The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center has recently updated its inventory of all the consumer products that incorporate nanotechnology . What is noteworthy about the new list is how quickly it has grown. In March 2006 the inventory included only 220 products; today it contains 580 products.
Many of these products will be familiar to Jump the Curve readers and include commonly cited applications of nanotechnology in clothing, golf balls and sunscreens. A closer review, however, reveals some surprising new additions.
Apollo Diamond’s ”cultured” diamonds are now on the list and this is bad news for large diamond companies because these diamonds are molecularly identical to diamonds harvested from the earth, but they are less expensive to produce and are manufactured in a more environmentally sustainable manner. As I explained earlier this year, these advances in nanotechnology beg the question of how long natural diamonds will remain a girl’s best friend.
Other new additions include Starkey Laboratories’ hearing aid’s which contain custom-designed ultra-miniature spintronic sensors, and Black & Deckers’ DeWalt cordless power-tool set which utilizes phosphate nanocrystals to improve its batteries.
The automotive industry is also rapidly embracing nanotechnology. General Motors is employing nanomaterials to develop stronger and lighter body parts, and Daimler-Chrysler is using nanoparticles to create scratch-resistant exterior paints on certain Mercedes-Benz models.
A variety of other companies, including Motorola; DuPont, Sony and Universal Display are even incorporating carbon nanotubes to create more efficient organic light-emitting diodes for a variety of consumer electronics.
All of this new activity suggests that nanotechnology’s already rapidly growing numbers will only grow larger in the years ahead. To profit from these trends, the Exponential Executive not only needs to monitor how and where nanotechnology is being used today, he or she must also think through how it will be employed tomorrow because soon nanotechnology will not only be here and there—it will be everywhere.
Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He 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 trends, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and associations.
