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Interment of things, also known as the Internet of objects, refers to a virtually networked interconnection of everyday objects such as consumer merchandise, books, Electronic Devices, potentially even objects as mundane as the everyday newspapers.

Each object would have in microchip or censor embedded into it, and it would be connected to a virtual network of other things.

This technology could greatly improve logistics, inventory and distribution channels, military logistics, and lead to a better accountability and use of objects.

Prediction

My prediction is that a niche implementation will improve the workings and supply channels for the inventory and distribution systems.

WalMart is already using a real time information of items that sell in need restocking. I believe that as the Internet of things technology advances, stores like WalMart will be the first ones to benefit and invest into this technology.

The U.S. military is likely to employ this technology for the logistics and accountability purposes and the early stages of Internet of things technology implementation.

I find it hard to believe that the Internet of things would be implemented with the real world all at once. Therefore I think that the gradual niche implementation and fine tuning of this technology will pave the way for a future implementation that will be more beneficial, rather than disruptive.

However, there is also a significant risk associated with the security attacks from malicious hackers and other enemies of the U.S.

References:

http://www.dni.gov/nic/confreports_disruptive_tech.html

The U.S. military may benefit the most from the service robotics technology. Many military robots such as EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) robots, unmanned for flying drones are already widely used by the U.S. military although their capabilities are still limited. By 2025, robotics technology is expected to make a significant contribution to the U.S. military. By 2025, unmanned systems with a much greater level of autonomy will have been implemented.

It must be noted that China is also developing military robots, which means that there is going to be some significant research and development spending on the military robotics in the U.S.

There’s also an expectation of elder care service robots being implemented and working alongside with the humans.
The negative effect of this could be that it could take away some of the jobs from CNAs (certified nurse assistants) and other lower income workers.

Prediction

My prediction is that in the U.S. Military robotics will receive the highest spending for research and development, and thus their advancements will probably be the most evident.

Also think that it’s fair prediction to make that some robots may be developed and introduced for elder-care, but their impact is going to be proportional to research and development put into it. I believe that countries such as Japan and South Korea will have better achievements in the robotics technology for elder care.

References:

http://www.dni.gov/nic/confreports_disruptive_tech.html

In the United States, coal which is primarily used for electricity generation is the second largest contributor of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas contributing to global warming, and sulfur dioxide responsible for causing acid rains.

Clean coal technology aims to reduce the environmental impact of coal energy generation by making the coal burn clean.

The importance of clean coal technology is that it could greatly reduce the US dependence on the use of foreign oil thereby providing energy security, and making a positive environmental impact.

If clean burning coal were to become a primary and environmentally clean source for generating electricity, then this technology could be combined with energy storage materials such as high capacity batteries that could be used in the electric vehicles, and other industries.

Although, there is a clean burning coal testing plant that was built in Germany in 2008 by the Swedish firm, it is not clear how economically feasible this technology is today. Another implication is that there is no clear way to dispose off carbon dioxide that is collected from the use of clean coal burning technology.

If the clean coal burning technology does not reach the level of economic feasibility, then there will be a potential for great disruptions due to the limited amounts of crude oil. There’s also a risk that countries that have a lot of coal to burn continue doing so without addressing the problem of greenhouse gas emissions.

Research and development to overcome CCS challenges

The biggest challenge in the clean coal burning technology lies in carbon dioxide capture and storage process (CCS). There are three principal ways to capture CO2 produced in power plants: Oxyfuel combustion, post-combustion and precombustion. There is currently a test plant in operation built by vattenfall in Germany. The tests are performed to evaluate the technology of Oxyfuel combustion before building a larger scale demonstration plant.

Prediction:

It seems likely that there will be more clean burning coal plants built and implemented throughout the world and potentially in the U.S through the governmental push, but it is hard to say if this technology will actually reach the level of economic feasibility, and if a solution can be found to dispose of the collected carbon dioxide gases.

My prediction is that clean burning coal technology may become more advanced, but I do not believe that that will be fully integrated as a viable source of clean electricity generation by 2025. Yet, I think that scientific advances made during this period will make this technology more feasible in the future. Further, just as the ongoing research and development can potentially make clean coal burning technology more feasible in the future, so will the advances in the wind farms, geothermal energy, solar technology, and nuclear power generation.

Other Alternatives to Hedge against potential Coal Technology Failure:

I think wind farms in particular have a strong potential to become a viable source of alternative energy. My belief is supported by the fact that wind power has become the second largest source of alternative energy after biomass derived energy in the United Kingdom. There is no reason why this technology could not become more integrated in the United States.

Also, I believe that nuclear power plants which accounted for 19.6% of the total electric energy consumption in the U.S in 2008, will become even more integrated thereby providing a solid hedge in case the clean coal technology never reaches the level of economic feasibility.

