Arriving In The Future

by Dave Horrigan

Elon Musk announced last week that he was going to send a colonizing rocket to Mars in 2019. On the same day UPS announced that they will be starting drone package delivery in the next couple of months. On the same day Japanese astronomers discovered a close-by potential back-up earth and expect to find more soon.

Back on the home front we will be eating 3D printed food shortly and it will look tasty and be nutritious.

In the wardrobe, shoes will be able to be printed at home soon and they will reference your DNA so they take into account the way you personally move for comfort and support.  And according to Wired magazine you won’t be able to say no to existing printed fashion because it will just be too cool and attractive.

It used to be that announcements like the first three were years apart. Then months and then days. Those first three arrived in my email inbox minutes apart!

It looks like we have arrived. We’re here. The future has become a has-been. Ah yes, I remember the future…

I guess there is nothing left for me to do…

The only future gadgets left to develop are the HoloDeck and the teleportation machine. That said, there are a couple of groups working on them and they aren’t too far away. Oh, and one other thing… the personal robot.

Years ago when editors were writing about Apple going out of business I started a newspaper column to set the record straight. A year later I was informed that Steve Jobs read my column regularly. Every once in a while I would have a vision or dream that involved Apple’s future and I would write it up and send it off to him.  Most were too futuristic for a direct response but I suspect they were actually considered. My vision of the Apple Store was a semi-trailer that unfolded in a strip mall parking lot once a week. It opened up, becoming a course room, sales display and repair facility. A take-it-to-the-people kind of model that solved many of Apples problems at the time. That was nine months before the first Apple Store was announced, but that looked nothing like my baby.

Another vision I sent him was that of seeing Apple as the prime supplier world-wide of humanoid assistant robots. iBots, if you will. Something you could actually hold a conversation with. They would be your best friend, your loyal servant and your valiant defender. They would be your strong back when needed and your sharp eye when yours weren’t that available. In my vision they were less than fifteen grand and would last for years. They could be armed and provide faultless security against home invaders of all types.

In the vision the robots were programmable so the tech entrepreneur  community would develop functionality and the hardware interfaces like hands and preceptors would likewise be receptive to public contribution and development. Consider Batman’s tool belt to get the scope of the idea.

For teens the iBot would be fast and agile for sports coaching and athletic training. It would be a perfect wingman and be the ultimate mansplainer for all unanswered questions. Bullies and predators would no longer have reign as the iBots documentation would expose inexcusable behavior in steady, high resolution, SurroundVue video. All social problems related to threats and secrecy would be relegated to footnotes in history.

For seniors, the iBot would know all of their limitations and frailties and could anticipate hazards and take corrective action. Keeping track of vitamin schedules and prosthetics location would be a no-brainer for these helpful wardens. They could also offer an assist out of bed on damp mornings and be a pleasant sounding board for complaints and the dilemmas of age. From pushing a wheel chair to mixing an evening cocktail the iBot would be an indispensable friend and advocate.

In the office, each iBot Pro could be its own Starbucks franchise and computer maintenance/security geek. They could also monitor owners appearance and performance and offer suggestions for achieving boss impressing excellence. Apparently, there will still be ambitious people in the future.

I am told that some time this year Apple will become the worlds first trillion dollar market cap company. It is focussing on content to get there. It didn’t get there with content;’ it got to where it is by creating content creation and content using devices. Granted it’s a good place to pick up a few billion but Apple needs a new future. The old one is done.

In the US 1.2 million people have declared housekeepers and the average pay is $18,000 per year, every year. That’s a 20 billion dollar market in the US alone. That doesn’t count what people would pay for undeclared housekeepers, friends, handymen and support staff. Apple’s next trillion is already sitting there waiting.