One of the things I like to do when speaking about the future is challenge conventional wisdom and get people to rethink some of their basic assumptions about what tomorrow might look like. Today’s new technology definitely falls into this category—it is the idea that in the future some robots will be controlled by the action of a person’s tongue. That’s right, tongue control.
Before you dismiss the idea, first watch this short video:
Now, consider how a soldier in a stressful combat situation (where he or she is using both arms to carry a weapon) might also want to steer a robot around a corner in order to see if any bad guys are lurking there. One way to do this would be by manuevering the robot with a tongue-control device.
Stroke victims or parapalegics might also benefit from the technology. As robots continue to get better, it is not unreasonable to think that some people will want use robots to perform some household functions. To do so, however, they will need to be controlled—and that’s where the tongue-control technology could come into play.
Now, I’m not saying this vision will definitely come to fruition but I wouldn’t dismiss the idea either.
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Jack Uldrich still prefers the more innocent violence of his generation’s Rock’ em, Sock’ em robots to, say, this generation’s Grand Theft Auto. He is also a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. Jack is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequent speaker on future technology and future trends, nanotechnology, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and trade associations.
