Know the Top Breakthrough Technologies 2021

The MIT Technology review is being published every year. The new technology review published in 2021 by MIT Technology marks the completion of two decades since they are being published. The development of m-RNA vaccines has already been a game-changer in healthcare, while other new technologies are still some years away from achieving their real potential.

Here are the breakthrough technologies that will be a part of our lives in the coming years.

Messenger RNA (m-RNA) vaccines

• The two most effective vaccines that have been developed against the Coronavirus function on m-RNA technology. 
• m-RNA technology has been a part of research and development for more than 20 years.
• When the COVID-19 pandemic began in January 2020, researchers and scientists at many biotechnology companies were quick to identify m-RNA as an effective way to create vaccines for the Coronavirus.
• The m-RNA vaccines were successfully developed and approved for use in the US.

Green hydrogen

• Hydrogen is an exceptional alternative source of energy and a possible replacement for fossil fuels.
• Hydrogen is a clean fuel and burns without emitting carbon dioxide. This means reduced emissions and a greener environment.
• Green hydrogen is an effective way to store power from renewable energy sources.
• Most hydrogen that is being produced now is through the use of fossil fuels. This process is dirty and rigorous.
• If green hydrogen can be produced from renewable sources, it will save nearly 830 million tons of carbon dioxide that is produced annually in the process of generation of hydrogen gas using fossil fuels.

Remote everything

• The COVID-19 forced everyone in various countries across the globe to go remote.
• Going remote was really useful in the field of healthcare, education, and technology.

Digital contact tracing

• As the Coronavirus was spreading rapidly from one country to another, it was thought that digital contact tracing would be helpful to keep a check on the number of rising cases.
• Using GPS and Bluetooth, smartphone apps created a list of people who had recently met or interacted with each other.
• If an individual tested COVID-19 positive, he/she would enter her details on the app.
• This would alert the other users as well who might have been possibly exposed to the virus.

Li metal batteries

• The challenge with electric vehicles is that they are expensive.
• Another major drawback in using electric vehicles is that they can be driven only for a few hundred miles after which they need to be charged again. 
• This means a long waiting time compared to cars that run on fuel.
• The drawbacks of electric vehicles are mainly due to the limitations of Lithium-ion batteries.
• A Silicon Valley Start-up named QuantumScape has a battery (presently just a prototype) that will make electric vehicles convenient to use for the consumers.

Hyper-accurate positioning

• We all make use of GPS in our day-to-day life.
• GPS technology has resulted in a transformation of our lives and businesses too.
• The GPS technology that we use today shows accuracy within 5 to 10 meters.
• A new technology ‘hyper-accurate positioning’ is accurate within very small distances of a few centimeters or millimeters.
• This means opening a new realm of possibilities, ranging from autonomous cars that can navigate on the road safely, landslide warnings, and delivery robots.

Data trusts

• Tech companies have failed to protect our personal sensitive data.
• The rising cases of data breaches and hacking are indicative of this.
• The challenge lies in the privacy model to which we are attached; a model in which we as individuals are responsible for managing and protecting our own data.
• Data trusts is an alternative approach to the privacy model.
• Few governments have started exploring data trusts.
• A data trust is a legally recognized entity involved in collecting and managing the data of people on their behalf.

With the rise of artificial intelligence, data science and analytics, the breakthrough technologies that are going to come up in the future are only going to increase in number from here on.