# What invention will be the "Next Big Thing" in the future. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380 "2010-07-28T22:49:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/21 "2010-07-29T22:29:28Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > If this came to pass and supplanted retail sale, it would _certainly_ be a world-changing invention. Of course, there are still a few minor problems with this plan, mostly relating to raw materials - where do you get them? And what can they make? Yeah but that’s what I meant when saying ST-level replication would be revolutionary, but most of the stuff before that just seems like novelty. I’ll go and buy a wad of graphite so I can fabricate a pencil at home, or I could just buy a box of pencils. 🙂 The raw materials would seem to be a big hurdle until you get to the point where you can manipulate matter at a level where you just feed the machine wood or coal or whatnot and a steak comes out. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/22 "2010-07-29T23:07:03Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > > [@begbert2](#): > > > > If this came to pass and supplanted retail sale, it would _certainly_ be a world-changing invention. Of course, there are still a few minor problems with this plan, mostly relating to raw materials - where do you get them? And what can they make? > > Yeah but that’s what I meant when saying ST-level replication would be revolutionary, but most of the stuff before that just seems like novelty. I’ll go and buy a wad of graphite so I can fabricate a pencil at home, or I could just buy a box of pencils. 🙂 The raw materials would seem to be a big hurdle until you get to the point where you can manipulate matter at a level where you just feed the machine wood or coal or whatnot and a steak comes out. 80% of the things on my desk right now are partially or entirely simple rigid plastic shells. Expand that to the consumer goods in my house, and I suspect it’s about 50%. Who cares if you can’t make a pencil? Even if you had only a single material available (say, rigid plastic in a couple of colors plus transparent), you’d be able to make a huge variety of items. Price the material in 2-pound “ink cartridges” at about $10 (about a half a cubic foot of plastic), and I bet you could sell millions of these devices at $500 each. Get them into $100 each (a very expensive inkjet these days), and everyone will have one. Give it a year or two, and you can add a third, conductive material, and now you can make simple electronics. One or two more, and you can make LED’s and touch sensors. Your friend invents a cool toy and you want one? He sends you a file by email and you’re holding it a couple hours later. A part breaks on your dishwasher? The company sends you a file and you’re running again in a few minutes. You’re an old dude who wants to transfer his CD collection to vinyl? We can do that. There are billion dollar markets in storage organizers, cases and shells for electronic items, plastic toys, art, tableware, water bottles, eyeglasses, gardening tools, etc. And once the software tools to create new stuff are out, you’ll have a million or so geek inventors making all the stuff we haven’t thought of yet, or free versions stuff that companies are selling for too much money now. We’re talking about reducing physical objects to mere software: Want something? There’s literally an app for that. This is desktop printing all over again: who would have thought that inkjet printers were a many-billion-dollar business? After all, you could just go out and have stuff printed, who’d need or want to do that at home? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/23 "2010-07-29T23:10:20Z")
Can we push the date back from 2050 to 2060 or so? That’s far enough that fusion power and a space elevator might be plausible. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/24 "2010-07-29T23:19:08Z")
> [@toofs](#): > > > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > > > Humanity’s last invention: The whorebot. > > Yeah. I’m sure it’s already been invented. It’s just that the inventor has been a bit busy, if you will, to let everyone know. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/25 "2010-07-29T23:20:03Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > You’re an old dude who wants to transfer his CD collection to vinyl? We can do that. For the love of Vishnu, _why_?? It’s not like it’s going to _add_ sound quality! In a world where all is good and right the fabricators would be hardcoded to detect and prevent this, possibly by fabricating a shillelagh and clubbing the user with it. And I’m still doubtful about the flexibility of fabricators - I think LEDs may be a touch more complicated to make than you might think, and you won’t be able to buy a toothbrush without an LED in ten years, much less any useful peice of technology. Eyeglasses also rely on particular plastic mixes to get the correct refraction. And gardening tools - it’s one thing to fabricate metal to be merely conductive, but you won’t be able to make it _sturdy_ with incremental building tecniques, unless the thing is a literal forge. ---
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/26 "2010-07-29T23:27:04Z")
Making your body grow a new set of teeth should be possible. After all your body manages to grow one set of replacement teeth already. A solar powered device that takes CO2 from the air and converts it directly to carbon, would be great. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/27 "2010-07-29T23:29:21Z")
> [@figure9](#): > > A solar powered device that takes CO2 from the air and converts it directly to carbon, would be great. It’s called a “tree”. ---
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/28 "2010-07-29T23:35:10Z")
I personally think transmittable power will be a reality by then. No device ever needs a battery as it just pulls power from low power radio waves. Now powered component can be infinitely smaller because there is no need for all that battery storage. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/29 "2010-07-29T23:37:59Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > > [@TimeWinder](#): > > > > You’re an old dude who wants to transfer his CD collection to vinyl? We can do that. > > For the love of Vishnu, _why_?? It’s not like it’s going to _add_ sound quality! In a world where all is good and right the fabricators would be hardcoded to detect and prevent this, possibly by fabricating a shillelagh and clubbing the user with it. Get off my lawn. > [@begbert2](#): > > And I’m still doubtful about the flexibility of fabricators - I think LEDs may be a touch more complicated to make than you might think, and you won’t be able to buy a toothbrush without an LED in ten years, much less any useful peice of technology. You could be right, but ten years is five or more generations for a new technology. And seriously, [LED](http://inventorspot.com/articles/led_toothbrush_shines_light_dental_health_34026) [toothbrushes](http://www.uvledtoothbrush.com/) are too ridiculous to be believed. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/30 "2010-07-29T23:40:56Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > We’re talking about reducing physical objects to mere software: Want something? There’s literally an app for that. Only if you reach a point where, as I say, you can fuel the machine with one (cheap) material and it creates some other material. Again, what is the huge advantage of me having a machine that makes a doodah if it is cheaply available and conveniently accessible otherwise? Sure there’s a niche. Plenty of people make (birthday etc.) cards but I bet way more people buy them than create them. I don’t mean to be a naysayer and I don’t doubt there’s money to be made from such machines, I just don’t know if they’d be the next big thing until they were literally able to replicate any artefact we wanted. ---
