Emerging Technologies

AbdułRāfāy Moeen
GRAFTON UNIVERSITY | Islamabad
H D 9 2223

By
AbdułRāfāy Moeen

Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 2
A ge of Te c hnology ........................................................................................... 4
E merge nc e of Te c hnology .............................................................................. 12
Context ........................................................................................................... 13
LO1: Understand Emerging Technol ogies ...................................................... 14
Ident ify emerging t ec hnologies (any t wo or t hree) and c urrent
development swit hin eac h of t hese four c hosen environments .............................. 14
4 new t ec hnologic al advanc ement s and t heirfields
t hat will beimplement ed in t he near fut ure ....................................................... 26
Provide an assess ment of t he dependenc y of suc h
environment s on fut ure enhanc ement s ............................................................. 28
LO2: Understand the impact of emerging technologies on society ............... 29
Societ al impact of nanot ec hnology ............................................................. 33
LO3: Conduct research into emerging technologies ..................................... 34
C onduc t researc h using eit her pri mary (if possible) or sec ondary
sourc es of dat a on t he c hallenging aspect of t he c hosen T ec hnology ..................... 34
Analyse dat a & present t he researc h findings in t he form of a researc h report ........ 35
Provide an evaluat ion of t he researc h proc ess e.g. use qualit at ive
researc h evaluat ion c r it eria if your researc h is qualit at ive in nat ure ..................... 44
LO4: Understand the ethical impl ications of emerging technologies ............ 46
References ...................................................................................................... 48

1
It has become appallingly obvious
that our technology has exceeded
our humanity.
– Albert Einstein

2
Introduction
Tekhnē
Art, Craft
Tekhnologia
Systematic
treatment
-logia
Technology
Earl y 17 th Century
-ology
A branch
of l earning
The w ord technol ogy w as deriv ed in earl y 17th century, from the
Greek w ord ‘t eknologia’, w hich means ‘systematic t reatment ’.
“Technol ogy can thus, be defined as the application of scientific know l edge to
engineer an enhanced sol ution to any probl em .”

3
T
echnol ogy is ev ery inv ention that serv es some purpose. It starts with
the simpl est of things l ike stone w heels, bl ocks, spears, boats and
carts al l the w ay dow n to the most complex and sophisticated of
things such as robots, spaceships, satellites and space stations.
“Technol ogy is w hat w e util ise to harness more technol ogy.”
We are using technol ogy w hen w e use scientific knowledge
practically w ith tool s and appl ications in our ev eryday l iv es and
industries to achiev e those specific goal s.
Today, technol ogy has become strongl y interconnected and
interdependent. But it can stil l be subdiv ided into numerous
categories based on the purposes and methods for w hich it serv es.
Few o f mo st fa mi l iar cl a ssificat ions o f Tech n o logy a re:
Educational
To improv e l earning and
teaching.
El ectronic
To util ise el ectrical power
and inv ent such dev ices.
I ndustrial
To create or produce goods
or serv ices w ithin an
economy.
Heal th
To diagnose diseases and
prov ide better health care
and recov ery.
M echanical
To transform physical l abour
into mechanical and
improv e efficiency.
M anufacturing
To shape products on mass
scal e more efficientl y.
I nformation
To establish connection
betw een the physical w orld
and the digital w orl d.
Communication
To prov ide means of
communication w ith any
and ev erything.

4
[ 1 ]
Age of Technology
The timel ine giv en bel ow is based on l egitimate archaeological
discov eries and historical ev ents from 7 mil l ion B.C. al l the w ay up
to the present. After that, it is partl y based on current scientific
theories and partl y on the actual w riter’s ow n speculations.
7 million BC to 2.6 million BC
They seem to hav e emerged in Africa around 7 mil l ion BC.
Used simpl e tool s and gathered food through pl ants.
Had a social organisation .
2.6 million BC to 600,000 BC
Stone tool s w ere inv ented and fire w as discov ered.
Made social organisations of cl ans of famil ies.
They started scav enging for meat.
600,000 BC to 10,000 BC
Hunting animal s and birds for food became common.
Tool s became more adv ance in form of w eapons.
Trav elling started by foot and l ater on, by w ater.
V iol ence emerged.

5
10,000 B.C. to 4000 B.C.
Tool s became more adv ance and w riting w as inv ented.
Crop pl antation and domestication of animal s began.
Animal and w ater transport became common.
Horticul tural Rev olution came.
Wheel w as inv ented.
4000 B.C. to 1700 A.D.
(Babyl on, Sparta, Athens , Rome, Constantinople, Baghdad, etc.)
Liv estock breeding and smal l scale goods manufacturing began.
Carts, pul l eys, l ev ers and other mechanical equipment is made.
Agrarian rev olution came and pl antation of l arge crops began.
Regional social organisations became. Cities emerged.
Parchment began to be used for drawing and w ritings.
Ships began to sail and trading w as dev eloped.
Greek Dark age
1100 B.C. to 750 B.C.
Major rel igions began to emerge.
(Judaism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Taoism,
Buddhism, Jainism, Shinto, Christ ianity, Sikhism and Isl am.)
Roman Empire w as established. (27 B.C.)
Gun pow der w as inv ented .

6
European Dark Age
400 A.D. to 1500 A.D.
Era of European discov ery and col onisation (1500 A.D. to 1900 A.D.)
First nation-states w ere established. (China, Hungary, Pol and,
Lithuania, Spain, Portugal , France, Engl and, Russia , etc.)
Mercenary armies and nav ies w ere established.
Organised w arfare became common.
17,000 A.D. to 1960 A.D.
Mass production using factories created new occupations.
Standing a rmies, nav ies and l ater on air forces dev eloped.
First ev er new spaper publ ished by Benjamin Harris in 1690 A.D.
El ectricity discov ered by Benjamin Frankl in 1752 A.D.
First ev er stock market emerged in Britain in 1773 A.D.
United States of America formed in 1787 A.D.
First v ehicle made by François Isaac de Riv as in 1807 A.D.
Tel egraph inv ented and mass communication began in 1844 A.D.
Inv ention of tel ephone by Al exander Graham Bel l in 1867 A.D.
Radio w as inv ented by Gugl iel mo Marconi in Italy in 1895 A.D
Wil bur and Orv ille Wright made their first fl ights in 1903 A.D.
First T.V demonstrated by Phil o Tayl or Farnsworth in 1927 A.D.
Worl d War 1 (1914 to 1918) & Worl d War 2 (1939 to 1945) A.D.
Nucl ear w eapons dev eloped in 1945 A.D.
Inv ention of first El ectronic Computer called ENIAC in 1946 A.D.
First satellite (Sputnik 1) l aunched into Earth’s orbit in 1957 A.D.

7
1960 A.D. to 2030 A.D.
Lan, Wan, Intranet & Internet established.
Use of petroleum as fuel & Nucl ear fission pow er pl ants in use.
Mass production adv ances to al loys and pl astic dev elopment.
Computers become common and primitiv e space trav el starts.
Increase in serv ice-oriented and computer -based occupations .
Apol lo11 moon l anding by Neil Armstrong & Buzz Al drin in 1969.
Art of w ar created w ith chemical, biol ogical & Cyber w arfare.
Mass transportation expands in the form of buses and trains .
Mobil e phones became w idely av ailable in the l ate 1980s.
IBM Simon w as the first phone w ith a touch screen in 1992.
Long distance communication improv es w ith fibre optics.
Hybrid technol ogy for v ehicles w as impl emented in 1997.
First DSLR camera Nikon D1 w as made av ailable in 1999.
2009 A.D.
Personal computers are capable to perform a tril l ion cal culations.
Cabl es starting to become obsol ete w ith new w irel ess technology.
Pocket readers for the bl ind and v isually impaired are dev eloped.
El ectric cars are dev eloped w hich require onl y el ectricity as fuel .
Computer controlled orthotic dev ices for paraplegic indiv iduals.
High resol ution displ ays are embedded in cl othes and gadgets.
Speech recognition is impl emented w ith on the go transl ation.
Intelligent courseware has emerged as means of l earning.
Speech to text conv erters for the deaf are dev eloped.

