We’ve had glimpses of the future through Sci-Fi movies for decades. From Matrix’s anti-gravity ships to Marty’s self-tying laces from Back to The Future, we often long for such technological inventions to debut.
If Light-Sabers and Warp Drives keep you up at night, you probably have many sleepless nights ahead of you. Because these latest technological inventions won’t make the front page anytime soon. But look at other aspects of the latest technology where enthralling breakthroughs are happening. You’ll realize the future is here already!
Modern inventions like Space Crawlers and prototypes like Jet Suits have already narrowed the gaps between games and reality. However, technological innovations in medicine, rehabilitation, energy, entertainment, and data impact our daily lives the most.
From such overwhelming technology, I’ve gathered the 10 best tech inventions of the 21st century that will change how we live!
1. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is among the modern technology inventions repeatedly assaulted by conspiracies. Will it become autonomous enough to wipe out the entire human race? Or will it start controlling human behavior?
While there is a chance that either of these makes it to reality in time, it is not enough to abandon reason for madness. AI is playing a remarkable role in Medicare, Security, and entertainment. From your growing social media feed to virtual assistants and home automation devices, we’re surrounded by AI wherever we go.
AI has been around since the Dartmouth Conference in 1956. But its prodigious development, from solving fundamental algebra problems to operating a Space Crawler on Mars, is nothing short of a miracle! But since you don’t launch satellites and crawlers out into space on your day off, let’s look into an AI program that can improve your everyday life.
Though having a Virtual Assistant seems cliché from the future’s perspective, it does take many chores off your shoulders. VAs allow you to schedule meetings, make reservations, and even automate your house.
2. Augmented Reality
The hype for 3D theme parks and cinemas suffered a retrogressive decline as AR devices debuted in the mainstream markets. Though its earliest models from the 90s have a segregating distinction from the latest ones, they still set the benchmark for technological inventions that will impact advancements in the future.
You probably know AR from the neon stalls at the supermarket or games like Minecraft Bedrock and Pokémon GO. But that’s only the entertainment side of modern invention. Augmented Reality is reshaping the health sector by allowing for delicate surgeries.
Moreover, its AR has improved the scope of military utility as well. The notorious F-35 fighter jet uses AR to get a 360 view around the aircraft, eliminating blind spots. Also, its role in surveillance and emulation is commendable as it saves millions of dollars for training recruits.
Even the automobile industry has taken up the use of the latest technological inventions for its own good. Big names like Porche and Harley Davidson now give customers exclusive shopping experiences with their cars and bikes.
But to point an area out that you so often make use of and yet ignore, I introduce you to virtual tours. What became so familiar during COVID-19 is that you can now have virtual experiences of a property, historical site, or any point of attraction worldwide!
3. 3-D Printing
3D printing is another modern technological invention that keeps proving critics wrong. What saw much controversy on its capabilities in its initial days is now printing houses, helping the aerospace industry, and whatnot!
We’ve all wished as kids to grab a snack from the TV screen one day. And here we have it. It is that day! New startups are introducing the idea of printing meat and other foods. As surreal as it sounds, it could be the answer to animal cruelty in farms and food production. Though it may not taste as good, there’s no reason not to be optimistic for that to change soon.
Another facet of the recent COVID crisis unearthed about this modern technological invention is its contribution to healthcare. Many startups and renowned countries have 3D-printed personal protective equipment to meet the soaring demands of the public.
All in all, exotic and fine-crafted jewelry is a byproduct of such 3D printing machines. 3D printing is undoubtedly among the best technology inventions to date. And that also has an incredible potential to grow even more soon.
4. Space Tourism
We’ve all seen Star Wars, and we’ve all loved it! And that’s why it’s music to our ears, knowing Space Tourism has already begun. It’s not a far-fetched futuristic idea but one of the most significant technological innovations.
In the early 2000s, Russia announced the world’s first Space Tourism program and sent seven paying customers to outer space. Since Russia shut down its Space Tourism activities in 2010, many private companies are stepping up to the podium.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is among the many names you’ve been waiting to hear on this list. But don’t knock your socks off if I tell you many others and even better companies are out there chasing the same goal. Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin also unquenchably pursue space tourism.
But that’s enough about where we stand today in our reach of outer space traveling. What’s more important is how it opens uncountable possibilities for the future. You can’t be anything short of a millionaire to get aboard one of these tourist ships now. But we hope and foresee a future where it is accessible to a commoner as well.
5. Technology Inventions of Robotics
Robotics is one of the many ancient inventions that underwent glorious modernization. If you think of the old Persian wheel system to water the crops, you’ll see that those mechanics resemble robotics remarkably.
But we’re here to talk about where the field of Robotics is today. You’ll find Robotics to be a part of most technological inventions today. Think of the machine arm working at car manufacturing factories. Or, think of the Mars Crawler collecting data a planet away.
The advancements of Robotics in Military, Medical, and Recreational uses make it a contender for the best technological invention of all time. Automated MRI machines, Biopsy capsules and tubes, and bomb disposal robots are just a few.
Coming over to the daily life where robots surround us, let’s see where we may benefit from them. Start with an automatic vacuum cleaner. It is more expensive than the regular one, but it always keeps your house vacuumed and mopped.
