The world is about to dramatically change, disrupting massive sets of industries, because science fiction is about to become real. Are you ready?
The Motorola flip phone and the Apple iPad are basically devices dreamt of and put on screen in Star Trek.
I’ve been talking about three dimensional (3D) printers for a couple of years and how they are going to dramatically alter manufacturing, shipping, and pollution as you won’t need to buy an item manufactured inexpensively in China, shipped across the Pacific Ocean in giant polluting freighters, transported to a brick and mortar facility or retailer, and then your house. Soon, you’ll see a new toy for your child, or doorknob for your front door, pay for the plan, and then print it at home. This will change our economy in massive ways.
Virtual Reality (VR) has been discussed for a very long time. It has always been clunky, causing some people dizziness and sickness, and for others a difficulty balancing after taking off the headsets. Further, little of what I’ve seen from VR has been beyond games, pornography, and travel immersion, all of which might have entertainment or minimal educational value.
Now, Google has released Tilt Brush. This appears to be an amazingly disruptive, creative technology. In the video below, you can see people painting and creating in a virtual 3D space with materials that simply are not available in our real world. Stunning!
Here is where I think it goes, though. This tool becomes the basis for adding tremendous value or even revolutionizing civil engineering, architecture, and other industries that now rely on Computer Aided Design (CAD) technology. A designer could build a building in that Tilt Brush space, and if properly programmed, can test their ideas out for seismic, strength, and other engineering issues before even presenting the concept to another person.
Finally, I can see how the home 3D printer gets a new source of ideas for printing. Any idea I might have for a residential or commercial purpose I could create out of materials available for the printer, design the idea in the Tilt Brush VR space, and then print the final item out on my 3D printer.
Science fiction is about to become real.
