The future is already here. Check out some of the awesome technology coming our way in the next few years…

1) Folding screens

Out of the realm of imagination and straight into real life – foldable, flexible screens for phones and tablets are almost here. In fact – one is actually already being sold by startup Royole FlexPai! Big names like Samsung have already made shadowy announcements showing glimpses of the new tech which promises to revolutionise the mobile and display markets.  Being able to fold down a larger tablet style device into a smartphone sized package opens up huge potential for massive screen real estate with maximum portability. With a myriad of possible designs, all open to interpretation by manufacturers, we may see some fresh creativity not seen recently in the ever uniforming smart phone market.

2) Metal 3D printing

Long the domain of plastics and ceramics, metals have not yet been a material of choice for 3D printing. That’s about to change. Previous attempts have been tedious, slow and expensive but with recent advancements we will be seeing more and more unique metal parts, objects and products being produced. This could be a game changer. Imagine a mechanic who can simply print up a broken part? What about the endless intricate and currently impossible products that are unable to be cast? Will we see 3D printing erasing the casting of metal entirely? Time will tell but the manufacturing space is getting more and more interesting.

3) Live translation

Douglas Adam’s pivotal novel, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy introduced the far out sci-fi concept of a fish which, when introduced to the ear, would translate any language instantly into your native tongue. There was even an online translator of the same name back in 2012 which is now known as Bing translator. But now things have evolved with Googles Translator app for example getting a serious AI tech boost of late. Google have introduced pixel buds, bluetooth earphones, which now allow you (on Pixel and Android phones) to talk with someone, live, using up to 40 different languages. While development is still in progress and more nuanced and realistic language support is still needed, we are tantalisingly close to a language barrier free world.