Forward to the Future

Today - 21-10-15 - is Back to the Future day, the day in the future that Marty McFly time-travelled to in the 1985 film.
Back to the Future day (21-10-15) sees publication of 2045: Constructing the Future report, developed by renowned futurologist, Ian Pearson. In 2045 driverless vehicles will be the norm.  Unlike the more futuristic curved look, vehicles will likely be box shaped to maximise on-street capacity.
Copyright HewdenBack to the Future day (21-10-15) sees publication of 2045: Constructing the Future report, developed by renowned futurologist, Ian Pearson. In 2045 driverless vehicles will be the norm.  Unlike the more futuristic curved look, vehicles will likely be box shaped to maximise on-street capacity.
Copyright Hewden
Back to the Future day (21-10-15) sees publication of 2045: Constructing the Future report, developed by renowned futurologist, Ian Pearson. In 2045 driverless vehicles will be the norm. Unlike the more futuristic curved look, vehicles will likely be box shaped to maximise on-street capacity. Copyright Hewden

We know what film makers got right, and wrong, when they sent Marty forward 30 years, but what does the future another 30 years hence hold for us?

Look no further than 2045: Constructing the Future, by renowned futurologist Ian Pearson.

He predicts:

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- a London skyline populated by enormously tall buildings - and a spaceport

- boxy, driverless vehicles, designed to maximise space on the road

- half-man, half-machine workers that can utilise a range of attachments.

Some of Back to the Future’s dreams have appeared, according to Mr Pearson: “While we’re not all flying around in cars, there are a number of things, such as the use of drones, video conferencing and some of the physical structures that were portrayed very accurately in the movie,” he said.

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And he predicts: “The acceleration of new technology has and will continue to be the biggest driver for change. As we look forward another 30 years we can expect to see a very different but exciting world.”

Heavily populated cities are likely to change the most, according to the report, with space travel and development of new cities within cities some of the major changes.

“Augmented reality (AR) will play a major role in the aesthetics of a building. It’s likely that many buildings will actually be very plain, instead using AR to create visually appealing environments for those that visit,” continued Pearson.

“The use of super-strong carbon-based materials will enable us to build incredibly tall structures, some even up to 30km high. This will make space travel more convenient and for major transport hubs like London, going into space will be a regular occurrence in 2045,” he added, concluding: “A few of these structures may be so large that their capacity enables them to function as small cities in their own right, with all the usual city functions mixed within the same building.”

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