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POWER OF THOUGHT
Future of Mobile Devices
by Jason Snell Futuristic depictions in film have shown people using slick handheld devices (Star Trek), immersive helmets (Lawnmower Man) or physically plugging into a network (The Matrix). These images may make for good fiction, but don't seem to be the trajectory of development we're on. If you consider what an iPhone or Android can do compared to a mobile device from 10 years ago, the possibilities for the next ten years seem nearly limitless. They may look something like this. Picture a person sitting down on a park bench. No laptop, no visible mobile device. They seem to lost in thought. However they are listening to an song that is housed on a computer server, surfing the web, and chatting with a friend across the country - all inside their brain. Mobile devices continue to get smaller, more integrated, and more powerful. It could get to the point where the device is a very small ear piece, nearly invisible to anyone. The device would get it's power from the electric current that occurs naturally inside the human body (Economist, "A Biological Battery"). There would be no need for a user interface like buttons or a touch screen because the device would be able to receive commands from the users brain (Economist: "The Power of Thought"). Similarly, there would be no need for audio speakers or a visual screen because the device could transmit electric currents back into the user's brain, stimulating it to perceive any sort of data - sounds, images, text. The device would simply act as a port between a wireless data network, similar to our current wifi networks, and sending and receiving electric impulses with the user's brain. Futuristic depictions of displaying data in presentations often show people moving images or text that are floating in a 3D space (Minority Report). However with these devices, no physical display or audio would be needed. In a situation like an office presentation, each attendant could wireless link their device into the presenter's device. Each person would then see and hear the same data as the presenter. The data would go from the server, to the presenter's device, then routed out to each attendee's devices. Dialog could happen either physically through spoken words, or through thoughts in the closed wireless networks. Just as computers can be hacked, security measures would be needed so hackers wouldn't be able to interfere with a user's connection to the network. either sending unintended data, or attempting to access the user's interactions with the device. Each person would still have their private thoughts, not used to send commands to the device. However that line may blur as the devices become more sensitive to picking up electrical signals from the brain. So instead of people walking around tapping text messages or surfing the web on their mobile devices, they may be walking around simply appearing lost in thought. It doesn't provide for a flashy visual fit for fiction and cinema, but it seems to be the trend given the recent developments with electrical currents between devices and the human brain. Sources: A Biological Battery http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/tm/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14790488 Power of Thought http://www.economist.com/theworldin/displayStory.cfm?story_id=E1_TDTDVDNG&d=2008
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Jason Snell (jason@lowres.com)
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