The news presents us with depressing statistics and articles written by skeptics, leaving consumers and society as a whole with a bleak outlook on the digital future. Data breaches, health risks, and job loss due to Artificial Intelligence are just a few of the negative effects of technology. We’ve decided to offer uplifting examples of how technology has made a positive impact on people in the world today.
#1. Medical Alert Systems
A wearable emergency button for the elderly was created to help them in the event they are hurt or need assistance. The button sends a signal to a base station and a caregiver or family member is alerted to check on them. Some companies who provide this technology connect the buttons to the EMS, fire department, or police officer to help the elderly in any type of emergency.
#2. Device Converting Sound into Electricity
A group of high school students in the Philippine Science High School created a generator that works the opposite way that a speaker would. Instead of using power to produce sound, their invention uses magnets and coils to generate electricity when they are hit by sound waves. In an average setting, the device can only power a small light, but in noisier areas, the more electricity is produced. Rural communities and developing nations can benefit greatly from this device.
#3. Prosthetic Limbs Designed for All Activities
In the summer of 2019, students at California Polytechnic State University in California designed a prototype prosthetic leg that has increased ankle support for surfing. Operation Surf Camp is a program that helps veterans learn to surf and turned to the college for help. The students involved are members of the Quality of Life Plus program that aims to tackle challenges that wounded veterans face.
#4. Drones that Plant Trees
A Kickstarter this year named Flash Forest aims to plant one billion trees using drones. The process would accelerate the tree planting process and try to offset the billions of trees that are currently lost each year. The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would plant pre-germinated seed pods at a rate of one per second with the capacity to plant 20,000 per day.
#5. 3D Printing
The use of a 3D printer has evolved to create images that could potentially save a life. On an educational level, surgeons use these printers to produce exact replicas of troublesome areas in a patient. They can then view and practice on the models to create the best plan of action in the operating room. On a more critical level, these devices have been used to print 3D organs using cells from a person’s tissue. These organs are a match because they use the patient’s own cells and prevent the need to be on a transplant list.
Emerging technology doesn’t have to serve the sole purpose of making a task more convenient to be considered a significant addition to society. The devices and initiatives listed above are only a few of the ways that technology is working to create a better quality of life for people as well as the environment in which they live.
Secure Data believes in the power of technology created for the greater good. Our data recovery services provide consumers with a way to retrieve their precious memories when a device fails. We also offer a line of hardware encrypted storage devices to protect your information and sensitive documents from unauthorized parties. Technology is changing but our commitment to serving technology consumers remains the same.
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