HOW SOON IS NOW?

WHEN FUTURE TECH IS STILL STUCK IN THE PAST

- Carmela Maraan Fernando

SINCE THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION BOOMED, tech companies have come up with innovative proposals that look good on paper—then stay there for years. Some of these have actually taken off but didn’t catch on with the market because of a disconnect with practicability.

At a time where we are bombarded with fantastical digital and technological concepts every day, a number of them are surprisingly still in development.

In this month’s cover story, we take a look at several innovations that have already been in development for years. We’re looking forward to seeing them go mainstream— read ubiquitous products and household names for the average consumer, instead of luxuries for the privileged— and greatly change the technological landscape for all of us.

SELF-DRIVING CARS

Also known as autonomous vehicles, self-driving cars have been in the works since the 1920s. These rely on a variety of sensors to help a land vehicle navigate the streets on autopilot. Despite decades in development, one of the first successful demonstrations for this technology only emerged in 1997. In 2015, it was officially allowed for road testing in some U.S. states including Florida, California, Michigan, and Washington, D.C., as well as in Singapore.

In recent years, brands like Ford, Audi, Volkswagen, and General Motors have proposed to develop their own driverless vehicles for commercial use. Meanwhile, Tesla chief Elon Musk has bravely declared that his company’s cars will have “full self-driving capability” by the end of 2020. And yet, most automobile companies are still reluctant to adopt completely autonomous models in their product line.