I've mentioned science fiction author Vernor Vinge a couple times before. His novel Rainbows End depicts what high school life might look like in 2025. For me, the most intriguing idea in the book is that the digital world has moved from glowing rectangles into the real world. Students "wear" the Net through special clothing and contact lenses. Augmented reality overlays digital content over the real world. Texting is long gone; students now "silent message" using their thoughts.
I've written about augmented reality several times because I think the technological transformation will be so significant. If you think I'm crazy, here are a few news stories to show how close the technology is.
Mind-reading headsets are on the way. A company called Emotiv is releasing a mind-reading video game controller in time for Christmas. If that doesn't scare you, I briefly browsed the message boards on the company's website. Hobbyists and hackers--who are remarkably talented at harnessing new technology for purposes that designers never anticipated--are already getting ideas. One college freshman inquired about accessing the raw EEG data so he could work on developing his own apps, such as researching sleep patterns and creating mind-generated music.
I missed this headline when it came out, but in April engineer Adam Wilson tweeted using his mind. Similarly, Ambient Corporation has demonstrated technology to convert thoughts into speech by intercepting nerve signals going to the voicebox.
As for HUD contact lenses, University of Washington researcher Babak Parviz is working on early prototypes. They receive power beamed from a nearby electronic devices such as a cell phone.
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