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Future Proof Ideas since 2005, by Erwin van Lun

Trend observations, analysis and future predictions since 2005

Pebble: soon for TV, train and car

This is Pebble. The only smartwatch that works seamlessly with your iPhone of Android device


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

What a great invention! But certainly not the last. Soon, Pebble will also work with your TV, it will actually continously connected updating with new info all the time (like Google glasses) and acts as remote control at the same time. Pebble works outside via inhouse WifFi navigation. It will seamless work with your car navigation. And when you’re in the train, it will buzz when you have to get out. At last but not least, Pebble will measure your gestures, your emotions, your status and communicate this information with other information, and thus, with brands. A whole new era to come!

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Mobile payment systems compared

The video shows a comparison of Google Wallet, Paypay Wallet and Square WalletNot to far from now, all transactions are not only electronic, but sellers can also identify the buyers. As a result, they will be able to introduce price differentation per consumer. It's a sign of the end of traditional marketing models, such as the 4P model of Kotler, and the start of an era where everything is personalised, even the price.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Not to far from now, all transactions are not only electronic, but sellers can also identify the buyers. As a result, they will be able to introduce price differentation per consumer. It’s a sign of the end of traditional marketing models, such as the 4P model of Kotler, and the start of an era where everything is personalised, even the price.

Related trends

Mobile payment systems compared

The video shows a comparison of Google Wallet, Paypay Wallet and Square Wallet


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Not to far from now, all transactions are not only electronic, but sellers can also identify the buyers. As a result, they will be able to introduce price differentation per consumer. It’s a sign of the end of traditional marketing models, such as the 4P model of Kotler, and the start of an era where everything is personalised, even the price.

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Mc Donalds using machine to get orders

Mc Donalds Kiosk ATM Counter Machine

Mc Donalds is using computers to get order from customers.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

It won’t take long before we can use an smart phone app to place and pay an order through the McDonalds network.

We will have to get used to the dry facts that computers and robots will take over all the work there is, and that a economy can grown without growth in jobs. The ‘jobless recovery’ is definitely a new phenonemom we need to take into account.

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MYO announces the next generation of gesture control

Most gesture-control systems require some kind of external sensors that "see" you, with optical sensors or depth sensors or cameras. They're on the outside, measuring your movements the same way human eyes do. And that's fine, but a new wristband advertises itself as a system that's more internal--it's directly controlled by you.

You make gestures similar to the ones you'd use on an Apple trackpad, except in the air: you'd wave a couple fingers to rewind or pause a video, scroll through pages, that kind of thing. It's compatible with Windows and Mac OS X to start, but since it connects via Bluetooth, it could conceivably connect to just about any mobile device as well: smartphones, tablets, or even drones.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Now computer are getting additional input from humans: gestures in the air, instead of mouse and keyboard. The next step will be the recognition of human gestures, i.e. gestures we already use in our day 2 day lives, having conversations with chatbots like we would do with normal human beings. That will really feel natural.

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Insanely Rubbery Battery Stretches To 4 Times Its Length

Researchers have created a lithium-ion battery that keeps on working when stretched to four times its initial length--and bounces back into shape once you let go.

In the future, stretchy batteries such as these could help power solar-energy generating clothes, tattoos that monitor your vital signs, robot skin that's sensitive to touch and other futuristic, flexible devices.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

And what about making roofs of these batteries? Any objects created by man could carry batteries, displays and cameras. Your whole house can be a display to! Camoflaging itself in the rainforest, charging itself by sun. Or an aircraft, constantly charging itself at heights. Or robotic humanoid skin to charge all its transistors and sensors.

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A Touchscreen That Knows You

Touchscreens treat all fleshy finger pads alike: Most detect a simple change in electrical current or in sound or light waves regardless of who is swiping. Researchers at Disney Research, Pittsburgh, have built a touchscreen that can discriminate between users. Every person’s body has its own bone density, muscle mass, blood volume, and water content. The device, called Touché, sends a series of harmless currents through a user’s body. Physiological differences produce differences in the body’s impedance of that current. Touché measures this unique capacitive signature. Scientists could apply capacitive fingerprinting to any touchscreen, or to other ubiquitous objects, such as doorknobs and furniture, turning the world into an interactive device. Touché is still in development, and plans for commercialization, alas, are top secret.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

All brands will be able to recognize consumers and continue the dialog where they’ve left off the time. This begins with authentication technology and this is perfect step in this direction! Now, we’ll to touch a screen, soon, we’ll be recognized through our unique field around our bodies.

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World-changing 3D sensor

We've all seen 3D sensors before. In the Microsoft Kinect, for instance. That sensor's design was licensed to Microsoft by +PrimeSense.

At CES this year, Robert Scoble visited Primesense to get a look at its latest 3D sensor. What is big about it? First of all, it's small. Small enough to fit into tablet PCs. Second of all, it's lower cost. Will sell for under $100. Third of all it's more accurate and higher resolution than the one in Kinect (it is so accurate it can tell how hard you are pressing on a surface).

