call on the latest technology, at the same time as thinking about how to protect the environment. That is the case with an innovative bus prototype, dreamt up the Hungarian designer Peter Simon.

Designed with the help of very lightweight materials such as composite plastics, the prototype "Credo E-bone" emits absolutely no carbon gases. It is equipped with hydrogen fuel cells, powered in tandem with lithium-ion batteries located on the roof. And to top it off, this concept bus looks frankly pretty amazing

Any surface can become a touchscreen

When we talk about interactive systems between man and machine, we can without exaggeration say that the future is now! In terms of the prototypes produced in recent months, sci-fi movie fans have been able to get excited on more than one occasion. For example, the discovery of the concept of the multi-touch screen (even though you don't exactly touch it), dreamt up by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute, who have been able to detect and isolate the movements of the ten individual fingers of a user.

Displax, a Portuguese company, has just launched a touchscreen film that is just as innovative; it can detect and function with as many as 16 fingers. The "Skin", is ultra slim, transparent and non-rigid, and can be applied to any surface. In addition, the screen is sensitive even if it is behind a layer of glass, provided the glass is no thicker than 17 millimetres.

Neurochips have a future

In the often controversial field of biotechnology, research is moving steadily forward and provides a rather encouraging outlook, particularly in the realm of healthcare.

A team of scientists led by Doctor Naweed Syed, at the University of Calgary, in Canada, has developed a new generation of neurochips. They are able to decode neural signals with the clearest precision yet and will allow for a better understanding of how the brain functions.

In addition, in the future thanks to this kind of system, we will be able to ask neurochips to act directly on brain cells in order to, for example, inhibit sensations of pain. It is also deemed possible to operate artificial limbs via signals transmitted by this new type of electronic chip.

Resourceful high school students

For a number of years now, designers and engineers have been competing to come up with a design for concept cars that are genuinely fuel efficient. The Swiss company Rinspeed, for example, specialises in the creation of prototypes of this kind. Its most recent exploit, a futuristic electric car steered with a joystick, certainly made an impression.

Students from the DeLaSalle School, in Kansas City, in the United States, clearly appreciated this inspiring prototype. An entire class undertook the inspirational task of creating a fuel efficient concept-car. From a distance, their prototype looks like it has been covered with a transparent plastic tarpaulin. But it is the bodywork of the car, ultra lightweight and aerodynamic. Its fuel consumption is equivalent to a car travelling 300 miles per gallon. The Guinness Book of Records has been contacted

Dress up as Iron Man

Do you dream of looking like Iron Man and gaining his superhuman physical abilities? If so, here is some exciting news. The military contractor Raytheon has perfected the biomechanical exoskeleton that it manufactures, which is highly reminiscent of the Marvel comic character.

The futuristic armour, called XOS 2, is more resistant and lighter than previously designed models. The person who slides into the prosthetic outfit can carry out a variety of physically challenging activities with a very satisfying degree of freedom of movement. Using this equipment, an individual can perform tasks that would normally require the strength of 3 people. The exoskeleton was designed primarily for the military.

Space Hotels

Now, you can check into a hotel in space and orbit the Earth as you sleep. The view from your hotel window will be the most spectacular one you have ever seen, with the Earth on one side and the Moon on the other. In between will lie the vast expanse of space, with stars twinkling as far as the eyes can see.

And how will you get to the hotel in space? Flag down a space taxi of course!

The New Hobby of the Super Rich: Space Tourism
Private space tourism is growing in leaps and bound, with people ready to pay a million dollars or more to book a seat on one of the best joyrides ever invented by man.

In facts, there are reports that Virgin Atlantic Airways, owned by the glamorous Richard Branson, is already planning test launches of flights to space this year through its subsidiary company, Virgin Galactic.

However, a time will come when people will no longer be content to simply take a spin through space and then come back down to boring ol' Earth. They will want to spend more time up there in the heavens... hopefully a couple of nights.

Taking this thought forward, an entrepreneurial company wishes to build a hotel in space. The lead contractor at the International Space Station is a Russian company, and it is planning to build the very first hotel in space in order to cash in on the new hobby of the super rich: space tourism.

The company called Energia, and it is actively looking for investors who believe that a private space station is the new big idea for space tourism. Deputy chief designer Alexander Derechin envisages a hotel accommodating around seven people at a time.

It will be fitted with equipment enabling scientists to carry out research. In addition, there will be an entertainment area inside the space hotel.

Apparently it is a guaranteed success, because "commercial space ships are being built around the world - they will need to fly somewhere". Energia has teamed up with Orbital Technologies, according to a report by Reuters.

Investors have already committed up to a billion dollars to the project. Derechin says, "I do not think we will be able to complete it before 2015, but I do not think we should wait much beyond that. The competition is growing and we need to hurry up."

Drool Worthy Gadgets

Wireless chargers, mobile phones with two screens, augmented reality on your car windscreen and on your spectacles, 3D TV without glasses, OLED screens that are modular and flexible and lots more!

If you are not already salivating over these ultra-cool gadgets then, consider this: these are not futuristic gadgets that you can buy and use at some point in the distant future. All of these gadgets already exist in the present and are available commercially right now or will be, very soon. Here is the low-down on all the gadgets that we are planning to buy and that you should jot down on your shopping lists. Get set to drool!

Aren't you sick of wires hanging off your walls and getting tangled around your mobile phones, iPhones, iPads and laptops? Bid them a quick farewell for a wireless charger is here for all sorts of portable gadgets. NTT DoCoMo has launched batteries that use Qi (pronounce it as "chi"). All you need to do is place your mobile on a pad and it starts charging the batteries. Watch the YouTube video to see how it works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHbZWmwU-Zc

Forget about touchscreen mobiles, what would you do if your mobile had two screens and it didn't have a keypad at all? Fujitsu has a prototype dual screen phone that is super-fast with data transfers. It has two screens, one for all your local or offline work and the other for remote or online work. See how the dual screen mobile works here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcCTEZDoh7c

Remember how "Terminator" could focus on something and all the specifications of the object would be displayed in front of him? That is now possible in real life with NTT DoCoMo's "AR Walker". It's a tiny device that can be attached to your spectacles and it becomes your very own augmented reality screen. If you look around, it lists the restaurants or shops closest to you. If you look up, you can see details about the weather and if you look ahead, then navigation and directions are displayed on the glass of your spectacles. See it all here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXBFFtv6EKY

Now, imagine an augmented reality display on the windscreen of your car! You can see the screen of your mobile phone right up on your windscreen as well as seeing the road ahead. Perhaps you might like to know the speed or the model of the car cruising behind you or get an update on the traffic situation? No problem, use Pioneer's augmented reality display device on your car windscreen:
http://www.komverse.com/2010/10/08/pioneer-develops-minority-report-style-visor-for-your-car/

See 3D TV in your own home without those cumbersome glasses. Toshiba's 3D TVs have created a lot of buzz and you can find out more about them here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4DpXDu72OE
http://www.arabia.msn.com/Technology/GadgetsObjects/2010/October/2849241.aspx

Flexible OLED screens made of plastic have been launched by TDK. These are just 0.3 millimetres thick, are more durable than glass screens and can even be bent slightly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04ChF6S1vUo

A modular OLED screen has also been launched by Mitsubishi which you can use to create a screen of any size you want:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rng5Mdu4i1E