8
2019 A.D.
Exoskeletal systems w il l be av ailable for paraplegic & quadripl egic.
Deaf w il l read w hat others say through their eye w are l ens display.
Teaching w il l be conducted v ia smart software based simul ation.
Computers w il l hav e the computational abil ity equal to a brain.
Sel f-driv ing v ehicles w ill be established up for commercial use.
Most dev ice w ill interact w ith motion gesture or v oice control .
(For communication w ith peopl e, machines or computers).
3D v irtual reality displays w ill be embedded ev erywhere.
Paper and documents w ill then be rarel y used.
Work on Nano-technology w ill be on the rise.
2029 A.D.
Computers computational ability w ill increase to a thousand brains.
Debates about l egal rights of A.I & w hat constitutes being "human."
Basic l ife needs are expected to be av ailable for the v ast majority .
Impl ants w hich communicate w ith w orldwide computing netw ork s.
Human empl oyment w ill diminish in production & transport fiel ds.
Neural impl ants to enhance v isual and auditory perceptions.
Machines w il l become consciously aw are.

9
2030 A.D. to 2300 A.D.
Synthesised food w ith desired nutritional composition and texture.
Organic technol ogy w ith human intel l igence as l iv ing machines.
Commercial orbital spacecraft and deep space mining begins.
Hol ov ision becomes common al ong w ith artificial intel l igence.
Cybernetic technology as brain impl ants w hich w il l al low the
transmission of information from person to person seamlessly.
Col onising other pl anets w ith interpl anetary space trav eling.
Artificial grav ity is established for space and other pl anets.
Sel f-replicating nanobots to perform preprogramed tasks .
Nano and space based w arfare begins.
2300 A.D. to 15,000 A.D.
Entire sol ar system interconnected under separate organisations.
Repl ication of matter and energy through quantum dynamics.
Cyber organic tech w ith highl y efficient nanotech industries.
Mass production using factories create d new occupations.
Dev elopment of star-ships, jump gates and hyper driv es.
Memory and information transfer becomes av ailable.
Interactiv e hol o-env ironments become common.
Anti-matter technology and w eaponization.
Abil ity to harness the energy from a pl anet.

10
15,000 A.D. to 300,000 A.D.
Psychic abil ity to read the thoughts of others begins to dev elop.
Adv ance Hyperspace trav el accomplished through hyperfl ux.
Abil ity to transfer 'soul ' from one body to another dev elops.
Empathic abil ity dev elops to read the emotions of others.
Empathic abil ity dev elops to feel the emotions of others.
Incl uding creation of artificial or bionic bodies.
Empathic abil it ies become common.
300,000 A.D. to 3 Million A.D.
Subspace conduits constructed enable fast trav el across gal axy.
Wormhol e communication dev elops and giv es the abil ity to be
abl e to communicate instantly anywhere w ithin the univ erse.
Society engages in psychic pursuits as primary occupation.
Psychic abil ity gets common and Tel ekinetic abil ity begins
to dev elop (the abil ity to mov e objects w ith one's mind ).
Temporal research l eads to the abil ity to v iew the past.
Singl e Trans -Galactic Consciousness dev elops.
The manipul ation of stars becomes possible.

11
3 Million A.D. to 300 Million A.D.
Wormhol e transportation al lows instant trav el in the univ erse.
Super beings begin to ev olve existing as pure energy.
Manipul ation of the time stream becomes possible.
Extradimensional communication is dev eloped.
Cosmic Consciousness dev elops.
Tel ekinetic Abil ity is common.
300 Million A.D. to 3 Billion A.D.
Super beings , al most div ine in intel l igence and pow er.
Al l , in part or in w hol e, are extradimensional in nature.
No barrier bars their passage in either space or time.

12
Emergence of Technology
M
echanic arts , col l ectiv ely has the same famil iar sense as the
w ord technology. [2]
Innov ativ e methods that hav e been dev eloped ov er the centuries
hav e opened up new technol ogies. Some of w hich are credited to
theoretical researches w hil e others to commercial research and
dev elopment. [3]
Pri ma ri ly t h ese d evel opment s fa l l i n t o t wo ca t ego ri es :
Ideological and Substantive.
“Ideological dev elopments are those w hich create changes
in the prev ailing conception of the mechanic arts themselves .”
“Whereas, substantiv e dev elopments are those w hich change
the material dev elopment of the machinery itsel f, and of
the institutional setting from w hich it is emerged.”
Most technologies dev eloped are generally new but may incl ude
or be deriv ed from ol der technol ogies that w ere stil l controv ersial
or rel ativ ely underdev eloped in their true potential.
Technol ogy either grow s in an incremental manner or in a disruptiv e
manner. Incremental manner is w hen the same technol ogy simply
continues to improv e w ith more innov ativ e methodology. Disruptiv e
manner is w hen technol ogy is repl aced by a better al ternativ e
technol ogy making the former obsol ete.
An example of the former is the gradual rol l-out of BD (Bl u-ray Disk)
as a dev elopment intended to fol l ow on from the prev ious optical
technol ogy DV D (Digital V ideo Disk). By contrast, as
aforementioned, disruptiv e technol ogies are those w here a new
method repl aces the prev ious technology, making it redundant, for
example, the repl acement of CDs and DV Ds replaced by Fl ash USB
(Univ ersal Serial Bus) driv es. [4]

13
Context
Briefly describe your chosen emerging technology.
C h o sen emergi ng t ech n olo gical en vi ronments a r e:
◘ Information Technology
Introducing v irtual reality, augmented reality and artificial
intel l igence.
◘ Assistive Technology
Introducing the use of hearing aids, innov ativ e eyewear
and prosthetic dev ices for the disabl ed.
◘ Transport Technology
Introducing speed trains, more efficient aircraft s and
motor v ehicles to trav el from one pl ace to another faster
and easier.
◘ Nano Technology
Introducing nanorobotics , nanomedicine and nanofood.

14
LO1: Understand
Emerging Technologies
Examine any four emerging technology environments.
I. Ident ify emerging t ec hnologies (any t wo or t hree) and c urrent development s
wit hin eac h of t hese four c hosen environment s.
Virtual Reality
A real istic and immersiv e simul ation of a three-dimensional
env ironment, created using interactiv e software and hardw are,
and experienced or control led by mov ement of the body. [5]
Oculus Rift is one of those v irtual reality headsets.
Funded on Kickstarter, the dev ice
w as first rel eased back in March.
After v arious designs and models,
an improv ed v ersion of Crescent
Bay is the final consumer edition.
The appl ication of such a dev ice
can be in the fiel ds of gaming,
social media and other industries
or professions such as adv ertising
or architecture and designs.
Oculus R if t P rice : $ 599. Dev ice Dis play : 2160 x 1200 @ 90 Hz . [6]

15
Augmented Reality
A l iv e direct or indirect v iew of a physical, real -world env ironment
w hose el ements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer
generated sensory input such as sound, v ideo, graphics or GPS data.
HoloLens is one such augmented real ity dev ices.
Dev eloped by the Microsoft team,
the dev ice had been in the making
for al most fiv e years and final l y the
dev elopment v ersion w as rel eased
back in March this year.
This is essentially a hol ographic
computer buil t into an eyewear
that l ets you see, hear, and
interact w ith hol ograms w ithin any
env ironment such as a l iv ing room
or an office space . One can experience physical as w ell as v irtual
and augmented real ities combined altogether in a mixed real ity.
[7]
H oloLens P rice: $ 3000. Dev ice Dis play: 16:9 2.3 MP.
Future of Augmented Reality.
Augmented Reality is the bridge between cyber and the real w orld.
In near future, augment real ity w il l pl ay a v ital rol e in our dail y l iv es.
With l imitl ess possibilities, it might as w ell become an essential. Our
env ironment w ill become integrated w ith our v isual dev ices such as
l ens or gl asses . Ev erything w e see coul d be enhanced for more
precision and detail . The util isation of such technol ogy w il l be
ev erywhere, l ike in military, education, science and ev eryday l ife.

