My entry for the INK Designing the future NOW competition
I am designing the future in association with BlogAdda.com & INK talks.
I am designing the future in association with BlogAdda.com & INK talks.
A truly interconnected world
Somewhere, in the near future…
The world is a village, that’s
what they say. It all started with the invention of the wheel. Suddenly
distances became smaller. A little later in the history, people attracted by
the question of what lies beyond the horizon set sail in ships. Distant lands
were discovered, the world as we know it today came into existence. Then came
industrial revolution which gave us the engine. We had cars and planes. The
dream of flight was a reality. And all these inventions have collectively made
the world a smaller place; you can really go around the world in 80 hours or
even lesser. But the true revolution in connecting the world came in the age of
computers. Computers along with internet have brought the world closer than
ever before. And today we have one window, that one portal that connects us to
the whole world - the smartphone.
The next phase of inter-connectivity
will be based on smartphones. This is the inter-connectivity of humans and the
world around us. Smartphones can and will change the way we interact with our
world. They will connect us with the cities that we live in. We all interact
with friends on social network; soon we will be able to interact with the city,
a smarter city.
How? Here is how smartphones will
revolutionize our lives. There will be one app that will cut across apps and
networks, it will assimilate and integrate all information and give me all that
I need to make a smarter decision. I call it the ‘Intercon’, short for
interconnected. Imagine this scenario, it’s Monday morning and I am late for
office, I quickly shoot out messages to my carpool friends that they can start
without me. Now I need to plan my travel to office. I open 'Intercon' and look
up for the next available bus. The bus arrives at my stop in 5 minutes; I can
know this thanks to GPS tagged buses. Intercon draws info directly out of the
transport authority’s website. I know I am late for this bus, so I need a
different mode of transport. I look up for a cab. Intercon shows there are 10
cabs within 500 meters which are vacant and luckily 3 of them are looking for
passengers travelling in the direction of my office. The cabs are connected
over high speed networks, the cabbie can let any passenger know if his cab is
vacant and what direction he is headed in. I can book the cab on the fly and he
is sent my location. I ping the closest one, the cabbie replies yes. 2 minutes
to ETA. I can also check out what ideal fare I will have to shell out for the
ride. I can also carpool on cabs if someone in the vicinity is willing to!
I am 10 minutes from the office
and feeling very hungry. Based on my earlier preferences Intercon shows me 3
different restaurants on the way to office. It also shows me that all three
restaurants have vacant tables right now and asks me if I want to book a table.
Having been to all the three before, I am not very keen visiting them again.
The cabbie recommends some new place in the vicinity of my office. Intercon
jumps into action once again. It quickly brings up reviews of the hotel both
from reviewing websites and from my social networks. I see that a lot of people
from my office have already tried the place and have given good ratings to it.
I decide to go for this new place. My table has been booked and I already know
what I am going to have there. Intercon is linked to both the cab and my bank
account. I don’t pay a dime, Intercon does it for me, and I just take my
briefcase and run to the restaurant. I am late for office, remember?
As soon as I step into my office
Intercon switches to silent mode, cutting off most updates. It is still running
but won’t disturb me with regular updates. I can set locational settings and it
will behave in that particular way in that particular location. As soon as I
turn up my computer I see a mail from Intercon, it’s my colleagues birthday. My
office mode tells Intercon to communicate on mails as that’s where I am most of
the time. How could I forget my friend’s birthday! Intercon has sent me some
options for gifts, carefully I choose one. Intercon gets a message from the
delivery company, the package has been dispatched. 30 minutes later it’s on my
desk! Some utility bills too are there in the inbox. I ask Intercon to take
care of them too.
Somewhere in the middle of the
work day my phone starts buzzing, seems like some urgent update. Intercon is
telling me that my kids have left home with the TV on. Well no trouble, I can
control home appliances and electronics which are connected to the web through
Intercon. One button press and the problem is solved. Quickly, I shoot a
message to my kids asking them to be more careful henceforth.
The day is about to end and I
just remembered that I forgot to book movie tickets for the family. Intercon quickly
brings up the info from the movie theatre, and I book the seats. Now for the
transportation, Intercon pulls up radio cab service info. I book one for my
wife and one for my kids, I tag their location for the radio cab give their
details and it’s done. Two hours later we are all at the cinema. No hassle in
payment as Intercon has done that for me already. No need of paper tickets as
Near Field Communication tells the cinema that I have electronic tickets. Inside
the hall in dim lights finding your seats is always a trouble. But Intercon
helps with that too, my seats are flashing red in the app, I know exactly which
direction I need to take!
It was a great day thanks to
Intercon and all the technology behind it. It has really simplified our lives.
Technology has really brought the world closer. It’s the era of integration,
anything and everything in the world is integrated. Through a simple app we can
control anything; making lives a lot easier, and services a lot smarter. As we
step out of the cinema hall my kids are surprised to see that there is no cab
waiting for us. “Fancy an old school walk
to home kids?” well; something’s are best without all the high tech tools
of the world, like a nice walk with your family. Good night Intercon.
Great write. Loved the amount of detail you've put in. Wish you the best.
ReplyDeleteHey Thanks for the feedback. Have you participated in this competition?
DeleteOne would have never thought so much could be possible with a simple app! Well, dreams today might be realities tomorrow. All the best.
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
Thank you. I totaly agree to your point, dreams of today will be the reality of tomorrow.
ReplyDelete