Seeing the earth from space, doing mathematical calculations that would normally take hundreds of years, having a romantic date with a robot, or driving a flying car are situations that we still relate to a science fiction movie, however, this technology could affect our medium and long term life.
Science and technology work hand in hand to develop products that can change the way we live every day. We saw it with color television, promoted by the Mexican engineer Guillermo González Camarena in 1940, (although the first record of color television transmission is attributed to the Scottish John Logie Baird in 1928).
González patented the Field Sequential Trichromatic System (known as STSC), a method for transmitting color television around the world.
At first, this invention was very expensive for the general public, and was only used by large mass media companies, or for medical purposes that consisted of recording operations and transmitting them in color in anatomy lessons.
Later, this technological milestone of the twentieth century was increasingly accessible to everyone, and today we can find a color television or mobile device screen in almost any corner of the world.
Flying cars
The flying car Klein Vision AirCar.
What is it?
It is a generic name given to every utility vehicle with the capacity to transport people without touching the surface.
Flying cars are also by far one of the most recurring fantasies in most science fiction stories.
How much does it cost today?
The Dutch company PAL V-Liberty, for example, made one of the world's first flying cars.
The model is valued at more than 370,000 euros.
However, this amount will grow depending on the version and equipment chosen.
When could it be available to the majority of the population?
PAL V-Liberty hopes to perfect the model by 2022. Enaire will test the first flying taxis in Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela in 2022, and Toyota's Skydrive model is expected to be ready by 2023. “Licenses and regulations will be needed to be able to drive these vehicles, It is difficult, we see it now with drones ”, explains Vicente De los Ríos, CEO of Líderes y Digitales and professor at the School of Industrial Organization.
“As production costs go down, this technology could be manufactured in a massive way, and logically it will be more accessible to all, however, it would be necessary to invest in teaching the population how to use it, and have infrastructure and cities that suit these cars.
In all technological inventions there is an acquisition cost and another operating cost, ”says De los Ríos.
Where and who is already applying this technology?
Some companies that are developing this type of car are: PAL V-Liberty, Toyota, Enaire, Terrafugia TF-X, and KleinVision.
All are in the testing phase and are subject to the regulatory framework that will be reached in the coming years.
spacial tourism
British billionaire Richard Branson, a pioneer of space tourism.reuters
What is it?
It is a type of travel that takes place more than 100 kilometers above the Earth.
These trips are by rockets or spaceships, and, for the moment, are for recreational, pleasure or business purposes.
How much does it cost today?
British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic company is asking for $ 250,000 per seat.
NASA in conjunction with the company SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, offered a flight for 55 million dollars per passenger, according to the
BBC
.
Blue Origins, by Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon, could charge two million dollars per seat.
When could it be available to the majority of the population?
Japanese millionaire Yusaku Maezawa bought the first tour package to get to the moon.
If all goes according to plan, it will depart in 2023 aboard
SpaceX's
Starship
.
Musk intends to take humans in 2026, however, NASA believes that it could be extended until 2033. In any case, the dates of space missions are difficult to predict.
"In space tourism there is a very high danger, so for the business to be universal, you have to have a very high guarantee of success," explains De Los Ríos.
Where and who is already applying this technology?
The companies SpaceX, Blue Origins, The Space Perspective, Zero 2 infinity, Virgin Galactic are the main ones.
Personalities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher, or Angelina Jolie already have their tickets to travel to space in some of these companies.
Sex robots
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What is it?
Human-like technological devices that answer certain questions, express emotions and are designed to satisfy the sexual needs or requests of their users.
How much does it cost today?
'Harmony', the first prototype of a sex robot with artificial intelligence from the company RealDoll, costs $ 5,999.
The robot dolls on the RobotCompanion page range from $ 2,000 to $ 3,500.
When could it be available to the majority of the population?
Sex robots can now be purchased online.
"Surely in the coming years we will see how this type of device is complemented with technologies such as virtual reality, thus allowing a more complete user experience", says Fernando Suárez, president of the General Council of Professional Engineering Associations (A Coruña).
"This fact was even reflected in the cinema through the film
Her
(2013)
, where the protagonist, Joaquin Phoenix, develops a relationship with a virtual artificial intelligence assistant personified through the voice of Scarlett Johansson," recalls Suárez.
Where and who is already applying this technology?
RealDoll, RealRobotics, RobotCompanion, Orient Industry companies are the most famous worldwide.
In RealDoll, for example, the user can design them to their liking, choosing whether they want it to be a woman, a man or a transsexual.
Also choose between different types of bodies, types of nipples, hair colors or makeup.
Quantum computing
The IBM quantum processor.
What is it?
The computers we handle usually use
bits
(
binary digit
,
or binary digit) to store information.
The
bit
is the minimum unit of information used in traditional computing.
Each
bit
can have two values: 0 or 1. However, quantum computing uses the
qubit
as the minimum unit
.
Unlike the
bit
, which can only be in one of those two states, the
qubit
can be in states 0 and 1 simultaneously and store much more.
A quantum computer would be able to run algorithms that are very difficult for today's computers, and perform quick calculations that would normally take hundreds or thousands of years.
How much does it cost today?
There is no specific price, however, "this technology will have a millionaire value in the near future, since each computer is unique in its kind", says Ricardo Peña Marí, professor of computer engineering at the Complutense University of Madrid.
When could it be available to the majority of the population?
“Quantum computers are in the same phase as today's computers in the 1950s.
A quantum computer can occupy an entire room, ”explains Peña.
In about 10 years they could be commercially available only to governments, laboratories and mainly large companies.
Where and who is already applying this technology?
Some companies such as IBM, Google, Microsoft or Alibaba have launched into the quantum computing race.
"Quantum computers are in the development phase and are not yet capable of storing and performing large tasks," concludes Peña.
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