16
Artificial Intelligence
Intelligence exhibited by machines w hil e perceiv ing the
env ironment, in a fl exibl e and rational manner such as
v isual perception, spee ch recognition & decision-making.
Artificial intelligence today is
properly know n as narrow AI (or
w eak AI), in that it is designed to
perform a narrow task (e.g. only
facial recognition or onl y internet
searches or onl y driv ing a car).
How ev er, the l ong-term goal of
many researchers is to create
general AI (AGI or strong AI). Whil e
narrow AI may outperform humans
at w hatev er its specific task is, l ike
pl aying chess or sol v ing equations,
AGI w oul d outperform humans at
nearl y ev ery cognitiv e task. [8]
IBM Watson is one such narrow AI technol ogy pl atform, dev eloped
in 2011. It uses natural l anguage processing and machine l earning
to rev eal insights from l arge amounts of unstructured data . It is
capable of answ ering questions posed in natural l anguage. It can
retriev e information and prov ide answers w ith intel l igent reasoning.

17
Hearing Aids
Littl e gadgets w hich can be pl anted in ears, that amplify sound up to the
desired l ev el. They are usual ly w orn by peopl e w ith hearing disabil ities .
Hearing aids today are starting to fit in the technology category of
adv anced el ectronic dev ices that are w orn, much l ike fashion
accessories. Not just as medical dev ices to ampl ify sounds, but
dev ices that can be paired w ith smart phones to stream calls
directl y to the hearing aids. Adv ancements on the horizon incl ude
sensors that can detect bl ood pressure, bl ood sugar l ev els, and
sl eep apnoea. As el ectronics improv e greatly so do the possibil ities.
[9]
Types of Hearing Aids
◘ CIC
◘ ITC
◘ ITE
◘ BTE
◘ RIC
◘ Open Fit
New Cochl ear Impl ant has been dev eloped by researchers
at MIT’s Microsystems Technol ogy Laboratory (MTL), together w ith
physicians from Harv ard Medical
School and the Massachusetts Eye
and Ear Infirmary (MEEI). This dev ice
operates on l ow -power signalprocessing
chip s that do not require
any external dev ice.
The chip uses the natural microphone
of the middl e ear rather than a skull -
mounted microphone. The implant
w oul d be w irel essly recharged and

18
w oul d run for about eight hours on each charge.
Innovative Eye Wear
Ingenious items or accessories w orn ov er the eyes, for expression or adornment,
protection against the env ironment, or to improv e and enhance v isual cl arity.
eSight Eyewear is one such innov ativ e, w earable, el ectronic
assistiv e technol ogy designed specifically for peopl e w ith low
v ision. It is a high-tech eyew ear dev ice that enhances w hatev er
the user is l ooking at to maximize the effectiv eness of their
remaining eyesight.
eSight E y ew ear P rice: $ 15,000.
Working of eSight Eyewear
eSight eyew ear uses a high -resol ution camera to capture w hat the
user is l ooking at, and projects real -time onto tw o LED screens right
in front of their eyes. The dev ice has been show n to w ork for those
from age 6 al l the w ay up to 96, and is custom izable, so the
prescriptions can be buil t right into the se dev ices. [10]

19
Prosthetic Devices
An artificial dev ice that repl aces a missing body part,
such as a tooth, facial bone, the pal ate, or a joint, w hich
may be l ost through trauma, disease, or congenital conditions .
Bebionic is the w orld’s most l ife l ike bionic
hand. It is sl eek, el egant and cutting-edge
in design and technol ogy. It pushes the
boundaries of mul ti-articulating myoel ectric
hands.
As the w orld’s most l ifel ike, functional and
easy to use myoel ectric hand commercially
av ail able today, Bebionic is comfortable,
precise & intuitiv e for patients, transforming
their l iv es and abil ities around the w orld.
From hel ping them perform simpl e tasks l ike
tying shoel aces or ties to sw imming and rock
cl imbing. It giv es them back the control of
their l ife. [11]
B ebionic P rice: $ 11,000.

20
Speed Trains
A series of connected rail way carriages or w agons capable of
mov ing at high speeds by l ocomotiv e or pow erful integral motors.
Worl d’s fastest commercial train today is in China.
CRH380A, it is the newest
generation of Chinese high
speed train, capable of
running up to 380 kil ometres
per hour. It can be manually
driv en or set to use the on -
board computers to driv e
the train from a standing
start at your departure
station to your destination w ith not much more effort than adjusting
the cruise control to comply w ith the speed l imits. [12]
Future of Trains
Super Maglev trains are the immediate future.
Short for magnetic l ev itation, they use magnets to l ift the carriages
abov e the track. This el iminates the ne ed for w heels and therefore
any incidence of friction, prov iding a faster and quieter serv ice.
Accel eration and decel eration w ill far exceed that of conv entional
trains. And magl ev al so w ill make for much smoother journeys.
Right now , their speeds are
reaching up to 600
kil ometres per hour due to
the encounter of excessiv e
air resistance. But v acuum
tube designs w il l al low them
to trav el ov er sev en times
faster in the future. [13]

21
Air Crafts
A fl ying machine that gains support from the air , countering the force
of grav ity by using either static or dynamic l ift of an aerofoil ,
or in a few cases the dow nward thrust from its engines. [14]
Cessna Citation X is currentl y the w orl d’s fastest s ubsonic air craft.
It is a business jet aircraft, buil t by Cessna Aircraft Company in USA.
It has a cruising speed of 604 mil es / 972 kil ometres per hour.
Ces s na Citation X P rice: $ 23.365 mil l ion.
Supersonic Boom is next.
Future of Air Crafts
Boom planes will travel 2.6 times faster than any other aircraft, up to speeds of
1,451 miles or 2,335 kilometres per hour. Each vessel will have 40 seats in two
rows on either side of the aisle, and will allow passengers travel from London to
New York in under three and a half hours. The test flights are expected next
year in 2017 with the ticket prices to be around $5,000 (approximately £4,100).