Why is this world changing? Because nothing can track human behavior quite as well as a 3D sensor. Expect to see these start to appear everywhere. In cars. In games. In tablets and TVs. And more.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

ALL screens will be 3D. In transparent mode, we’ll be able to look through them, and notice, very naturally, that the perspective changes when we move our head, and when we rotate the screen just a little the perspective will change as well. In non-transparant mode, we’ll have a view on a virtual 3D world and we’ll notice, very naturally, that the perspective changes when we move our head, and when we rotate the screen just a little the perspective will change as well. and obviously we have mixed mode. That’s the essence of the media-completion trend: the virtual world will be as naturally as the real world.

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MakerBot’s 3D scanner prototype lets you replicate realworld objects

MakerBot has announced a new Digitizer 3D Desktop Scanner prototype that analyzes real-world objects and generates designs compatible with its 3D printer line.

A preview page for the scanner, which uses lasers and cameras to essentially create a 3D CAD model, is up on the MakerBot site, but the project is still in prototype stage, so it’s likely going to be a while before this thing is released.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

In the future, lots of day products will be produced closeby., in a 3D print shop on the corner,  or even at home. It will no longer be necessary to produce products overseas in low cost countries. It will drastically transform the dynamics of the global economy.

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Automated Quadcopters Learn a Super-Sophisticated Trick

Those programmed quadcopters are getting even smarter. Not only can they fly in perfect formation, build things and cause all of us to worry about robots dominating the world. Now they can balance and juggle and toss a long thin object back and forth. What will they do next?

This took a lot of serious math to execute. It's created by researchers at ETH Zürich's Flying Machine Arena, who took into account all the variables that go into flying a couple of little machines, balancing them, and perfectly coordinating their movements with each other.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Robots will be everywhere! Every shape, every size. They will assist humanoid robots who will be our companions. Future robots of next generations quadcopters family can set up a whole festival terrain for thousand of visitors in just a few hours. Or build houses. Bridges. Or, even more imporant: dig tunnels under Africa spreading water all over the continent. Or to fly in other robots for a particular job. Whatever we want to achieve, we won’t need humans anymore. Not for the coordination, not for the man power. We only have to say what we want. Only our mind is our limitation. Not the future of tomorrow, but definitely of huge influence on mankind in the second half of this century.

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Holograms, ‘Minority Report’ Gestures And Other Ways Your Meetings Will Change By 2018

Oblong Home from Oblong Industries on Vimeo.

Using new technologies like 3D spatial binaural audio, gesture interfaces, and super-high-resolution video, we will be able to build incredibly immersive (and relatively inexpensive) experiences for workers to connect more effectively. Even new technology that allows visually stunning projection of holograms will begin to find application in the meetings arena. Although this sounds like sci-fi, the idea of near-real remote communication is a Holy Grail for productivity.

Mind-blowing hand-controlled computing room from Oblong Industries. The guy behind it was the tech mind behind Minority Report. This is cool stuff. John Underkoffler, chief scientist, Oblong Industries, was the tech advice behind the film "Minority Report" and then he built his own company to make that science fiction real.

Tech journalist Robert Scoble went to the Oblong campus to talk with their chief scientist.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

What a great idea this might seem, it’s certainly not the end. All windows in every room will be displays and cameras at the very same time. This allows for 3D experience (giving your another perspective look from another angle to the very same display) and won’t make additional cameras necessary. We’ll not discuss numbers and graphs, but concepts and ideas. We’ll our whole body, including our voice, to communicate with virtual entities, virtual humans, ‘living’ on the other side of the screen. We can use our hands, feets, head and fingers to move content (objects) around, to resize or transform. Or we’ll fetch objects, ‘get it in’ the room, and suddenly find it holographically projected the middle of room. And the other way around, physical object, being analysed in real time and find themselves being shoot to the virtual world (being printed in 3D somewhere else). Creativity is endless. This is just a start.

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The Mouse Is Dead: Long Live Tobii, Leonard3Do, Leap Motion & Oculus VR

How will we interact with our computers in just a few years from now? With touchscreens, trackpads and speech technology, mice are no longer the input devices of choice. And things are about to get a lot worse for the once-dominant computer controllers. With the rise of new technologies several companies offer new ways to physically interact with the PC and other computing devices: companies like Tobiii, Leonar3Do, Leap Motion and Oculus VR.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Soon after, sitting behind a desk will be passe. We’ll use our whole body to communicate. To shape ideas, like a sculpure. To interact with peers or with chatbots, having real contact. It will all be so different….

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7 Ways Augmented Reality Will Improve Your Life

You might think augmented reality is the way of the future, but really, it has its roots in the 20th century. Morton Heilig, the "Father of Virtual Reality," patented the Sensorama Stimulator, which he called an "experience theater," on Aug. 28, 1962. Over time, the idea of using technology to create a layer over the real world has been honed and refined and put in our palms, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones.

Confused about what augmented reality is? In short, it's a way to use technology to redefine space, and it places a virtual layer over the world with geographic specificity ensuring a good fit.


