1.
3D METAL PRINTING
3D printing already seemed to be a promising technology that
would reduce the repair costs of certain appliances and everyday
objects. In fact, the additive manufacturing market is a reality that
is expected to soon reach multimillion-dollar levels: it is estimated
that in 2023 the 3D printing sector will reach a value of +$30,000M
(+€25,000M at the current exchange rate).
Well, then… technology has evolved even more and what until now
seemed impossible is no longer so. Until now, creating objects
with materials other than plastic was too expensive. However,
now startups like Fabric8Labs or Markforged have developed 3D
printing of metals, which opens the door to a new world in the
manufacturing of any product. In fact, the possibility is already
being considered that companies will stop manufacturing on a
large scale and stock products and start creating them on
demand.
2. SPACE MINING
Traveling to space to intercept meteorites and asteroids and
extract useful materials on our planet seems like the plot of an
extremely futuristic astronaut movie. However, NASA has already
identified more than 12,000 asteroids with iron ore, nickel and
precious metals in concentrations much higher than those found
on Earth. In other words: an expensive space trip to extract those
materials could be profitable.
Although the space industry has not yet put aircraft outside our
planet to extract metals, the race led by corporate giants like
SpaceX suggests that it will not take long to see a real case of
space mining.
Meanwhile, the Spanish startup Disrupt Space promotes the arrival
of this new activity and others in the space economy by
connecting entrepreneurs in the aerospace sector with potential
investors and space agencies.
3. FLYING TAXIS
While the arrival of the autonomous car seems imminent
(and a good example of this is the growth of startups
dedicated to this sector), there are already those who
have set their sights on the sky: flying taxis are the next
frontier for a good handful of entrepreneurs. who, in fact,
are having success in obtaining financing to develop
their respective projects.
Thus, if Uber plans to launch flying taxis by 2023 and
Airbus would already be testing its first prototypes, the
startup Lilium has managed to raise $90M to develop its
own flying taxi (about €77M at the current exchange
rate) and Joby Aviation has closed a financing round with
$100M (about €90M at the current exchange rate)
contributed by giants such as Toyota and Intel.
4. UPLOAD YOUR MIND TO
THE CLOUD
Mind uploading is the futuristic approach that proposes uploading
the mind of a human being onto a computer, thus making
immortality viable: when our body can no longer handle it, the
mind will continue to exist and perhaps can even be implanted
later in an android. As crazy as it may sound today, this activity
promises to be a successful industry of tomorrow.
The Spanish scientist Rafael Yuste is already working on an
essential preliminary step: the mapping of human neurons. From
there, startups like [Link] will be able to have a greater
knowledge of the functioning of the human brain to be able to
carry out this futuristic hosting of our mind in a computer.
5. SMART CITIES
If until now the smart city approach has not been
reflected on our streets at the moment of truth, the
future could involve the real implementation of an entire
army of sensors in cities. In fact, there is already talk of
a new concept, that of “sensitive cities”, in which
projects do not try to adapt old streets to technology, but
rather neighborhoods are created again from scratch.
One of the many startups in the sector is the Spanish
Urbiotica.
6. DISEASE PREDICTION
While genetic analyzes are beginning to reach the general public
thanks to a considerable reduction in costs and with the function
of knowing more about our ancestors, the truth is that this branch
of science allows much more than knowing where we come from.
Specifically, an individual genetic analysis could be used to
predict what diseases we will suffer from in the future. This is
precisely what some startups are already doing, putting kits on
sale with which users can send DNA samples to be analyzed for
future diseases. This is the case of the Spanish 24Genetics.
8. BIONIC BODY MEMBERS
Human beings have limitations that bionics hope to overcome,
especially when these pose a problem in the daily life of a patient.
Thus, the American startup iBIONICS (from Ottawa) is working on
a solution so that the blind can see.
Meanwhile, other projects turn to bionics for other, somewhat
more visible solutions. This is the case of the British Open Bionics,
which has developed a 3D printed arm for children that grows as
they get older: the bionic limb adapts as they grow and can thus
accompany them in their development.
9. HOLOGRAMS
The technology that George Lucas popularized in Star Wars does
not exist: for now, it is impossible to see a person who is
somewhere else except through a video call, which is something
very different from the popular but non-existent holograms.
However, this technology is advancing and there are several
projects that are approaching the invention of these three-
dimensional representations of something that is somewhere else.
The startups Leia and 8i, in addition to multimillion-dollar projects
such as Microsoft's HoloLens or Magic Leap, suggest that
holograms are close to being a reality in our daily lives, and that
they could also be an interesting sector in which to invest.
10. PRINTED FOOD
Even more incredible is the possibility of 3D printing food. If we
started the article with metal printing, we end this compilation
with a sector that is already real: in 2016 the first 3D printed food
restaurant opened its doors in London and it is not a unique or
extravagant project.
In Spain, without going any further, the startup Natural Machines
sells its Foodini, the 3D printer with which it is possible to create
and produce food. Beyond the originality of the method, useful
applications are already being sought for this technology: this is
the case of the German company Biozoon, which has created 3D
printed foods that, once in a solid state, quickly turn back into
powder once they are used. we ingest Why is it useful? Its solution
is designed for feeding older people with problems swallowing
solid foods.
