Scientists are always striving towards new technologies and studies that will help in human progress and sustainability. An increase in population and rising climate changes has left us no time to sleep on possible resources that can be tapped for energy, food, and overall advancement in different fields to not only sustain life but also pass on knowledge to future generations on what we have developed and studied so far. Here are 10 futuristic concepts that may be possible in the future. 

1 Scientists are in the process of building nanobots that can manipulate and build things at an atomic level. They are used currently in cancer treatment, medical imaging, and sensing devices. Scientists believe they can replicate themselves, enhance human performance, and miniaturize space missions with their capabilities. 

Nanotechnology is considered one of the most powerful tools. A lot of information can be encoded into a minuscule that paved the way to many technological developments. The idea of self-replicating nanobots was mentioned by K. Eric Drexler. These machines will be able to build atom by atom. It can pull out soil, water, and even air, atom by atom because of its miniature shape, and that will be perfect.

The nanobots, according to the study, can manipulate things at an atomic level so that it is precise. Nanobots have been used in many futuristic concepts such as the smallest engine ever created. They have also developed a nanowire that can swim through biological fluids to deliver drugs and target cancer cells. Several researchers are working on a remote-controlled, high-speed version of a rocket combining biological molecules and nanoparticles. (1, 2)

2 Floating cities with ultra-modern amenities has been a dream since the 1960s when architects began drawing up floating cities to deal with the increasing population. The UN has given the green flag to a habitation program for a 4.5-acre floating island that can house 300 people. 

In the 1960s, architects were envisioning a floating city made on stilts, called the “Ville Spatiale.” By 2050, the world’s population will reach 9.7 billion. When Yona Friedman was drawing up this city, British architects collectively imagined a plug-in city that is computer controlled and that comes with an adaptable structure. 

With increasing sea levels and climate change, a dislocating number of people has made floating cities a credible alternative. The founder of the company Oceanix is currently invested in and designing floating cities. The cities will be hurricane resistant, have zero waste, and be planned to house around 300 people. This futuristic concept execution is still in the early stage, but Oceanix is already talking about six such floating cities being bound together to form a cluster. (1, 2)

3 Cultured meat, also known as “vitro,” is being developed to compete with plant-based diets and real-meat consumers. With a growing population and climate change, these lab-grown meats are the future of reliable and sustainable food. 

Research is still required to optimize the cell culture to develop alternatives for all the different breeds available. Unlike conventional meat, cultured meat will be healthier and safer. The impact of cultured meat will reduce the land used for livestock and reduce greenhouse emissions. It still has to compete with other plant-based alternatives to get some consumer acceptance. 

Ethical meats focus on using less livestock than is needed for conventional meat as some animals are required to harvest enough cells for production. By 2050, 70% more food is required to feed the whole population in the world and cultured meat will help with the increase in demand and land limitation over time. (1, 2)

4 Scientists at MIT are working on recording a person’s dreams and even guiding the dreams with a wearable device for “controlled experimentation of dream content.” More studies are being done on interacting with a dreaming brain and manipulating it. It will eventually help to enhance creativity and learning in an individual. 

Researchers are developing a device that can help them to study how dreams work and affect emotion, creativity, and memory. The sleep-tracking device can help the wearer to be guided towards dreams by feeding them information around an idea repeatedly so that their dreams will be about the information they will be fed during the early stages of sleep where they can hear audio while they are slipping into a deep sleep. 

An Individual’s mind is trippy, flexible, and divergent during this stage. The device will be able to track sleep stages and alter dreams. They are also developing the device to work with different platforms like iOS and web to do analysis, storage, and streaming. They are also looking to collaborate with artists to create new artwork with dream technology. (1, 2)

5 Researchers are working on a concept called “mind uploading” which is a theoretical, futuristic approach to scanning the physical structure of the brain to create a digital copy of our mental state into a computer. The brain then will be able to process and respond as a sentient, human brain. 

Scientists believe that building an artificial brain is not far away. This futuristic concept is aimed to create a simulation of one’s mental state. Mind uploading can be done by two methods: copy and upload or copy and delete. They are developing equipment that can scan and map the brain’s salient features. Computer-based intelligence will have the capability to think much faster. 

Mind uploading can eventually be a life-extension technology. They also are expecting to have a permanent backup for one’s mind and store individual mind-files. Through this technology, researchers are planning a virtual reality or a simulation with 3-D models. This technology can help retain the human species after a global disaster or apocalypse to travel interstellar space and create stronger AI. (Source)