This January, we talked about our predictions in SEO and digital marketing for 2022 and we touched upon the future of technology. There’s no denying that virtual reality, blockchain, and AI will make a huge impact on our daily lives in the coming months and years, but what about other kinds of technology?
In our current socio-political climate, we’re thirsty to learn about tech that’s designed to make the world better somehow.
What World-Changing Tech Means to the Geeks
Just out of curiosity, I recently polled everyone working at Geeky Tech to find out what “world-changing” means to them. It is, after all, our mantra, and the class of technology companies we strive to work with.
But what does it mean to the people working at Geeky Tech? After all, “world-changing” is an adjective that can be used to describe both nuclear bombs and the discovery of unicorns. And if you’ve been alive for the last four years, you’re probably sick of reading about how the world is changing in one way or another (my kingdom for a slow news day!).
So really, what does world-changing mean to us? What companies do we want to support with better SEO and more online visibility?
The Results
While I’m not really surprised by my colleagues’ answers, I’m pretty amazed that there’s quite a consensus amongst us.
Take a look at some of our answers:
We’re facing many critical issues at the moment. In your opinion, which issues are currently the MOST critical?
Do you think advanced technology can help us solve the critical issues you selected in the previous question?
In your opinion, what critical issue would benefit the most from “world-changing” technology right now?
Overwhelmingly, our Geeks want to see technology being used to help fight rapid climate change. Fortunately, there are many industries within this sphere, and we’ve tracked down some companies that are taking world-changing technology to a whole new level.
Medtech
I think we can all agree that we’ve had our fill of medtech news in the last two years. Everyone’s an expert on vaccines these days. But there’s actually so many cool things happening in the world of medtech that don’t get nearly enough air time or attention.
So what is medtech exactly? It’s a broad term that describes any technology, device, procedure, and yes vaccine that’s designed to maintain and improve a person’s health. So, what have medtech companies been up to lately that could change the world for the better?
How about 3D bone printing?
(ooooooooh, aaaaaaahhh)
If that’s not futuristic, I don’t know what is. In and of itself, 3D printing is one of those revolutionary technologies that can be used for the forces of good or evil, depending on who’s turning the cranks (3D-printed guns, anyone?).
But for companies like Ossiform and Xilloc and various universities, 3D printing has paved the way for better, faster bone regeneration. Scientists and chemists have developed bone-like ink that can be printed with living cells that, after implantation, would encourage bone regrowth.
According to the University of New South Wales, “Using a 3D-printer that deploys a special ink made up of calcium phosphate, the scientists developed a new technique, known as ceramic omnidirectional bioprinting in cell-suspensions (COBICS), enabling them to print bone-like structures that harden in a matter of minutes when placed in water.”
This innovation is very promising, especially in the field of pediatrics, where this technology could help children with bone disorders.
Ocean Tech
You may not know this, but some of our Geeks are obsessed with data (present company excluded). That’s why we love to see projects that put our love of data to good use.
You could take your pick of the myriad of critical issues our oceans are facing right now. Whether it’s pollution, overfishing, oil spills, species extinction, or soaring temperatures caused by greenhouse gasses, you can bet that there are already scientists, engineers, and marine biologists working effortlessly in the water, in the labs, and within government structures to help save our most precious resource.
But because we’re such geeks for big data, we want to talk about marine data management, and more specifically ocean information and communications technology (ICT).
And yes, it is as sexy as it sounds.
What Is Ocean ICT?
Described as an “unfolding revolution” a few years ago by OceanWise (a marine environmental data acquisition agency), ocean ICT can help us collect information about our oceans in real time through satellites and local sensors. All that big data is then collected and analyzed by artificial intelligence to determine trends in weather patterns, biodiversity, pollution, etc.
Ocean ICT is an exciting world-changing technology because it brings us so much closer to effectively understanding the effects of climate and getting ahead of mitigation measures.
If big data isn’t really your cup of tea, then you might be more excited about sharks…garbage-eating robot sharks, that is!
There are quite a number of waste-collection drone companies in the world, so let that be an indication of how dire our ocean pollution situation is.
Enter, WasteShark by RanMarine Technology, an autonomous surface vessel (ASV) or drone modeled on the whale shark that grabs marine waste plastics and floating debris without harming ocean life or emitting greenhouse gasses.
This beauty comes with a POV camera and has data-capture capabilities. Plus, it can remove up to one tonne of waste per day.
That’s the perfect combination of world-saving and tech that we love.
Green Tech
When researching green technology, I knew that there would be no shortage of awesome, futuristic, and inspiring companies to talk about. Green technology is just so all-encompassing that it stretches from solar energy to vertical farming.
But one of the most fascinating and world-saving technologies I’ve seen is so basic, I’m almost reluctant to put it in the same camp as a garbage-eating shark robot and a machine that prints living bones.
But still, it fits the bill of world-changing tech, so fuck it. Let’s talk about plastic roads!
Our planet has a plastic problem. Only a measly 9% of the world’s plastic has been recycled. And 100% of the plastic that has ever been made in history is still floating around somewhere. How scary is that? It’s the reason we have garbage continents drifting around our oceans, the reason there are plastic straw and bag bans, the reason for so much pollution.
Plastic road companies, such as the aptly named PlasticRoad, have developed an innovative solution to all that plastic waste by turning heat-soaked highways into sustainable, climate-adaptive plastic-based roads.
Plastic road technology is an intelligent solution that can collect rainwater and can be re-recycled into new plastic road elements at the end of its life cycle. Plus, it can greatly mitigate greenhouse gasses emitted by asphalt pavement.
This technology is by no means new—plastic roads have been used in India for decades—but like all technology, it’s getting smarter and less expensive to produce.
Scratching the Surface of World-Changing Tech
When all is said and done, I’ve only named a handful of world-changing innovations, which hardly even covers all of the industries that are currently trying to save the planet.
While it’s depressing to think about how much damage we’ve done to our planet, I can’t help but feel a surge of hope knowing that technology is being used for the forces of good.