References:

http://www.newenglandmetalroof.com/construction_directory/alternative-energy.html

Biofuels have the potential to lead to a near-term paradigm shift from the use of crude oil and petroleum products to a crop-grown biofuels as a source of energy.

Biofuels refer to a wide range of fuels derived from organic materials such as grass and wood (cellulosic biomass), and crops such as sugar cane, corn, starch crops (potato and fruit waste), soybeans, vegetable oils, bio-gases e.t.c. These organic based alternative energy material sources are referred to as biomass.

The term biomass can be defined as a source of alternative energy that can be used for the production of biofuels such as ethanol fuel, and biodiesel using the conventional technology.

There is a significant public and scientific interest in advancing the biofuel production technology, driven by the factors such as rapidly rising prices of crude oil, the need for increased Energy Security (lessen the dependence on the use of foreign oil), and increased concerns over greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil fuels.

Ethanol fuel is the most widely used biofuel in the world. It is widely integrated as a transportation fuel in Brazil. Ethanol fuel, like many other biofuels, is made from biodegradable materials and products, which makes it an environmentally safe alternative to fossil fuels.

If the United States invests its resources into the development of the cost effective ethanol fuel production technologies, then it could decrease its dependence on the use of foreign oil, strengthen its national energy security, decrease a chance of conflict due to crude oil shortages, and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.

The United States is already involved in a marginal production and use of ethanol fuel as the alternative to gasoline. A wider integration of ethanol fuel is quite plausible if it receives some solid governmental support. There is a good chance of resistance from corporate oil giants.

There is also another promising biofuel technology called Algae fuel also known as oilgae. Based on laboratory experiments, it is claimed that algae can produce up to 30 times more energy per acre than land crops such as soybeans. If this technology becomes commercially integrated, then the United States could fulfill and replace its petroleum needs by allocating the amount of land that is roughly equivalent to the size of Maryland for algaculture (farming algae).

Prediction:

My prediction is that biofuel energy sources will continue to be further developed in the U.S, but not enough to make the U.S. Independent on the use of foreign oil by 2025. It is highly unlikely that the U.S. we’ll actually be able to fully integrate the use of biofuels as the alternative energy source of energy mainly due to the resistance and vested interest in the continuation of petroleum use by the corporate oil giants.

The technology dealing with Energy Storage materials and devices such as advanced electric batteries, supper capacitors and hydrogen fuel cells.

Many world conflicts and tensions are the results of competition for finite resources. Fossil fuels and Oil are the primary sources of energy and the U.S. and in the world in general.

From the geopolitical standpoint, the United States have become increasingly dependent on the use of foreign oil, which is not only bad for the environment, but also threatens our National Security.

The development of Energy Storage Materials Technology could eventually reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help us make a transition towards using electric batteries, supper capacitors and hydrogen fuel cells as energy sources for automobiles, buses, trains, and transportation system in general.

Integrating Energy Storage Materials Technology would strengthen are military by allowing our military vehicles, and weaponry technology devices to operate in a more remote areas with decreased dependence on fuel sources.

The use of super capacitors could also lead to the development of new and improved military weaponry systems.

The advanced electric batteries could make our electric vehicles run further and faster, and help protect the environment by reducing the carbon for print.

The use of hydrogen fuel cells could reduce / and eventually diminish the need to use petroleum products to operate cars, buses, trucks and trains.

The hydrogen fuel cell research is well underway and there is some possibility of developing a technology that would allow split the water molecules to obtain hydrogen in an energy efficient way.

If these technologies are developed and implemented in the near future, then the U.S. will not only benefit in terms off geopolitical independence, but could also assume the leadership in providing this technologies to the rapidly developing countries of Brazil, China, India and Russia.

Although it’s hard to make any sort of accurate prediction as to how the development of these technology will progress, it is clear that it could benefit the U.S. and many other industrialized nations in the world as well as have a positive impact on the world climate.

Countries of the European Union, and Japan are also engaged in the rapid development of Energy Storage Materials. Toyota motor company, a Japanese auto manufacturing Company is planning to introduce a hydrogen fuel cell car by 2015. This a new development from Toyota concept cars that has made its debut during the negative publicity of Toyota Prius Hybrid Vehicle.

Many companies are engaged in the development of advanced batteries that could store a significant amount of Electric Energy to make these batteries viable as a source of energy for the electric vehicles.

Solar Energy, Wind Turbine Farms, and geothermal energy technologies are also being developed, which will help further reduce the dependence on foreign oil, and help the conservation effort. Further development of these technologies and their implementation with green buildings, and energy production plants could mark a gradual shift from fossil fuels to alternative and renewable energy sources.