Future Tech: From Personal Robots to Motorized Monocycles

Future Tech illustrates and explains the most current research and technologies that promise to change our lives dramatically in the future. From machines with the ability of independent thought, to cars that drive themselves, to robots that borrow their nature from nature itself, this book gives young readers an inspiring glimpse of possibilities within their lifetimes. Budding young scientists will be awed to learn of "spray-on" computers that could one day outfit us in smart clothes; every young mind will be psyched to encounter humanoid robots like Cog and Kismet; and how cool would it be to one day have tiny robots enter the bloodstream to clean up our arteries? The book’s high-quality photos and drawings explore...

   • The future of technology: how will robotics and biomimetics shape our world?
   • The future of medicine: how will prosthetics and transplants change our lives?
   • The future of transportation: what will run the cars of the future—or will we travel by some other means?
   • The future of family life: what can we expect from the super-smart house, office, and school of the future?


Future Tech will fast-forward readers into a time of incredible innovation and change. This fascinating latest addition to the National Geographic Investigates Science series is way ahead of its time.

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Grade 5 Up—Piddock discusses future possibilities in biomimetics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and other fields. The opening message discusses futurology, a "discipline of predicting probable future events based on scientific, systematic, and pattern-based studies of the past and the present," and how it is used. A full-page photo of a man using a bionic hand to play an electronic keyboard and a full spread, illustrated time line of important milestones in technology follow, serving to pique readers' interest in this stimulating subject. The subsequent chapters examine specific aspects of futurology. A look at the existing use of robots in auto manufacturing and police work leads into a discussion of developing machines capable of expression and showing emotion, and some applications of robotics to surgical procedures. Other chapters examine, for example, the development of bionic body parts such as hands, eyes, and even portions of the brain; the copying of useful traits of plants and animals in biomimetics; and how nanotechnology is used in cancer treatments and heart and lung repair. The volume ends with predictions and possibilities for life in 2025. This fascinating book combines an outstanding layout with a well-written and enticing narrative and vivid, detailed photographs.—Susan Shaver, Hemingford Public Schools, NE
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