22
Motor Vehicles
Sel f-propelled l and machine s on w heels that are usually
propelled by internal combustion engines or el ectric motors.
Tesla Model S is the l atest dev elopment in the automobile industry.
It is a ful l -sized pl ug-in el ectric
l uxury sedan, pioneered by Tesla
Motors, Inc w hich is an American
automotiv e and energy storage
company founded by El on Musk,
that designs, manufactures, and
sel ls l uxury el ectric cars, el ectric
v ehicle pow ertrain components
& battery products. [15]
B as e Model S P rice: $ 71,000.
Future of Automobiles
Today's "cutting edge" is tomorrow's "commonplace." Combustion
engines, in the near future, may not onl y become redundant but
possibl y get banned. Repl aced by zero-emission v ehicles.
Meanw hil e, they’v e created AeroMobil. A beautiful roadable
aircraft w hich can transform from an automobil e to an aeroplane.
Dev eloped by AeroMobil s.r.o. in Sl ov akia, it is expected to l aunch
commercially in 2017 and is expected to cost somewhere between
a super car and a small pl ane. [16]

23
Nanorobotics
The engineering discipl ine of designing and buil ding nanorobots
or machines cl ose to the scal e of a nanometre (10 - 9 Metre),
smal ler than the w av elength of the v isible l ight .
NanoMotor is the w orld’s smal lest, fastest and l ongest -running tiny
synthetic motor to date. Dev eloped by researchers at the Cockrell
School of Engineering at The Univ ersity of Texas at Austin , this
rel iable, ul tra -high-speed nanomotor can conv ert el ectrical en ergy
into mechanical motion on a scal e 500 times smal ler than a grain
of sal t. With al l its dimensions under 1 micrometre in size, the
nanomotor coul d fit inside a human cel l and is capable of rotating
for 15 continuous hours at a speed of 18,000 RPMs, the speed of a
motor in a jet airpl ane engine , in a nonbiol ogical setting. Therefore,
it has become successful in its design and assembly.
Looking forw ard in future, nanomotors coul d adv ance the fiel d of
nanoel ectromechanical systems (NEMS), an area focused on
dev eloping miniature machines that are more energy efficient and
l ess expensiv e to produce. [17]
Future of Nanorobotics
With the modern scientific capabilities, it has
become possible to attempt the creation of
nanorobotic dev ices and interface them w ith
the macro w orld for control . There are countless
such machines that exist in nature and there is
an opportunity to buil d mo re of them by
mimicking nature. But m anipul ating matter at
mol ecular scal e and infl uencing its behav iour
(dynamics and properties) is a big chal lenge for the nanorobotics.
This fiel d is in v ery early stages of dev elopment and stil l a l ot has to
be figured out before any substantial outcome is produced. [18]

24
Nanomedicine
A branch of medicine that applies the know l edge and tool s of nanotechnology
inv olv ing the use of nanoscale materials, such as biocompatible nanoparticles
and nanorobots for the prev ention and treatment of diseases. [19]
Nano-Sight w il l enable us to improv e v irus detection. It will
constantly be racing against the diseases it aims to diagnose, and
w hen surv iv al depends on earl y interv ention, l osing this race can
be fatal. Whil e detecting cancer, biomarkers are the key to early
diagnosis, but the number of biomarkers that rev eal the presence
of cancerous cells are l ow. To ov ercome this challenge, researchers
are dev eloping functional nanomaterials for more sensitiv e
detection of intracellular metabolites, tumour cel l –membrane
proteins, and cancer cel ls that are circul ating in the bl oodstream.
Nano-Fighters can, in addition to serv ing as mere drug carriers that
del iv er the chemical payl oad to target cel ls, themselves function
as therapeutics based on their nanomaterial compositions . [20]
Future of Nanomedicine
Nanomedicine w il l be used in many
forms such as medical diagnostics, l ife
aging extensions, engineering organs
dow n to the cel lular or sub-cellular
l ev els and in adv anced pharmacology.
[21]
New subfiel ds hav e adv anced by recent dev elopments in
nanomedicine, incl uding tissue engineering and regenerativ e
medicine, medical dev ices, and v accines. Caution must be taken
until these different technol ogies prov e to be safe , but
nanomedicine is now poise d to make a tremendous impact on
heal th care and the practice of cl inical medicine.

25
Nanofood
Any food substance created by the empl oyment of
nanotechnological techniques in any part of the food chain
i.e. cul tiv ation, production, processing or packaging .
[22]
Food processing w ith nanotechnology is al ready making an impact
w ith nanoparticles and nanocapsules b eing added to v arious
foodstuff to increase their shel f l ife, al ter properties, enhance
nutritional v alue and change taste.
Food packaging w ith the use of nanotechnology is al so a
commonplace real ity and can be separated into tw o types: activ e
packaging and smart packaging. Activ e packaging incl udes
materials that constant ly prov ide a certain feature l ike stopping
oxygen from spoil ing food. Smart packaging reacts to changes in
the env ironment such as to indicate the presence of a pathogen. [ 2 3 ]
Incorporation of bioactiv e compounds such as v itam ins, probiotics,
bioactiv e peptides, and antioxidants into Nutrient Del iv ery System
(NDS) for 'nanofood' prov ides simpl e w ay to dev elop nov el
functional foods that may hav e physiol ogical benefits or reduce
risks of diseases.
Future of Nanofood
Tomorrow , food w ill be designed by shaping
atoms and mol ecules. Nanoscale biotech
and bioinformatics w il l hav e a big impact
on food and food processing industries.
Crop DNS decoding and anal ysing will
enabl e the industries to predict, control
and Improv e agricul tur al production,
design food w ith much more capability,
precision, l ow er costs and sustainabil ity.

26
I I.
4 new t ec hnologic al advanc ement s and t heir fields
t hat will be implement ed in t he near fut ure. [ 2 5 ]
( MO LE CU LA R BI O TE CHNO LOGI ES )
In Vitro meat is meat that is grow n in a l ab. Since meat is composed
of atoms, it is possible to restructure other atoms in the exact same
fashion but by different means , thus it w oul d stil l exactly be meat.
It may not be possibl e to distinguish
betw een In V itro and actual meat ev en
by taste, texture or anything el se; states
professor of Mol ecul ar Biol ogy at
Stanford Univ ersity Pat Brow n.
Env ironmentally, it w il l require l esser
resources to grow . But, economically,
high production costs are the biggest
barriers between consumer and in v itro meat products today.
The adv ancements in this fiel d in future w il l driv e the prices dow n.
Companies l ike New Harvest and Modern Meadow are w orking
strong to make I n V itro meat a real ity for tomorrow .
E t hic al sense
In v itro me at w ill ne v e r be alive, so it w ill ne v e r die.
( RO BO T I CS )
These power-armours or exo-suits are w earable mobile
machines that w il l be pow ered by el ectric motors, pneumatics,
l ev ers, hydraulics, and a combination of technol ogies that will
al l ow for l imbs mov ement, increased strength, and endurance.
Pow ered exoskeletons of a l arger, stronger kind hav e many
more uses. Emergency responders can use exoskeletons to
increase their strength . The US is fund ing many exoskeleton
v entures meant to support sol diers to w al k further and l ift more.
This rev olutionary product w il l hav e an immediate, l ife -
changing impact on indiv iduals w ith spinal cord injuries . It will
enabl e the paraplegics and tetraplegics to stand and walk
around, al lowing for more exercise, heal thier l ifestyle, and the
abil ity to see eye -to-eye w ith their peers.
E t hic al sense W e aponizat ion or me dic al and eme rge nc y support .

27
( N E U R OS CI ENCE )
Brain-controlled computers, in combination w ith some other
technol ogies, coul d bring a rev olution in human computer
interaction. Like, a computer controlled by the mind coul d ev en
al l ow those w ithout arms or l egs to control machines, prosthetics,
exoskeletons, or other dev ices. The appl ications of brain controlled
computers are al most ev erywhere, l ike in v ideo games, tel ev ision,
mov ies, communication dev ices, and ev en in transport.
The goal is remov e as many barriers betw een us
and data, as possible. So, that the interaction
becomes natural. And this w ay w e can l iterally
do anything w e put our minds to.
Today, science has discov ered a method for
creating a translational al gorithm with w hich we
can control cursor on the screen w ith our mind.
E t hic al sense C re at ivity and e x pre ssion at its be st .
( GE N E T I C E N G I NEERI NG )
Genome editing seeks to fix defectiv e genes w ith engineered
nucl euses cal l ed GEENS by inserting, del eting or repl acing DNA in
an organism’s gnome.
The abil ity to edit or repl ace specific genes rel ies on modified
v iruses l ike the adeno -associated v irus (AAV ), w hich
can get into a person’s body and repl ace the faulty
genes w ith good ones. Another method is to remov e
some cel l s, treat them w ith a modified v irus, and then
reinsert the cel l s back into a patient’s body.
Many biotech companies hav e successfully gathered
funds for research on this possible treatment, incl uding
Bluebird Bio , and Juno Therapeutics , w hich hav e
successfully raised $116 mil l ion IPO and $120 mil l ion in
v enture capital respectiv ely.
E t hical s e nse Possibility of ge t t ing phy sic ally and me nt ally hac k e d .

28
I II.
Provide an assessment of t he dependenc y of
suc h environment s on fut ure enhanc ement s.
Env ironment dependency assessment is about assessing the l ev el
of importance that a giv en technol ogy may hol d to upl ift the
barriers and to prov ide a pathway for future adv ancements .
The future enhancements that this technol ogy may bring w ould
rev olutionise our l iv es . Such as w ith m uscl e fibre regeneration. Real
artificial l y created l imbs instead of bionics. Mul ti-fl av ours of meat.
This w il l create a hav oc as w hen combined w ith A.I, computers w ill
start to w alk, hav ing human l ike structure. It w il l also l ift the barriers
of mov ement for peopl e w ho cannot w alk. Intelligent machine
transport may take origin.
With the possibil ity of interpreting thoughts into digital form, new
designs w il l emerge. Future w il l become more predictable w ith
v irtually experiencing real l ife scenarios. Physical disabil ities w il l not
be a barrier in the cyber w orld.
With such pow ers to manipul ate, custom designed organic
structures coul d be dev eloped. Real monsters coul d be created.
Humans and animals could genetically be combined to bring Greek
mythol ogical creatures, such as Centaurs and Minotaurs to l ife.
Genetic disabil ities from inheritance,
such as cancer or tumour cel ls could
be remov ed, to create the perfect
human beings w ith enhanced sensory
abil ities. Ev en w ith greater sixth senses.

LO2: Understand the impact of
emerging technologies on society
Perform an analysis of your selected emerging technology
and its social implications. You can use any model/tool
to guide your analysis such as SWOT analysis, etc.
SELECT ED E M E R GIN G TE CHNOLO GY : “NANOTECHNOLOGY”
The understanding and control of matter at dimensions
betw een approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, w here
unique phenomenon enable nov el applications.
“
For
MOD EL F O R G UIDANCE : “SWOT A NA LYSIS” ( A lt er nativ el y S W O T M atri x)
the purposes of this anal ysis , SWOT method has been adapted.
This anal ysis prov ides identification for the internal and external
factors, fav ourable or unfav ourable, to achiev e the objectiv es.
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats .
The next step is hav ing a Nano-Sustainability Check . It prov ides an
integrated approach rel ativ e to sust ainability aspects of
nanotechnological applications. The approach chosen al l ows the
Nano-Sustainabil ity check to serv e as a strategic radar system for
the opportunities and threats, in order to be abl e to anticipate
beneficial effects for the env ironment and to identify new markets
on one side, and to striv e to av oid bad inv estments and dangers
to society on the other side.
” 29

30
SWOT ANA LY SI S : “NANOT E C HNO LO G Y”
- ST RENGT HS -
◘ Funding is av ailable.
◘ High societal benefits.
◘ Basic research is strong.
◘ Good general infrastructure.
◘ High potential for empl oyment.
◘ Ampl e room for new inv entions.
◘ Gov ernment and pol itical support.
◘ Many different fiel ds to inv estigate.
◘ Skil l ed w orkforce to deal w ith compl exity.
- W EAKNESSES -
◘ V isibil ity.
◘ Bureaucratic obstacles.
◘ Insufficient prov isions of risk capital .
◘ Lack of nano-v ision (Future horizon.)
◘ Technol ogical economy not adv anced.
◘ Lack of nanotech knowledge and know how.
◘ Great time and inv estments required for R&D.
◘ Continued uncertainty about economic cl imate.
◘ Risk discussion as a priority instead of risk benefits.
◘ Primary cl ients are dev eloped countries & gl obal industry sectors.

31
- OPPORT U NIT IES -
◘ High demand.
◘ Resources av ail able.
◘ Gov ernment support.
◘ Increase in empl oyment.
◘ International col laboration.
◘ Natural resources av ail able.
◘ Good cl imate for innov ation.
◘ Industrial needs meet appl ication.
◘ Depl oyment of compl ex societal sol utions.
- T HREAT S -
◘ Lack of funds.
◘ Risk Perception.
◘ Technol ogy monopoly.
◘ No current regul ations.
◘ Heal th and safety issues.
◘ Funding stabil ity unknown.
◘ Waste & recycle management.
◘ Establish critical mass for depl oyment.
◘ Lack of support from the priv ate sector.
◘ Safe, responsible handl ing of nanotechnology.
◘ Future products coul d be impacted by regul ations.

32
- Conclusion -
Deep researches are being carried out for each major sector in
nanotechnology. The medical sector is at the forefront. Most new ideas are
conv erging to the heal th sector. Therefore, the biggest impact in the future of
nanotechnology w ill be in bio -engineering. How ev er, before commercialisation
of any product that has been made out of nanotechnology, it w il l need to hav e
gone through different regul ations. Therefore, a regul atory body w il l need to
be set up or established in order to ov ersee the gl obal opera tions that are
taking pl ace at nanoscale.
In the future, nanoscience w il l prosper as the dev elopment of new knowledge
and technol ogies goes hand in hand w ith social progress. Some probl ems will
be eradicated in time if this technol ogy is spread on a gl oba l scal e and not just
to those that can afford it. Whereas there al so comes the potential danger that
new probl ems may arise due to these nano adv ancements. Which coul d lead
to a w hol e new range of diseases and v accinations. In such case, onl y w ith
time w il l it be seen if there are answ ers to such probl ems. [26]
“
NanoMeter
F UT URE T O O LS F O R A N A LY SI S : “NANOM E T ER” ( The S e l f-Ev aluating To o l)
is an internet-based screening tool for assessment of
appl ications inv olv ing nanomaterials, w hich are currentl y under
dev elopment. The purpose of NanoMeter is to highl ight relev ant
aspects in order to enhance publ ic acceptance and support
market success of nano appl ications under dev elopment . By
means of NanoMeter, the assessment of future nano appl ications
is queried in six different aspects:
◘ Env ironment, heal th and safety (EHS).
◘ Resource and energy requirements.
◘ User benefits.
◘ Benefits and risks for society.
◘ Product responsibil ity.
◘ Commitment to stakeholder dial ogues.
”

33
Soc iet al impac t of n a n otechnology.
The key indicator Societal impact anal yses w hether the product under rev iew
has a significant impact on a social l y rel ev ant area. Th is observ ation primaril y
focuses on those aspects that can be attributed to the use of nanomaterials
and nanotechnologies as an “enabling technol ogy”.
Beyond the toxicity risks to human heal th and the env ironment
w hich are associated w ith first -generation nanomaterials,
nanotechnology has broader societal impact and poses broader
social chal lenges. Strong research and decision-making shoul d be
conducted in order to ensure technol ogy dev elopment meets
social objectiv e s. Al so, it is suggested by the organizations in civ il
society that technol ogy assessment and gov ernance shoul d also
inv olve public participation .
Nanotechnologies may prov ide new sol utions for the mil l ions of
peopl e in dev eloping countries w ho l ack access to basic serv ices,
such as safe w ater, rel iable energy, heal th care, and education.
Some of the adv antages of nanotechnology incl ude production
using l ittl e l abour, l and, or maintenance, high productiv ity, low
cost, and modest requirements for materials and energy. However,
concerns are frequently raised that the cl aimed benefits of
nanotechnology w il l not be ev enly distributed, and that any
benefits (incl uding technical and/or economic) associated w ith
nanotechnology w ill onl y reach affl uent nations.
Longer-term concerns centre on the impact that new technologies
w il l hav e for society at l arge, as common man w il l become more
and more dependent on them and w hether these coul d possibly
l ead to either a post-scarcity economy, or al ternativ ely w orsen the
w ealth gap betw een dev eloped and dev eloping nations.
The effects of nanotechnology on the society as a w hol e, on human
heal th and the env ironment, on trade, on security, on food systems
and ev en on the definition of " human being", hav e not yet been
characterized or p ol iticised.

