The following is a web-only version of the Cover Feature from our December issue,
for those who want to read more about the technologies mentioned in the article.
The original version can be found here.

Look around you. Nearly every object you see is an amalgam of human ingenuity and engineering – a technological marvel that once elicited sharp intakes of breath and low whistles. Once upon a time, each one was cutting-edge.

And consider that phrase: “cutting-edge.” Very fitting, as some of the first tools made by humans were blades knapped from flinty stone. Nowadays, the most advanced cutting edges are lab machines called microtomes, which are essentially overachieving deli slicers that can shave frozen specimens to the thickness of a millionth of a meter. To the transhumans of tomorrow, who will be able to dissect atoms with the quick blade of consciousness itself, today’s microtomes may seem as crude as a stone-knapped adze looks to us.

We’re not quite there yet. But there’s plenty of marvelous proto-technologies in the pipeline. Some are still in the concept stage; others are currently in development.

Below, we’ve linked to other articles where you can read more about these new tools that promise to improve our work, rest and play.

Welcome to cutting-edge Beijing.

TECH BEIJING: HOUSE

MIND-CONTROL
Boffins are beginning to harness brainwaves to assist the paralyzed and limbless. Mind-over-matter will inevitably make its way into home appliances. Imagine the convenience: When your hands are occupied, you can turn on the faucet or blender with the mere power of intent. (Next: Food that cooks itself.)
STATUS: early prototype
READ MORE AT: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/22/AR2009042204036.html

AMBIENT ORBS
Conditions in Beijing are constantly shifting, and you need to stay informed. These groovy color-shifting lamps can be configured to indicate traffic, weather conditions and the state of the stock market. At a glance, you’ll know whether to set out, to grab your umbrella – or to buy or sell.
STATUS: for sale now
READ MORE AT: www.ambientdevices.com/cat/orb/orborder.html

CONTROL IN COMFORT
When you’re ensconced on the sofa, enthralled by the latest movie (or by your objet d’amour), the last thing you want to do is to get up to dim the lights. But what if the dimmer switch or volume control or on/off button were embedded in the sofa fabric? You could control the room – the universe! – from your soft throne.
STATUS: exists now
READ MORE AT: www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/garden/10led.html?_r=1&hpw

HOLOGRAPHIC TV
Three-dimensional images broadcast into the middle of your living room will give you the best seat in the house. This will be fantastic for sporting events and less fantastic for Chinese domestic football.
STATUS: in development
READ MORE AT: www.unthinkable.biz/home/article/751/sony-holographic-tv-display

ENERGY IS KEY
Artist Xu Bing has developed an ergonomic desktop that maneuvers you – gently, almost imperceptibly – in tai chi whirls, staving off carpal tunnel and stiff backs. What could be better? How about powering your household by capturing the kinetic energy you expend when you tap away at that keyboard?
STATUS: in development
READ MORE AT: www.xubing.com/index.php/site/projects/year/2006/ergodynamic_desktop

OPTIC APOTHECARY
People forget to take their pills. But nearsighted people don’t forget to put in their contact lenses. Rather inspired, then, to develop contact lenses that distribute medication directly into the eye from a biodegradable polymer coating. Who knew that 20/20 vision would ever become a liability?
STATUS: prototypes currently undergoing animal testing
READ MORE AT: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090721111535.htm

CHANGING FACES
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the one using stem cell therapy for beauty rather than the benefit of all? It’s you. One Beijing hospital already offers stem cell facial injections aimed to erase wrinkles and plumpen the face.
STATUS: for sale now
READ MORE AT: gizmodo.com/5165333/beijing-clinic-using-stem-cells-as-eternal-youth-beauty-treatment

SMART TOILETS
Goings on in the smallest room have changed little over the years. That’s unlikely to change. However, toilets that can monitor your blood sugar are already a medically helpful reality to the diabetic and hypoglycemic. In the future, expect toilets to report irregularities directly to your doctor.
STATUS: for sale now
READ MORE AT: singularityhub.com/2009/05/12/smart-toilets-doctors-in-your-bathroom/

ROBO-PETS
Gone will be the days when you’ll need a license for your four-legged friend. Robotic dogs will also do away with the worry of rabies. Whether or not Beijingers will continue to make an unnecessary fuss in their presence remains to be seen.
STATUS: for sale now
READ MORE AT: www.wowwee.com/en/products/toys/robots/robotics/robocreatures:robopet

TECH BEIJING: STREET

FOLD-UP FILMS
A DVD player that folds up like origami, currently in development, promises the possibility of a truly portable audiovisual experience. Crowds of gawkers everywhere will reap the benefits of e-paper technology.
STATUS: concept stage
READ MORE AT: corporate.inventables.com/Product/ConceptStudio.asp?i=1&t=9

WHEN GARBAGE GOES GOOD
Doc Brown managed to get Marty McFly to 2015 using just a handful of garbage as power. By the non-Hollywood version of that year, using giant biodigesters, Beijing will be able to turn its garbage into fuel for electricity and the digested waste into fertilizer. In your face, manure.
STATUS: already in use
READ MORE AT: biogas.wikispaces.com/Digester+Projects