Moreover, you can see the spirit of Real Steel revived in the Metal-on-Metal robot wars. We may not be all the way there in Robotics as advertised in the movies. But we sure are a decent way ahead in integrating our lives with robots!
6. Energy Storage
With greater power comes greater responsibility! The growing sophistication of gadgets and electronic devices beg for only one thing: power. Even though we have some notorious ways of generating power, we don’t equal it with energy storage.
However, until now, Elon Musk has not taken the technological innovation of an electric car battery upon himself. The tightly packed lithium-ion batteries that deliver impressive results for charge/discharge play a more significant role than improving the car’s center of gravity.
These batteries comprise thousands of cells of film width and are tightly packed. But how do you remove tech from a car and apply it to houses, towns, and cities?
Storage of the humungous power required by cities is one of the most common stumbling blocks. But since Tesla broke the ice by introducing an innovative technology invention, it is safe to place your hopes high in the coming year.
Such power storage capacities and options can potentially improve the power problem in many countries. And in return, it contributes to the economy, GDP, and the everyday lives of its citizens!
7. Technology Inventions of Prosthetic Limbs
Prosthetic or robotic limbs are not an entry because of the necessity for medicine and rehabilitation. But they’re such a vital technological invention, so they just can’t be left out. So, let me give you a little context to clear this out!
Remember Cyborg from Teen Titans? That guy was pretty much all prosthetic except for his brain. Now, that was fiction to us a few years ago. In 2018, scientists and researchers from the Johns Hopkins University implanted the first prosthetic limb to a Florida man.
It’s not a screaming cyborg, but it is a promise to thousands of people who’ve lost limbs to war or disease. Unlike older technological inventions, prosthetic limbs do not alter or connect to the brain directly in any way.
Instead, it is connected to the broken nerve endings that can still pulse a signal. Once the time-consuming and delicate chore of binding the nerve endings to receptors is out, a person can freely make the prosthetic arm or leg function.
Evidence shows favorable reactions and precision for the function of the arm. However, it is still a prototype and unavailable for mass production anytime soon. But when it finally reaches the big market, it will be nothing short of a revolutionary breakthrough!
8. Biopsy Capsules
Endoscopy is a key function of the medical universe. A thin autonomous tube with a camera at its end is inserted into your body to collect Biopsies. Biopsies are cutting samples of your internal organs, more likely the intestines.
You and I aren’t the only ones to think of it as a painful and intimidating surgery. Some experts also thought the same and came up with a milder solution. Capsule Biopsies take anesthesia and any other discomforts out of the picture.
As the name suggests, it is a capsule that can navigate and collect intestinal samples. The only difference is that it is much more compact and accessible to process for the body. Also, it is much better designed to reach even the lower endoscopy areas without troubling the patient.
Biopsy Capsules are among the great inventions of the medical industry. In the future, these can be an inspiration to develop and produce such equipment that can help to detect tumors and cancer cells in the body. Though we have an effective way of detecting cancer cells, it may eventually inspire a milder method of killing those tumors without the dreaded chemo.
9. Technology Inventions of Self-Driving Cars
Where’s all the hype dying about self-driving cars? They were nearly upon us a few years back with Mercedes, Google, and Toyota prototypes. But as time elapsed, the heat seems to have died as exponentially as it grew.
Not really, though! Hitting 160 MPH on the highway with your seat turned around is not what we may see anytime soon. But softer advancements are happening as we speak. Cruise control has been around for decades. Although it doesn’t exactly count in self-driving, it still paved the road for the many new features.
We now have car manufacturers like Cruise, who only assemble self-driving vehicles. Cruise is rumored to hit the streets of San Fransisco soon with its self-driving cars. They will allow passengers to pay and travel around the city without the intrusion of a driver.
It is still a rumored thought, so let’s see how far that one goes. But for the minor proofs of self-driving vehicles, you can look at the self-parking and remote-driving features of the new BMZ cars. Seeing all these technological innovations makes me wonder how far the future could be.
10. High Broadband Internet
Covid wasn’t the only controversy to make it to last year’s main stage. With the soaring number of cases, we also heard conspiracies of how the 5G towers may be helping it spread. But that’s not true at all. That’s not how it works!
Internet calls entertainment, connectivity, earning, defense, medicare, and even economies globally. The faster the internet, the more efficient the system it is used for. 5G is the latest technology innovation in wireless internet. Let me show you the bandwidth difference from its predecessors to give you an idea of the hype.
The 3G frequencies we used could support a bandwidth of 2.1 GHz, 4G supports up to 2.5 GHz, and 5G goes up to 95 GHz. Such textbook advancement for this technology can provide limitless opportunities in every field.
Global connectivity will become even more robust, with the weakest economies benefitting from it. No more internet connectivity problems with your PS4 or Chromecast devices! However, installation and coverage are much more expensive than 4G and 3G networks. So, it may take a while to reap the benefits. But it is worth the wait!
Technology Inventions: Conclusion
The technology inventions of today are the most sophisticated versions we’ve seen yet. Either you’re already utilizing some of these miraculous inventions, or you should get a move on to make your life easier with these best inventions!