34
LO3: Conduct research
into emerging technologies
Choose an Emerging Technology within the domain of
Information Technology and do the following:
I. C onduc t researc h using eit her primary (if possible) or sec ondary
sourc es of dat a on t he c hallenging aspec t of t he c hosen T ec hnology.
SELECT ED E M E R GIN G TE CHNOLO GY : “VIRT UAL RE A LIT Y”
Th e b i g ch a l l enges i n t h e fi el d o f vi rt u al rea l it y a re: [24]
◘ To dev elop better tracking systems .
◘ Lack of companies dev eloping tracking systems.
◘ Lack of excl usiv e dev elopment in V R interaction.
◘ To decrease the time it takes to buil d v irtual spaces.
(As It takes about a year to recreate a room v irtually.)
◘ To dev elop haptic feedback w ith v irtual interactions.
◘ Displ ay l imitations w ith binocul ar effect and v isible pixels.
(By dev eloping better l enses and displ ay abov e UHD.)
◘ Improv e v isual hardware l imitations such as 90° fiel d of v ision.
(Whereas in real ity, our eyes capture about 280 °.)
◘ To find more natural w ays to intera ct w ithin v irtual env ironments.

35
I I.
Analyse dat a and present t he researc h findings in t he form of a researc h report /paper.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF VIRTUAL REALITY AND ITS CHALLENGES.
Abstract — V irtual reality (V R) is a technology
w hich al l ows users to interact w ith computersimul
ated env ironments, may they be real or
imaginary. In it w e can dev elop our own
w orlds from creating v ideo game s to hav ing
w ander v irtually around the univ erse. This
report contains the basic principl es and open
probl ems of V R. With a short historical
ov erv iew, basic terminol ogies, cl asses of VR
systems and the chal lenges of V irtual Reality.
Introduction — Today, it has
become common for us to be able
to interact w ith computers. They
al l ow us to experience things that
are not accessible in real l ife or yet
created. Moreov er, the w orl d of
graphics ha s neither borders nor
constraints and can be created
and manipul ated how ev er we
desire or imagine. So, w e step into
its w orld to interact w ith it instead
of just w atching. Soon it becomes
ov erwhelmingly popul ar and
fashionable.
V irtual real ity is considered to hav e
begun in the 1950’s but it came to the
publ ic’s attention in the l ate 1980’s and
1990’s. This can be attributed to
pioneering computer scientist Jaron
Lanier w ho introduced the term back in
1987. Most VR env ironments are
primaril y v isual experiences, displayed
either on digital fl at screens or
stereoscopic displays. V irtual reality also
incl udes auditory stimul ation through
speakers or headphones. Users can
interact w ith the v irtual env ironments
through different peripheral dev ices.
Evolution — The v ery first idea w as presented by Ivan Sutherland in
1965: “Make t hat (virt ual) world in t he window look real, sound
real, f eel real, and respond realistically t o t he viewer’s act ions” . It
has been a l ong time since then; a l ot of research has been done.

36
Highlights of Research in Virtual Reality.
◘
Sensorama – 1957 A.D.
Morton Heil ig created a mul ti-sensory simul ator.
It w as a pre-recorded fil m in col our w ith stereo
w hich w as augmented by binaural sound, scent,
w ind and v ibratory experiences. This w as one of
the v ery first approaches to create a v irtual
real ity system and it had al l the features of such
an env ironment, but it w as not interactiv e in any
w ay.
◘
The Ultimate Display – 1965 A.D.
Iv an Sutherl and proposed the ul timate sol ution
of v irtual real ity: an artificial w orld construction
concept that incl uded interactiv e graphics,
force feedback, sound, smel l and taste.
◘
The Sword of Damocles
The first v irtual real ity sys tem real ized in
hardw are. Iv an Sutherland construct ed a dev ice
considered as the first Head Mounted Display
(HMD), w ith appropriate head tracking. It
supported a stereo v iew that updated correctly
according to user’s head position & orientation.

37
◘
GROPE – 1971 A.D.
The first prototype of a forced
feedback system real ized at the
Univ ersity of North Carol ina (UNC).
◘
VIDEOPLACE – 1975 A.D.
V IDEOPLACE, created by Myron Krueger,
w as a program that had control ov er the
rel ationship betw een the participant's
image and the objects in the graphic
scene. It w as conceptual env ironment,
w ith no existence.
◘
BOOM – 1989 A.D.
Commercialized by the Fake Space
Labs, BOOM w as a small box containing
tw o CRT monitors that coul d be v iewed
through the eye hol es. The users could
grab the box, keep it by their eyes and
mov e through the v irtual w orld, as the
mechanical arm measured the p osition
& orientation of the box.
◘
VCASS – 1982 A.D.
Thomas Furness at US Air Force’s Armstrong Medical
Research Laboratories dev eloped an adv anced
fl ight simul ator. The fighter pil ot w ore an HMD that
augmented outside v iew by graphics describing
target or optimal fl ight path information.
◘
VIVED – 1984 A.D.
V irtual V isual Env ironment Display,
constructed at the NASA Ames w ith offthe-shelf
technol ogy, a stereoscopic
monochrome HMD.
◘
VPL – 1985 & 1988 A.D.
This company manufactured the
DataGlov e and the Eyephone
HMD, w hich w ere one of the first
commercially av ailable V irtual
Real ity dev ices.
◘
UNC – 1987 A.D.
At the Univ ersity of North Carol ina an
architectural w alkthrough application
w as dev eloped. Sev eral V R dev ices
w ere constructed to improv e the qual ity
of this system l ike: HMDs, optical trackers
and the Pixel -Plane graphics engine.
◘
Virtual Wind Tunnel – 1990 A.D.
Dev eloped at the NASA Ames
appl ication that al l owed the
observ ation and inv estigation
of fl ow -fields w ith the hel p of
BOOM and DataGl ove.
◘
CAVE – 1992 A.D.
A v irtual real ity and scientific
v isualization system w hich instead
of using an HMD, projected
stereoscopic images on w alls of the
room w hil e users w ore LCD shutter
gl asses. This approach improv ed
qual ity and resol ution of v iewed
images, w ith w ider fiel d o f v iew in
comparison to HMD based systems.

