10 technologies to watch in 2011

12/15/2010 8:55 AM EST

This is indeed a great collection worked out as a compilation for comming year, gesture recognition will be very getting very much acceptance and 3D as well will be getting more accetance.

12/15/2010 11:37 AM EST

These are more like the technologies to watch in the next 10 years. Most of them surely will not be commercialized or mass marketed in 2011.

12/15/2010 12:38 PM EST

It is true that the Human machine interfacing is advancing a lot and the machines are getting a lot more intelligent to understand humans better.There will be a new language originating to communicate with machines, like the sign language or gestures.

12/15/2010 1:10 PM EST

Thanks EEtimes for the compilation. Great job.

12/15/2010 1:55 PM EST

"Personal power management may put you in charge", but it only matters when time of day power rates hit the residential market. At that time it will become worthwhile for users to shift loads from peak time to low demand times. Alternatively, the power company could install a remote controlled device that allowed them to briefly shutdown heavy power use appliances during peak demand periods in exchange for lower utility rates (no user intervention required). We had that in 1998 in Winter Park, Florida and were pleased by the lower power rates we received in exchange.

12/15/2010 3:55 PM EST

This technology could be great for deaf people who communicate with American Sign Language (ASL). An ASL to text or voice interpreter would allow the deaf community to interact much more with the hearing community.

12/15/2010 4:29 PM EST

Battery tech to watch in near term.
http://www.planarenergy.com/

12/15/2010 5:41 PM EST

Interesting article. I have more interest to see how the mobile 3D technology evolves. The news about A123 to build systems for SAIC is also interesting but I still have some concerns on EV acceptance.

12/15/2010 8:55 PM EST

Who could predict technology. If we can can, there would be no Facebook by the young Time Person of the Year. These are all guess works.

12/15/2010 9:26 PM EST

Microsoft's Xbox Kinect really kickstart a new race of gaming concept in the living room.

12/15/2010 11:45 PM EST

Majority of these technologies listed to watch are in the field of electrical engineering. How about other braches of engineering? Also, in electrical/electroincs engineering there are many other fields left out. Can we have wider look at technology?

12/16/2010 6:02 AM EST

The Automatic Radar for cheaper cars technology in my opinion will be very important and can help in saving millions of lives all over the world if it can virtually take control out of those reckless drivers zooming at fastest possible speeds and flouting all traffic rules .

12/16/2010 6:10 AM EST

As a DisplaySearch analyst, we absolutely did NOT forecast the uptake of 3D in 2014 to be glasses-free sets. The oncost of 3D processing is low for 120 or 240Hz sets. These are what is forecast. TV set makers will add 3D as a check-box feature, but the glasses and transmitter may not be in the box with the set. Auto-stereoscopic 3D is a long way off still in TV.

12/16/2010 8:38 AM EST

Just one word...nanotechnologies

12/16/2010 11:05 AM EST

To @aktor: the predictions are for 2011...there is no way in my opinion that nanotechnology can commercialize anything on such a short time scale...Kris

12/16/2010 12:16 PM EST

@iniewski: Nanotechnology for your information is already widely used in commercialization. Why is it that everyone assumes that anything nano has to do with microscopic robots or something like that. nanocarbon tubes are already used in several products. stop thinking that future is in future...its now and here start using it!

12/16/2010 12:28 PM EST

This is EE times as an Electrical Engineering Times. Why are some people asking or mentioning technologies that are outside the field? Though other engineering disciplines are important, they are not to be deeply discussed in this newspaper and the focused should always be EE.

12/16/2010 1:53 PM EST

Good to see that there are a couple of technological developments on energy management and energy storage, which might take place in 2011. Apart from those two, I am very much interested in watching out for the "fully bio-degradable electronics". Is there already any progress made so far on this technology - “fully bio-degradable electronics"?
Also I am curious to know, based on what information, these top ten technology was highlighted in this article?

12/16/2010 2:31 PM EST

To MajestTEK: appreciate your comment, perhaps I am not informed...could you kindly point out any meaningful commercial applications of nanotechnology today? Kris

12/16/2010 6:39 PM EST

Most of the technologies seems like directly coming out from the sci-fi world. Its good to know that what seems unimaginable for today is reality for tomorrow! Will surely be interested in reading/following/commenting more about new and interesting technologies of the future which will keep us young engineers motivated.

12/16/2010 6:58 PM EST

To: Himanshu_Gupta: Agree, there is a big difference between nano device that has some unique properties due its nanoscale size and some other scaled down device like MOSFET which even in deep submicron regime still pretty much behaves the same as it was in the micro regime...Kris

12/17/2010 6:46 AM EST

Many comforts to us and maintaining,improving green of the earth are possible by technology. Most of the above features if it is embedded into the numerous types of appliances used by the society at a minimum added cost to the owners of the appliances then the technology is enjoyable. In my calculations to increse the business in Year 2011 most of the manufacturere are ready to introduce these innovating features into their products with minimum added cost

12/18/2010 2:27 AM EST

It is a good list. But I a more useful view could be derived from feedback of a wider audience/readers.