RECHARGE REVOLUTION
Dahon has developed two bikes that capture and store your pedal power in a battery. The same generator, high charge battery and USB dock will be available to all early next year. It’s good for powering your GPS as you look for alternative routes, or your mp3 player as you hope to drown out the din of Beijing traffic.
STATUS: goes on sale in March 2010   
READ MORE AT: www.dahon.com/news/releases/08272009.htm

HIGHWAY HYBRIDS
China is motoring into the green future while the West lags behind. Shenzhen’s BYD auto is already selling the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid car. Their F3DM model will be followed by the fully electric e6 in 2010 and Chery’s S18. Don’t squawk at the initial outlay – the money you save during traffic jams in the first few months alone ought to defray the cost.
STATUS: for sale now
READ MORE AT: www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a4pB1zdYV_SU&refer=asia

HANDS-FREE MOBILITY
Driving is such a chore. All that time wasted in the commute could be better spent watching Dialogue on CCTV-9. Fortunately, prototype driverless cars exist now. Unfortunately, unnecessary honking still comes as standard.
STATUS: early prototype
READ MORE AT: jalopnik.com/cars/gadgets/unmanned-in-the-streets-china-company-demos-driverless-car-199692.php

POWER PLAY
Scientists saw the humble playground merry-go-round as a potential turbine that could power a water pump. Beijing will be in water crisis within a decade so we’ll need to start exploiting all forms of hitherto “useless” movement. Senior gyms, anyone?
STATUS: already in use
READ MORE AT: www.naturalnews.com/024732_water_health_Africa.html

SHIRT ALERT
Fabric has moved beyond fashion to the medical. Clothes calling 119 when citizens overdo it on the street exercise are not far away. So knock yourself out – literally. You’ll be taken care of.
STATUS: in development
READ MORE AT: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081021190642.htm

KUAI PHONE
A cashless wallet sounds like the day before payday. In fact, it means you can pay with your cell phone. Every Tom, Dick and Harry has a cell phone these days, loaded with useless features galore. Now they’re useful again. Just ask Shanghai.
STATUS: exists now
READ MORE AT: shanghaiist.com/2009/09/10/china_unicom_cell_phone_sims_now_do.php

TRAINING GEAR
Fabric technology has come a long way since matted fibers were first pressed together to make felt – now we have clothing that coaches. Embedded sensors can help players monitor and analyze their golf swing or badminton stroke. Next thing you know, these “smart clothes” will take what they’ve learned and go on to compete in the Olympics – sans athletes.
STATUS: in development
READ MORE AT: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081021190640.htm

TECH BEIJING: NIGHTCLUB

FEEL THE MUSIC
We’ve come a long way since the likes of Grandmaster Flash tinkered with the gramophone. Where’s the DJ’s turntable? It’s all around him. His wired gloves and the electrodes on his clothing employ 3-D spatial tracking to turn his personal space into the si-si-si-sickest scratch kit ever.
STATUS: concept stage
READ MORE AT: www.eecs.ucf.edu/isuelab/research/3dui.php

STYLE STEALER
Nowadays, if you want to copy someone’s look, it takes at the very least the scouring of shops, or a conversation. That will end with digital fabric. You’ll be able to download any pattern onto your kicks and garms. Good news for the stay-fly set.
STATUS: concept stage
READ MORE AT: corporate.inventables.com/Product/ConceptStudio.asp?i=13&t=9

GAMING GARMENTS
Keyboard pants and keyboard gloves mean you can get away from it all, even in a busy club. Never let the world of electronica get in the way of World of Warcraft.
STATUS: prototypes
READ MORE AT: hackedgadgets.com/2006/05/19/

STAIN NO MORE
Where there’s drinking, there are drunks – and where there are drunkards, mess inevitably follows. Everyone’s had a drink spilled on them, but these self-cleaning fabrics will make you worry less. Especially if you are the type of person who deserves drinks poured over their head.
STATUS: in development
READ MORE AT: blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=832

SMART WALLS
No more vying for power (sockets). Ambient electricity “thrown” by the walls will make it easy to recharge your gadgets.
STATUS: in development
READ MORE AT: www.pcworld.com/article/152683-3/15_hot_new_technologies_that_will_change_everything.html 

PREVENTATIVE PRINTS
Drunk driving is neither big nor clever; it is illegal and deadly. Cars with fingerprint drunkalyzers that recognize excessive blood alcohol is a good thing. Disabling the car’s ignition is a great thing.
STATUS: in development
READ MORE AT: insideengineer.com/2009/01/fingerprint-start-up-could-prevent-drunk-driving/ 

DATA BRACELET
Ah, junior high … the sharp smack of the slap bracelet as it coiled around your wrist. In the future, your slap bracelet will be an mp4 player made out of e-paper. No batteries necessary – your kinetic energy will power it. Don’t stop dancing.
STATUS: concept stage
READ MORE AT: www.e-potpourri.com/index.php/2008/01/24/e-paper-mp4-bracelet-multi-media-jewelery-powered-by-kinetic-energy/

POWER MOVES
Dance floors have often seemed like a waste of time and energy but not when the jigginess generates kilowatt hours. Kinetic energy is rerouted to power other things. You may want to step up from your two step to offset your carbon footprint.
STATUS: for sale now
READ MORE AT: www.sustainabledanceclub.com/?t=products&p=1

Photo of circuit board by Flickr user BotheredByBees; photo of gesture glove keyboard by Flickr user Julian Bleecker