Terminologies Used in Virtual Reality.
Virt ual R e ality (VR ) and Virt ual E nv ironme nt s (VE) are used in digital
communities interchangeably. These terms are same as Synthetic
Experience, V irtual Worl ds, Artificia l Worl ds or Artificial Real ity.
There may be sl ight v ariations but they al l essentially mean an
interactiv e and immersiv e (w ith the feel ing of presence)
experience in a simul ated (autonomous) w orld.
T e lepre senc e is the tel eoperation systems for remote manipul ation of
physical objects. It is a specific kind of v irtual reality that simulates
a real but remote (in terms of distance or scal e) env ironment.
C y be rspac e is consensual hallucination w ith graphical representation
of data abstracted from the banks of ev ery computer on the w eb.
T e lex istence enables a human being to hav e a real -time sensation
of being at a pl ace other than w here he or she actually exists, and
being abl e to interact w ith the remote env ironment, w hich may be
real , v irtual, or a combination of both.
HC I (Human- C omput e r Int e rac t ion) refers to the study and process by
w hich humans interact w ith computers. V ery basic HCI is something
as simpl e as a keyboard and mouse w hil e adv anced HCI coul d be
thought-controlled interactions be tween a person and a computer.
Hapt ic s refers to the capabil ity to sense a natural or synthetic
mechanical env ironment through touch. Haptics al so incl udes
kinaesthesia , the abil ity to perceiv e one’s body position, mov ement
and w eight.
Hapt ic s t e c hnologies prov ide force feedback to users about the
physical properties and mov ements of v irtual objects represented
by a computer. Haptics incorporates both touch (tactil e) and
motion (kinaesthetic) el ements.
38

Characteristics of Virtual Reality.
T he unique c harac t e ristic s of imme rsive VR c an be summarize d as follow ing:
◘ The v irtual w orld is presented in full
scal e and rel ates properl y to the
human size.
◘ Netw orked applications al low for
shared v irtual env ironments.
◘ Head-referenced v iewing prov ides a
natural interface for the nav igation
in three-dimensional space and
al l ows for l ook around, w alk -around,
and fl y-through capabil ities in v irtual
env ironments.
◘ Stereoscopic v iewing enhances the
perception of depth and the sense
of space.
◘ The conv incing il l usion of being fully
immersed in an artificial w orl d can
be enhanced by auditory, haptic,
and other nonv isual technol ogies.
◘ Real istic interactions w ith v irtual
objects v ia data gl ov e and similar
dev ices al l ow for manipul ation,
operation, and control of v irtual
w orlds.
Levels of Immersion in VR.
Immersion means the extent to w hich high fidel ity physical inputs (e.g. l ight
patterns, sound w av es) are prov ided to the different sensory modalities
(v ision, audition, touch) in order to create strong il l usions of real ity in each.
In a v irtual env ironment, the computer generates sensory
impressions that are del iv ered to the human senses. The type and
qual ity of these impressions determine t he l ev el of immersion and
the feel ing of presence in V R. Ideally information shoul d be
presented to al l of the user’s senses. Moreov er, the env ironment
itsel f shoul d react real istically to the user’s actions. The actual,
how ev er, is v ery different from this ideal case. Therefore, w e can
group V R systems accordingl y to the ir l ev el of immersion into three
categories.
◘ Non-Immersive (Desktop VR) systems
◘ Semi-Immersive (Fish Tank VR) systems
◘ Fully-Immersive (Next Gen VR) systems.
39

40
Types of Immersion in VR .
Imme rsion c an be separat e d int o follow ing main c at e gories:
Tactical I mmersion – Tact ical immersion is experienced
when perf orming t actile operations t hat involve skill.
Shoot er games give such immersion .
S trategic I mmersion – St rategic immersion is more
cerebral, and is associated wit h ment al challenge.
Chess players experience st rategic immersion when
choosing a solut ion among a broad array of
possibilities.
N arrativ e I mmersion – Narrative immersion occurs when
players become invest ed in a st ory, and i s similar t o
what is experienced while reading a book or
wat ching a movie.
S patial I mmersion – Spat ial immersion occurs when a
player f eels t he simulat ed world perceptually
convincing. The player f eels his presence in t hat
simulat ed world . It looks and f eels real.
P s y chological I mmersion – Psychological immersion
occurs when a player conf uses t he game wit h real
lif e.
S ens ory I mmersion – The player experiences a unit y of
t ime and space as t he player f uses wit h t he image
medium, which af f ects impression and awareness.

41
Uses of Virtual Reality.
B e low are the tw o main uses of Virt ual R e ality.
◘ Ergonomics (Work Efficiency).
When designing a l a rge mechanical dev ice such as a car, v isibility
and ergonomics are v ery important . Many companies spend a
l arge amount of money making their products interface better w ith
the operators. The cost of buil ding prototypes is v ery expensiv e,
upw ards of a few mil l ion dol l ars for one machine. By using v irtual
real ity, the company coul d check out the v iability and ergonomics
of their machine quickl y and make changes to it w ithout ev er
spending money on buil ding hardw are.
EDS J ack i s a n ex a mp l e o f a co mmerci a lly a va i l ab le vi rt u al reality
so ft wa re p a ckage. It i s ma i n ly u sed fo r vi sib ilit y a n d ergo nomics study.
◘ Simulators.
Another area that V irtual Real ity is heav ily used in is driv ing or fl ying
simul ations. These prov ide the users a chance to gain expertise
operating a v ehicle w ithout the real -world consequences of
making a mistake. Fl ight simul ators are the most common t ype of
machine simul ation. Some other examples w ould be the US Army’s
use of simul ators to train tank sol ders w ith v irtual tank w ars. NASA
al so trains its astronauts on how to l and the space shuttle w ith a
v irtual real ity simul ator.
MP I Vega P rime i s a n examp le o f a so ft wa re p a ckage t h at su ppo rts any
t yp e o f d ri vi ng si mu l at ion. Th e u ser b u i l ds t h e vi rt u al en vi ronment
wi t h i n t he so ft ware p ackage. It b iggest a dva ntage i s i ts realisti c physics
en gi n e wh i ch su p ports co l l isi on d et ecti on.

42
Advantages.
V irtual real ity has been extensiv ely used to treat phobias (such as
a fear of heights, fl ying and spiders) and PSTDs (post-traumatic
stress disorders). This type of therapy has been show n to be
effectiv e in the academic setting, and sev eral commercial enti ties
now offer it to patients. It w as found that the computer-based
simul ations afforded a number of adv antages ov er the l iv e training.
Their objectiv e w as to increase exposure to l ife -l ike emergency
situations to improv e decision -making and performance and
reduce psychological distress in a real heal th emergency.
Disadvantages.
Some psychologists are concerned that immersion in v irtual
env ironments coul d psychologically affect a user. They suggest
that V E systems that pl ace a user in v iol ent situations, p articularly
as the perpetuator of v iol ence, coul d resul t in the user becoming
desensitized. In effect, there’s a fear that V E entertainment systems
coul d breed a generation of sociopaths. Engaging v irtual
env ironments coul d potentially be more addictiv e.
Another emerging concern inv olves criminal acts. In the v irtual
w orld, defining acts such as murder or sex crimes has been
probl ematic. At w hat point, can authorities charge a person w ith a
real crime for actions w ithin a v irtual env ironment? Studies indic ate
that people can hav e real physical and emotional reactions to
stimul i w ithin a v irtual env ironment, and so it’s quite possible that a
v ictim of a v irtual attack coul d feel real emotional trauma.
Challenges.
The big chal lenges are dev eloping better tracking systems, finding
more natural w ays to al low users to interact w ithin v irtual
env ironment s and decreasing the time it takes to buil d v irtual
spaces. Whil e there are a few tracking system companies that hav e
been around since the earl iest days of v irtual reality. Likew ise, there
aren’t many companies that are w orking on input dev ices
specifical ly for V R applications. Most V R dev elopers hav e to rel y on
and adapt technol ogy original l y meant for another discipl in e.
Without w ell-designed hardware, a user coul d hav e trouble w ith his
sense of bal ance or inertia and coul d experience cybersickness.

