Tech spotlight: What’s in store for 2018?


 

If you thought technological change isn’t happening at the pace it used to, think again. The fact is the coming year and decade will see profound changes in how we live and what we buy.

For instance, according to Quantum Run and elsewhere, in 2018:

  1. Elon Musk’s first supersonic Hyperloop train will open to the public – The genius behind the Tesla and SpaceX rockets plans on getting these super-high-speed trains off the ground (literally) next year.
  2. Tesla will build and sell 500,000 electric vehicles – Along with electric vehicles planned by other car companies, the days of polluting combustion engines will quickly come to an end.
  3. Self-driving cars will start hitting the road – With 10 million out and about by 2020, the way we get around will forever change.
  4. The James Webb Space Telescope will launch – More powerful than the Hubble, it’s expected to find liquid water on other planets and peek farther back in time than ever before.
  5. 3D-printed products will hit the shelves in a big way – For instance, Adidas will begin mass-producing its Futurecraft 4D and 3D-printed cars will become increasingly common.
  6. The price of solar panels will continue to drop – With solar power growth leaping by 50% worldwide last year, this clean, renewable energy will become more economically viable and popular than ever.
  7. No check-out lines – Pioneered by Amazon Go in its first check-out free grocery store in Seattle in 2017, you’ll see more stores adapting the technology. Small sensors detect what you take out of the store and charge your registered account.

What technology innovations are you most excited about for next year? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the Shop Talk blog community forum – plus check out some of the coolest new technology gadgets expected to hit the market next year.

 

Did you know? Airless tires

Goodyear plans to introduce a non-pneumatic, or airless, tire for commercial mowing vehicles next year. Airless tires for other vehicles are being developed. (Source)

28 thoughts on “Tech spotlight: What’s in store for 2018?

    1. I like the self check-out service lines at Real Canadian Superstore. You scan your item, place it in your checkout bag then apply your bonus card & the number of bags used then swipe your debit card to check out. It’s fast & easy to use when you only have a few items to check out.

  1. From what I have seen we are quite aways off from the driverless vehicles…It is nice to dream and at this time it appears as a dream to me……………Thankyou for your time

  2. What are these great minds who create these thing trying to make companies more profitable and put people out of work? Only the rich will be able to afford these things and more people will be poor. Just because you can do something, does not mean you should. This is all in the name of corporate greed!!!!! Shameful!

  3. No check-out lines – Pioneered by Amazon Go in its first check-out free grocery store in Seattle in 2017, you’ll see more stores adapting the technology. Small sensors detect what you take out of the store and charge your registered account.
    All looks interesting but the no check out lines. I have been over charged many times and any program is only as good as what humans enter.

    1. I am really interested in the electric cars. We just need to get the dealerships to bring them in. They also need to be able to service them. I looked at a Chevy Bolt and was told the dealership is not able to service them yet. The closest spot to take it for servicing would be Montreal and that’s a 7 hour drive away.
      Car costs need to be reasonable too. Some provinces subsidize and others don’t. Since our federal govrnment is interested in carbon taxes, maybe they could consider real projects that society would welcome.

  4. Unfortunately, I am not reading any research on how high speed trains and planes will affect human brains and bodies….especially internal organs ……as for 3-D ,
    okay for medical scans but again , where is the research…..when it comes to printing, etc. we already know that some people get migraines after just a few minutes spent watching t v or a movie . Doing away with check out stands will
    leave much of our population unemployed . Technology okay ….but we really must stop and think about how some of it will affect humans over time .

  5. I think less expensive solar power will be a HUGE benefit. We can eventually dispense with all those ugly power lines and not have to deal with power outages every storm season.

  6. I’m so interested in learning more about 3D printing! I think it’s so cool! I just noticed a new coffee shop / 3D printing place in my city I can’t wait to check it out

  7. Exactly! I can see the usefulness of driverless vehicles for the elderly and people who cannot drive but really? There is no way they will build the streets for that to mix with the regular drivers. This is only possible on roads specifically designed for it. Personally, I think public transportation is where improvements should be made.

  8. Quite excited about the price of solar panels coming down, would like to learn more about and buy some to save energy..I’m not interested in self checkouts as it eliminates jobs.

  9. Thank you for the mind blowing information in all 7 items mentioned above. They all make me wonder how things have changed this way with out major fan fare world wide ?

  10. Lower solar panel costs sound great but would like to see efficiency improvements too so that they are better suited for higher latitudes that receive less sun time or intensity.
    Hard to imagine 10 million driverless cars in the next 3 years. Sounds a little ambitious.
    Tesla will NEED to build those 500k cars because once the big boys get going, Tesla will have trouble keeping up. Perhaps they are better served by just licensing their technology.
    No checkout lines for food stores sound like a winner but how does one buy produce? Must drive to Seattle to see this Amazon Go place.

  11. Change is constant and inevitable. Rapid advancements in technology has put us into a transitional mode. While it reduces the number of people required at a lower level of employment, and low pay, it increases the jobs that require more skill – and higher pay. The invention of the gas powered engine and automobile put many people out of work that provided and serviced horse drawn carriages and equipment, and replaced those jobs many times over to service the resulting new industries. Embrace change, as “resistance is futile”. Without these technology advancements we wouldn’t be discussing this the way we are now. We live longer, healthier, and much more comfortably.

  12. I don’t think there’s anything good about this stuff besides the solar energy being more affordable and the airless tires but I don’t think there should b driverless vehicles or a lot of this other crap thats gonna leave people with a lot less Jobs and a lot of these things are only gonna b available to rich people and with a lot less jobs there’s not gonna b as much $$ so more poor people so its gonna jus b an economic crash! The electric vehicles is a little more acceptable because its not polluting and isn’t gonna put as many people out of Jobs..well besides the oil industry.

  13. My concern is the unemployment status. More people out of work means more collecting Employment Insurance means government coffers emptying means more taxes from those who are lucky enough to have a job. This could also mean idle bodies becoming unhealthy which in turn means more drag on Health and Welfare. Those who work will be taxed out of existence.
    Smarten up people! New and Improved is not necessarily better, except for the innovators.

  14. i believe in people first from enviromental to space its getting to dangerous let the people return to the land not for profit

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