On Top Gear Tuesday night they had a segment on the future technology of mobility. One of the hosts went to Toyota City in Japan to explore what technology had been invented in the way of cars for the future. Their most recent invention is a car that looks simply like a seat, only higher- the mobile seats one person, can get up to 20km/hr, drops down to travel at higher speeds and doesn't have a roof, doors, windows or walls. The host explained that the mobile was very much like a wheelchair. However, the technology which really surprised me was that the mobile can talk to other mobiles of it's kind. The user is able to mark on their screen that they are going to a coffee shop and the mobile will notify all other users where they are going and ask if they'd like to join. I'm able to see through this the progression in technology today (Lincoln & Strommen 1992). While twitter exists and allows users to notify others what they are doing at any time of the day, the mobile is another step up where users can notify anyone, even people they don't know, where they are, what they are doing and ask if they'd like to join. I remember a few years ago when mobile-phones and email were the only means technology speaking to contact someone. However, in order to contact others using email or mobile-phones you must have them added within your contacts. This is the same as facebook and myspace where users are able to see what others are doing at anytime of the day however they must be friends on the site. Of course, users of the mobile have the ability to choose to display where they are, what they are doing and at what time. Although in relation to some of the studied course material describing the importance of safety within the use of technology for students, it can be seen that this piece of technology is not entirely safe. This is because of the lack of restrictiveness in terms of who can view what users are doing, where and at what time. It is however, fascinating to see where technology is now and the progression it is making into the future (Lincoln & Strommen 1992). Soon it seems, we will not have to walk, talk or think for ourselves as technology will have the ability to do so- a scary but interesting point to ponder.
REFERENCES
Lincoln, B, Strommen, E. (1992). CONSTRUCTIVISM, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE FUTURE OF CLASSROOM LEARNING. Retrieved from http://www.playfulefforts.com/archives/papers/EUS-1992.pdf
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