12/18/2010 11:40 AM EST

I find Geotagging real world a very useful social app. People would be able not to just tag for fun, but also, tag if they see an unsafe location, crime escene, city violatins, Amber alert, if they see a suspect, etc.
Personal safety could be increased if one could tag the place were one just was robed, or even tag the person real life!

Looks promising.

C

12/18/2010 12:08 PM EST

To @rajveer57: I am not sure that feedback from an audience would provide a better list, presumably EE Times expert body has more visibility than a regular reader although there is always some power im masses...but I think you could combine the two: EE Times could allow everyone to click on the trend that she/he thinks is the most important and we will see which of the ten would be the most popular...Kris

12/18/2010 3:53 PM EST

Next time, let us vote for this list. Shortlist 30 and let us vote. That way we can bring insights. There are many technologies out there that we can propose. We need democracy on EETIMES please.

12/19/2010 3:25 PM EST

Thanks for this article. I think the Touchscreen tabs advance 'consume only' model will become a big hit as we move forward. Some of it is currently being implemented, but I think it is still in its early stages. The others items on your list are good too. Some will not be implemented in 2011, but it will indeed receive attention. Good list.

12/20/2010 5:15 AM EST

Much more interesting thing will be the applications derived out of these technologies. Who knows 3-D mobile display may open new war for gaming companies, or a total new domain of apps with gesture recognition. I always found, no matter how bright is technology, the application of technologies derive its popularity.

12/20/2010 10:16 AM EST

Nicely written article. I agree with most of the items mentioned, and look forward to watching them further evolve over the next year. I have had some personal experience with the wireless medical devices and can assure you they are not "ready for prime time". The large number of "communications" technologies and products should be a good indicator of what the next industry driver will be. I myself have been upgrading my communications technologies over the last year, and welcome the change. Lets all hope these set the stage for bringing all of us back to prosperity soon...

12/20/2010 10:23 AM EST

The Microsoft Kinect Add-on system and associated technologies should open up a whole world of new 3D interactive applications in the future. After struggling to be the standout in the game field Microsoft seem to have done their homework this time. I would expect to see an increase in patent cross-licensing agreements and litigation between the industry players in the next few years. I can't wait to see an application of the Kinect system on a 3D television. A "virtual environment 3D gaming" will be be the future.

12/21/2010 12:17 PM EST

I'm surprised that Near Field Communications didn't make the list. NFC-capable smartphones might account for a significant percentage of debit & credit transactions in the near future.

12/21/2010 12:44 PM EST

I suspect that we'll see a lot from electronic paper in 2011. It's been in a couple of e-readers for a few years now and I'd guess it's about time for it to take the next step with increased response speeds and reduced costs. I'm not sure color will be available in 2011 though. Maybe 2012.

With those improvements, a new set of applications will open up in the coming year. We may not see many of the commercial products, but we'll see the raw displays come out ready to be put into commercial products.

And, just what are those new applications? Too many to list, but I can speculate on a few.

Modal safety and regulatory labeling. Labeling has become less and less effective as there are more and more things to warn about. However, quite often, the warnings needed are different depending on the state of the device (off, standby, full-on, etc.) By putting labels for each possible condition, all of them can become lost in the noise. With e-paper, the warnings can be modal and thus very prominent and customized for each needed condition.

Instructional and operational check-lists. This application isn't that different than e-readers, but it could benefit from specialization for the task. With costs down, that specialized product could be commercially viable.

Advertising. We're already seeing a few early-adopter forays into e-paper advertising, but again, with a reduction in costs, it will proliferate into all sorts of annoying and intrusive places.

12/22/2010 11:26 AM EST

Gesture recognition is the one I would bet my money on. Also, I would like to see innovations is displays. Maybe the projection technologies spreading their wings and the DLP showing more application!

12/28/2010 1:03 PM EST

This is a very good list. Medical Electronics will progress much faster rate such as CRT Optimization for Heart Failure. PH and FRET for DNA is an interesting subject also. We will see Personal Genome Machine and many related electronics.
If you search these key words, you can get information.

12/31/2010 2:49 PM EST

About 1/2 the technologies listed are already in limited use in 2010. Wireless medical, automotive radar, 3-D. I am somewhat concerned about personal power management. I see it as a double-edged sword. If you are using too much power your utility has the capability to shut you off.

2/28/2012 7:15 AM EST

Is smart dust have power to come in this list?