  1. Urban Exploration
    In a new neighborhood or exploring another city? AR apps let you filter by category so you can find exactly what you're looking for, whether it's a coffee shop, restaurant or museum. And you won't need to worry about getting turned around by the map — the AR app will adapt based on what you're facing, so it'll tell you to turn right and get you to your destination.

  2. Museum
    Visiting a museum? AR "attaches" information to the art so you don't need to buy one of those audio tours.

  3. Shopping
    Augmented reality lets you browse a virtual catalog of clothes from your favorite brands, shop directly

  4. Travel and History
    If you're looking for budget "travel" options or a quick "getaway," you could find a solution in augmented reality. Just plop the Eiffel Tower or the Leaning Tower of Pisa right in your backyard and unlock monuments during a sort of virtual vacation, and you could learn tidbits about each one as you go. It's be a great way to teach your kids, too

  5. Customer Service
    No one likes having to call customer service — you'll be put on hold and stuck listening to a script recited by a rep. But in the future, if you're having trouble setting up Apple TV, or your cable cuts off, you can have customer service come to you.

  6. Safety and Rescue Operations
    Emergencies are a fact of life, and first responders, police and firefighters often arrive at chaotic scenes and need to make sense of the environment and navigate a place they've never been. Wouldn't it be cool if they could see a virtual map of the site or have "X-ray vision" to see underground water and power lines?

  7. Moving & Decorating Your Home
    There's no worse feeling than buying furniture, paying the delivery fee, having someone schlep it up five flights of stairs, only to have it a) not fit through the doorway or b) look like a Gulliver-sized sofa in a lilliputian living room. What if you searched through an app and pulled up the Macy's bedframe, IKEA dresser.


Is augmented reality the future? How would you like to use augmented reality? Are you excited by the technology?


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Many out there are looking for applications of augmented reality. The real aspect is actually: all aspects of life! Let’s regard this from a human point of view:

A better future for our children: Education (=learning from previous generations) walk outside and learn about everything you see. Biology, history, sociology, technology, languages. You’ll get information and virtual teachers (virtual humans specialized in a certain area) giving you answers to all the questions you might have, and are the best story tellers at the same time.

Building a safe environment: any construction can be carried out by any human. Everyone can build houses, everyone can build cars, and parts are generated by 3D printers. The next step is obviously that robots will build houses, assemble cars. Although the application will be part of our future, it won’t last long.

Related trends

Researchers create cloud-based brain for robots

A group of European researchers has created a cloud platform designed to serve as a central processing and data-access brains for robots located throughout the world.

Essentially, they’re treating robots like any other device — desktop, tablet or mobile phone — running web applications, only robots can learn from each other and can do a lot more than just update screen displays.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Future humanoid robots will not have one intelligence somewhere in their hardware, like humans do, but they are connected to one huge AI. Everything that’s invented once will be immediately available on any place on earth.

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Summly Uses Complex Algorithms to Summarize the Web

Summly Launch from Summly on Vimeo.

Nick D’Aloisio, a 16-year-old iOS developer based in London, England, is the mastermind behind this amazing iPhone app. Summly thrives on a high end algorithm. The Summly algorithm accomplishes this using a number of machine learning techniques and “genetic” algorithms — a search heuristic that mimics evolution.

D’Aloisio says that Summly works best with well-formulated articles that conform to a consistent structure. This lets the algorithm learn what’s important — and where to find that important information — more easily. Tech articles and news articles tend to marry well with Summly’s algorithm, as does the consistently organized content from the New York Times and the BBC. The app doesn’t do quite as well with narrative text written in the third person, but D’Aloisio says that there are no areas that are seriously troublesome to his algorithm.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

Computer try to understand in much more details what we find important and this is a step in this direction. This will immediately be followed by connecting it to social media: what do our friends, our family, our colleagues find important? People want to know about the news before they hear it from others. That’s where news coaching brands tap into.

Related trends

Facebook Graph Search Will Change Consumer Buying Behavior Forever

Facebook has recently totally redesigned their search function called Graph Search. Search becomes social!

Instead of 'trail running' you'll find yourself searching for 'my friends for like trail running', friends who like 'road trips', 'friends who like dancing', 'bands my friends listen to', 'friends who work at my company and like to ski', 'national parks my friends have visited', 'photos of my friends before 1995',

Running in beta now, but this will drastically change consumer buying behavior just with a few simple next steps.


Future vision by Erwin van Lun

It’s just a next step in the media evolution. Soon Facebook Graph search will be available andbe voice activated, like Apple Siri and Google Now. And the effect will even be stronger when coaching brands start to connect with Facebook allowing for sharing even more details about consumers interactions with brands.

What about:

  • Cable providers my friends like?
  • Insurances my friends have?
  • Banks liked by my friends?
  • Supermarkets liked by my friends?
  • Restaurants nearby my friends like?
  • Airlines preferred by my friends ?
  • What is the rating of my friends of this sports shoes?
  • Cars my friends like
  • Sunglass brands my friends like
  • Best holiday hotel in Ibiza according to my friends?

Facebook Graph Search is of the most important innovation since the introduction of the Internet. This will change buying behavior of consumers forever.

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