Cisco as the Conduit for Tomorrow

Cisco doesn't come to mind, frankly, when I think about the future of technology.  Google, IBM and Microsoft do, easily enough.  But it's evidently forthright about it, as I see on its website and channel:

Cisco

Dave Evans, Chief Futurist at Cisco, says we can expect to see flying cars in the next 5 - 10 years. Advances in robotics, drones and gyroscope technology are progressing.  In his blog article Ask The Internet of Everything Futurist: “When Will We Get Our Flying Cars?” he adds:

In fact, last month Business Insider highlighted a company called Terrafugia that is in the final testing stages for a practical flying car. Built with mass-market production in mind, the four-seat, plug-in hybrid electric flying car has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities.

Hmm, I like the idea of taking off to the skies, if I'm stuck in traffic and I'm running late.

The caveat, of course, is more non-technology: We shift from RTA (Regional Transportation Authority) to FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). It's probably fine, if we have just a scattering of flying cars. But a sky full of them requires policy and regulation. Can you imagine how disastrous it could be, if we had fender-benders or more serious crashes in the sky?

According to the New York Times, the F.A.A. created a new classification, the light-sport category, to encourage the design of small, easy-to-fly aircraft more than eight years ago. However, there is still a long way to go before we use our flying car to commute to work.

There are also fuel and cost considerations. All of which, I suspect, will take much longer than 10 years to resolve.

In any case, we are gradually shifting from the film "Minority Report," to Minority Reality!

Evans talks about wearable technology, which isn't necessarily a new concept, as far as health is concerned.  I've worn a heart monitor while cycling, for example, so I can regulate training sessions vis-a-vis my cardio targets.  But Cisco has so much more in mind, as Evans relates in Ask the Futurist: “How Will the Internet of Everything Help Us Manage Our Own Health?”:  

We already see several wearable fitness devices in today’s market — including Nike’s FuelBand, Fitbit’s Flex, Jawbone UP, and others — that provide analytics for your eating, sleeping, and movement behavior. In addition, advances in biometric devices are beginning to track blood glucose levels. For example, Alere’s DayLinkMonitor records a participant’s weight or blood glucose values and then reports the actionable data to Alere clinicians. So, in answer to your question, this type of technology is available today. 

And there are even more exciting developments right around the corner. The Scanadu Scout, coming out next year, is practically an emergency room in your pocket — enabling you to measure everything from temperature and heart function, to hemoglobin saturation, to stress. Similar to Dr. McCoy’s “tricorder” on the original Star Trek series, it’s a great example of science fiction becoming fact. Also coming in the next few years will be electronic tattoos, with tiny embedded sensors that will pick up temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, and even fetal vital signs, directly from your skin. And unlike today’s personal biometric devices, you won’t have to remember to put them on every day — just wear them and forget about it.

Smart.  Connectivity.  Again, I associate these words more with IBM.  But I appreciate Cisco's efforts to be the conduit and the network for the Internet of Everything.

 

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD