Space holidays and underwater highways: How the world could look in 2069
Space holidays, Quidditch-like sports on hoverboards, and underwater highways could all be part of life in 50 years’ time, a new report has predicted.
According to the report, released by Samsung, life in the future could also involve self-cleaning homes, implants to monitor our health and 3D-printed replacement organs for people who need them.
The predictions, published in the Samsung KX50: The Future in Focus report, have been compiled by a group of academics and futurists, including TechUK president and co-chair of the Institute of Coding Jacqueline de Rojas, director of engineering and education at the Royal Academy of Engineering, Dr Rhys Morgan, and food futurologist Dr Morgaine Gaye.
Travelling between countries in less than an hour
The report suggests that by 2069 people will use underwater tubes to travel between the UK, mainland Europe and other regions, with high-speed pods getting them between some countries in less than an hour.
We’ll also use flying taxis and buses in urban areas, while reusable space rockets will be used for longer journeys, cutting travel time between London and New York to just 30 or 40 minutes.
Where we live will change too, the report predicts, with the introduction of inverted skyscrapers called ‘earthscrapers’ and homes that can clean themselves.
People will holiday in luxury space hotels orbiting the moon or other planets.
There will also be huge changes in health, including the large-scale 3D printing of vital organs to help people who need them.
The predictions people want to see become reality
"The next 50 years will bring the largest technological changes and innovations we have ever seen in our work and leisure,” said Ms de Rojas, who co-authored the report.
"The Digital Revolution, just as the Industrial Revolution did 250 years ago, is challenging all our assumptions about how we shall lead our future lives."
The report also asked Brits which of the predictions they would most like to see become a reality.
Self-cleaning homes topped the list, with 63 per cent saying it would be their top choice, followed by implants to monitor health stats and flying taxis and buses.
The report was commissioned to mark the opening of Samsung KX, the technology firm's new "experience space" and retail store in King's Cross, London, which will host tech tutorials, health and wellbeing sessions and other classes.
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