Technology trends in 2005 (page 3 of 3)

It offers many possibilities to industry in the development of new products such as paints (with nanoparticles), medicines (coated drugs for targeted drug delivery), foodstuffs ('taste-burst' foods), clothing (stay-clean textiles with nanofibres), packaging (specially adapted polymers that prevent contamination and sense decay) and new materials for aerospace, automotive and construction applications (lightweight but tough, heat-resistant nanocomposites). These are called "incremental nanotechnology".

The biggest steps are currently being made in evolutionary nanotechnology where we move beyond simple materials that have been redesigned at the nano-scale to actual nano-scale devices that do something interesting. Such devices can, for example, sense the environment, process information or convert energy from one form to another.

They include nano-scale sensors that could be used in medicine or semiconductor nanostructures such as improved computers or lasers, with more and more products set to appear on the market over the next five years.

So what the hot ticket for 2005?
Overall, 2005 promises to be a year when we see a greater emergence of technologies that exploit the potential of the Internet revolution more fully. Linux has already gained worldwide endorsement but will embed itself properly into enterprise systems.

The big ticket for 2005 will be Grid computing - it's cost advantages are so compelling - and we'll continue to see steady adoption for On Demand.

SOA and RFID will be the slow-burners and take longer to become mainstream, but we'll see the discussion heat up on these technologies as the year progresses.