Who doesn’t want to be a real life Iron Man? I mean, unless you're a DC fan.
Shiny, glistening, metal armor that brims with the latest technology and encapsulates an human being, giving them a newfound set of skills and abilities. Abilities and skills that you can only dream of vividly as you sigh towards your desk during work and/or school...
Well, don’t hold your breath. The future is never as far off as it may seem to be.
Researchers at facilities like Europe’s DFKI are in the business of building robots and applications of article intelligent for the acceleration of technology that assists humans. Lost? I was too, but then I realized that you have to consider the applications of these ‘applications’.
The definition of an exoskeleton is “a strong external cover for the body in that provides support and protection”. And what better way is there to better human life, than through bettering the human body?
In a world so fascinated by the communication facet of technology and the emergence of software/Internet, it makes it hard for people to consider a world ahead of the Internet.
But there is one. And it will only get bigger.
Do you truly think that cryptocurrency and software applications is the only type of innovation humans can create? That we have discovered all the secrets of the world?
I don’t.
Imagine a world like Bungie’s Destiny. In which humans could suit up into a thin, techno-fabric or perhaps a more bulky, mechanical option to explore a world of their choosing on gear of their choice.
You can customize your mechanics — perhaps you want a roboarm that can lift more than 500 people at once, or perhaps you want legs that enable you to run as fast as a cheetah.
With exoskeleton technology the world soon becomes your toy, and you wouldn’t need a virtual reality headset to do so. See, I’m not discouraging anyone from making an app or a new cryptocurrency.
I’m just trying to encourage you all to think bigger, dream smarter and invent better. Eons from now — perhaps mere centuries — our descendants might be at the forefront of a new type of exploration all together. And the start of inventions like exoskeletons and synthetic organisms will aid in this tremendously.
Are you familiar with the Kardashev scale? I wasn’t.
I stumbled upon it doing some Googling, and to most its just an assumption or theory of how the world might plan out in the years to come. But, I think they’re on to something here.
Don’t you?
I mean, that's a fucking world to live in. Except, in a Kardashevian world, we won’t exactly be living on planets for long. We’ll be harvesting them.
Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev proposed in 1964 a scale of energy consumption on tiers of power. Tier 1 being a planetary civilization, Tier 2 being a stellar civilization and Tier 3 being a galactic civilization.
I won’t go deep into the concept behind the scale and the many reiterations of it, because the message of the method remains the same.
(Although the scale is arguably a measure of a civilization’s level of technological advancement, based on communication)
But like we said earlier, communication isn’t the only way to innovate. It is merely the stepping stone for a bigger one: exploration.
In a universe where civilization harvests energy from the sun or the entire galaxy, there opens up more opportunities for extraterrestrial exploration, tying back into exoskeletons.
What do you think the universe will look like if we being to harvest planets, stars? What will the body technology of the future be?
Until next time, we wonder.
About the "And, We Wonder" series:
A collection of SteemIt articles posted on Sunday's and Thursday's, I plan to discuss the concepts of space exploration, futurism, singularity and other wonky things pertaining to the future. By dissecting current and future events and describing them in layman terms for all readers I believe I am imploring them to consider the impossible and even dream it.
Written by @YYLIB
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For humanity. Onward.