43
Future Work.
The future of V irtual Real ity depends on the existence of systems
that address issues of ‘l arge scal e’ v ir tual env ironments. In the
coming years, as more research is done w e are bound to see VR
become as mainstay in our homes and at w ork. As the computers
become faster, they w il l be abl e to create more real istic graphic
images to simul ate real ity better. It w il l be interesting to see how it
enhances artificial real ity in the years to come.
It is v ery possible that in the future w e w il l be communicating w ith
v irtual phones. Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT) in Japan is
dev eloping a system w hich w il l al low one person to see a 3D image
of the other using V R techniques. The future is v irtual real ity, and its
benefits w il l remain immeasurable.
Conclusion.
V irtual Real ity is now inv olv ed ev erywhere. Y ou can’t imagine your
l ife w ithout the use of V R Technol ogy. In this report, V irtual Reality
and its history w ith some important dev elopment s w hich giv e the
birth of this new technology are defined .
Today w e hav e audio or v ideo conference for communication w ith
peopl e w ho aren’t ev en nearby. Distance is not an issu e anymore.
With V R, this coul d go to a w hol e new l ev el. We coul d v irtually
become present anyw here w e l ike. There is an enormous scope
here to expl ore the w orld of 3D w ith our ow n imagination.
VR has many appl ications from product dev elopment to
entertainment, to communication etc. It is stil l v ery much in the
dev elopment stage w ith many users creating their ow n customized
appl ications and env ironments to suit their needs. Soon w e will
hav e a new era of the V irtual Worl ds.

44
I II.
Provide an evaluat ion of t he researc h proc ess e.g. use qualit at ive
researc h evaluat ion c rit eria if your researc h is qualit at ive in nat ure.
Eva l u ati on o f t h e resea rch p ro cess.
- Author / CRED IBILIT Y -
Determining the credibil ity of the process is important.
The information shoul d be rel iable and truthful .
◘ Does the author seem know ledgeable about this topic?
◘ Does the research prov ide credible information?
◘ Does the author prov ide reputable citations?
- ACCU RACY -
The sources shoul d contain accurate and up -to-date
information that can be v erified by other sources .
◘ Based on your know ledge, does the information seem accurate?
◘ Can facts or statistics be v erified through another source ?
◘ Does it match the information found in other sources ?
◘
- SCOPE / RELEVANCE -
It is important that the source meets the information needs
and requirements of your research assignment .
◘ Is the terminol ogy and l anguage used easy to understand ?
◘ Do the sources cov er your topic comprehensiv ely ?
◘ Does the ov erall report meet its purpose ?

45
- Currency / DAT E -
Some w orks are agel ess w hil e others become outdated quickl y.
It is important to determine if currency is pertinent w ith research .
◘ Were the incl uded sources taken from a recent time ?
◘ Has the information been updated recently ?
◘ Is currency pertinent to your research ?
- OBJ ECT IVIT Y / BIAS -
The sources shoul d contain accurate and up -to-date
information that can be v erified by other sources .
◘ Is the purpose for the source educational or informational ?
◘ Is the giv en report rel ev ant for its intended audience ?
◘ Does this report contain neutral approach?
◘
- ST YLE / FU NCT IONALIT Y -
Styl e and functional ity may be of l esser concern. How ev er,
if it is not w ell-organized, its v alue maybe diminished .
◘ Were the sources w ell -written and organized ?
◘ Is the formatting in the report el egant?
◘ Is the report professional l ooking ?

46
LO4: Understand the ethical
implications of emerging
technologies
Evaluate the ethical implications of your chosen emerging
technology. You can base your answer on the guidelines
of ethical committees for example UNESCO, 3TU Centre for
Ethics and Technology, or the Uehiro Centre for Practical
Ethics of Oxford University.
SELECT ED E M E R GIN G TE CHNOLO GY : “VIRT UAL RE A LIT Y”
There are a few ethical issues in regard to v irtual env ironments
w hich need to be addressed. These are rel ated to human
behav iour and motiv ations and are al so a concern for the gaming
industry.
Th ey fa l l i n t o t wo ca t ego ries:
Problem of desensitisation and Virtual criminality .
Desensitisation means that the person is no l onger affected by extreme acts
of behav iour such as v iol ence and fail s to show empathy or compassion
as a resul t. In some situations, they activ ely seek out this type of
scenario for the adrenaline rush and sense of pow er.
Concerns hav e been raised about a possible rel ationship between
v irtual real ity and desensitisation w ith games hav ing high l ev els of
v iol ence or simul ated combat scenarios w hich incl ude kil l ing.

47
This has been noticed w ith gamers, especially those w ho pl ay f irst
person shooters or rol e pl aying games w hich inv olve a high degree
of immersion.
Another issue rel ated to this is cyber-addiction. There are people
w ho become addicted to v irtual real ity games and as a
consequence, start to bl ur the boundary betw een real and v irtual
l ife. They spend increasing amounts of time in the v irtual
env ironment w hich has detrimental effect on their l ife in real w orld.
Virtual Criminality is w hen someone commits an il l egal, offensiv e, v iol ent
or criminal act in a digital w orld such as a v irtual l ife.
What happens if someone commits a criminal act but w ithin a
v irtual env ironment? A potential situation is one in w hich sev eral
peopl e are immersed w ithin a v irtual env ironment but one of these
participants becomes injured or traumatised due to the actions of
another person in that situation.
The question is w hether it is possibl e for someone to suffer an injury
or mental distress as a resul t of a v iol ent action carried out in a
v irtual env ironment. And if this does happen , w il l the perpetrator
be punished in a ny w ay simil ar to someone w ho commits this action
in the real w orld?
It is stil l an argument that w hether a v irtual real ity participant can
experience p ain, distress or any other emotions w ith criminal acts!
[25]

48
References
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[2] Social Science Research Network “What Is an Emerging Technol ogy?"
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[3] O'Reilly “The O'Reil l y Emerging Technol ogy Conference,”
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[6] Oculus VR, “Rift,” 2016.
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[8] Future of Life, “BENEFITS & RISKS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE,”
http://futureoflife.org/background/benefits -risks-of-artificial -
intel l igence/.

49
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-w orld-speed.html.
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[16] AeroMobil, “About,” 2015.
http://www.aeromobil.com/#s-about.
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http://news.utexas.edu/2014/05/21/engineers -build-worlds-smallest
-fastest-nanomotor.

50
[18] Fractal, “Nanorobotics,”
w ww.fractal.org/Bio-Nano-Robotics/Nanorobotics.pdf.
[19] Nature.com, “Nanomedicine,”
http://www.nature.com/subjects/nanomedicine.
[20] The Scientist, “Nanomedicine,”
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Nanomedicine/.
[21] The Nano Age, “Medicine,”
http://www.thenanoage.com/#medicine.
[22] Definition-oF, “Nanofood,”
http://www.definition-of.com/Nanofood.
[23] AZoNano, “Packaging,” 23 Nov ember 2006.
http://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1786.
[24] K. Russell “The Biggest Chal lenges Left In V irtual Real ity,
According To Ocul us,” TechCrunch, 26 March 2015.
https://techcrunch.com/2015/03/26/the -biggest-challenges-left-in
-v irtual-reality-according-to-oculus/.
[25] R. J. Dennis “Top 10 Emerging Technol ogies That Are Changing
The Worl d,” 15 September 2014.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-emerging-technologies
-changing-world/.

51
[26] Thinking Writing, “The Future w ith Nanotechnology,”
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El ectronic%20Engineering%20Nanotechnology%20Recomme ndations/
pdfs/61115.pdf.
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http://www.v rs.org.uk/v irtual -reality/ethical-issues.html.