Every year, we wait to see what the new year will bring us! This year, like many, we were bombarded with new ideas and technology. 2016 was full of groundbreaking and innovative technology that has changed our lives as we know it.
Here is MIT’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2016:
- 1. Tesla AutoPilot
Tesla’s electric cars received a software update that has made autonomous driving a new reality.
- 2. Slack
A new service built for workplace instant messaging on mobile phones and computers changing the dynamics of the workplace.
- 3. Conversational Interface
New speech technology from Baidu, China’s top Internet company is changing the way smartphones are used.
- 4. DNA App Store
An application designed to store your genetic information and make it cheap and easy to to learn more about your health risks and predispositions.
- 5. Robots that Teach Each Other
3-5 years from now robots will have the capability to share data and be able to teach each other new tasks.
- 6. Reusable Rockets
The era of rockets being destroyed on their maiden voyage is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Rockets can now make upright landings and are capable of being refueled for another trip.
- 7. Immune Engineering
The lives of cancer patients are being saved with genetically engineered immune cells.
- 8. Precise Gene Editing in Plants
A new technology called CRISPR will provide an easy and exact alternative way to alter the genes of plants to create traits such as disease resistance and drought tolerance that should be available 5 to 10 years from now.
- 9. SolarCity’s Gigafactory
In Buffalo, NY a $750 million solar factory will produce a gigawatt of high efficiency solar panels per year.
- 10. Power from the Air
In 2 to 3 years, internet devices will be able to be powered by Wi-Fi and other telecommunications signals, which will make small computers and sensors pervasive.