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/31 "2010-07-29T23:45:44Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s called a “tree”. A tree makes carbon compounds like cellulose. I was thinking of pure carbon. A machine might be able to remove carbon from the air more effectively than a plant, because it would not have to deal with growth, diseases, reproduction and nutrient availability. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/32 "2010-07-29T23:47:08Z")
> [@Yarster](#): > > I personally think transmittable power will be a reality by then. No device ever needs a battery as it just pulls power from low power radio waves. Now powered component can be infinitely smaller because there is no need for all that battery storage. Been there, done that. Nicola Tesla already invented that over 100 years ago, back in 1893. > **[Nikola Tesla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla)** > > Nikola Tesla\[a\] (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American engineer, futurist, and inventor. He is known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. > Born and raised in the Austrian Empire, Tesla first studied engineering and physics in the 1870s without receiving a degree. He then gained practical experience in the early 1880s working in telephony and at Continental Edison in the new electric power industry. In 1884, he i... ---
**Author:** ![The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Evil_Prince_Zorte)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/33 "2010-07-30T00:11:13Z")
I don’t think fabricators will ever be quite like inkjet printers. Creating some objects can be as simple as printing a page, but the need to make new objects of that complexity may not arise as often as the need to print words on a page. I think fabricators will evolve to take their place in the hardware store alongside table saws, routers, drill presses, etc. It will be a common, perhaps indispensable shop tool widely used by the kind of people who like to make things, rather than the public at large. Along with inexpensive tabletop CNC mills and small injection molders, it will allow people who might have taken up woodcraft to instead produce the kinds of objects you normally expect to come from a factory. It won’t replace mass production, but it can enable a cottage industry of custom and longtail objects that weren’t economical before due to low demand and high set up costs. Sites like Etsy can connect those people to buyers, and sites like [Ponoko](http://www.ponoko.com) and [Cloudfab](http://www.cloudfab.com) help them offer their fabrication services to people who have designs that need to be produced. Here is an example of what could become commonplace [Makerbot Soap Dish](http://www.flickr.com/photos/34519968@N03/sets/72157622911002038/). It’s a short photo set that describes the replacement of a broken porcelain soap dish with an indestructible 3D-printed one. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/34 "2010-07-30T00:20:49Z")
I can’t think of how many products I’ve thrown away in my life because some plastic part of a particular size and shape broke, and nobody but the factory that made the product has replacements, which they don’t sell to the public. Other than the fact that maybe that’s deliberate planned obsolesence, there would be a tremendous demand for plastic parts if they could be fabricated conveniently. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/35 "2010-07-30T08:55:12Z")
Once they invent the orgasm machine from Woody Allen’s ‘Sleeper’, humanity will end. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/36 "2010-07-30T09:25:42Z")
Random brainstorm: Nanotechnology: ignoring the sci-fi aspects of it, I think it would be a good way to have machines repair themselves. When nothing ever wears out, I think our lives are going to be substantially, if not absolutely, different. Replicators: again ignoring the sci-fi aspects of it, having a machine that builds other machines from downloaded plans from raw materials is going to revolutionize our lives. I know such things exist today (I forget what they’re called) but I think by 2050, they’ll be doing a lot more than just scale models. If anything, this is going to force the cost of many products to plunge and the quality of life will improve immensely. The iEverything: looking at personal computing trends the past few years, the emphasis is on functionality and size. I think we’re on the verge of having a single device doing everything. Today, people have a 3G phone, a laptop, a desktop, a game console, and an LCD TV. By 2050, I am willing to predict that we’re going to have a single device that does all of it and it will smaller than today’s iPhone. It will probably consist of a device the size of a thumb drive that connects to a sunglasses monitor with built in earphones and microphone, and a holographic keyboard/touchpad. The entire package with all the accessories will probably fit in a modern sunglass case. I also predict it will run at ~6 GHZ with ~1K TB (I dunno what’s after tera-) solid state drive. I also think it will all be free with a 2 year service plan. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/37 "2010-07-30T10:39:03Z")
The pizza hydrator. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/38 "2010-07-30T12:31:37Z")
REconfigurable emotions-you change your personality at your own whim. Also-privacy software (you can delete yourself from databases and assume a new identity at will ). Also-brain-implantable RF chips-so you are in constant contact with the web, 24/7. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/39 "2010-07-30T12:37:56Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Lab-cloned replacement organs? Proof of concept is already here, just a matter of making it work on a clinical scale. Synthetic human blood. ---
**Author:** ![JFLuvly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac91a4/32.png) [@JFLuvly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFLuvly)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380/40 "2010-07-30T13:03:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Once they invent the orgasm machine from Woody Allen’s ‘Sleeper’, humanity will end. I think that one has been done, I’m pretty sure it’s called a hand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-invention-will-be-the-next-big-thing-in-the-future/548380.md?page=3)