LESSON THIRTEEN

NEW TECHNOLOGIES
1. FUTURE TRENDS

A. What do you think a trend is?

tend- to move, direct, or develop one's course in a particular direction
What trends in ICT do you think will affect our lives in future? Make a list.
Machine Learning
artificial intelligence.
chip implant.
Block Chain
Quantum Computing

B. Match the texts (1-5) with the pictures (a-e).

1. B
By all accounts, nanotechnology – the science of making devices from single atoms and molecules – is
going to have a huge impact on both business and our daily lives. Nanodevices are measured in nanometres
(one billionth of a metre) and are expected to be used in the following areas.
Nanocomputers. Chip makers will make tiny microprocessors with nanotransistors, ranging from 60 to 5
nanometres in size.
Nanomedicine. By 2020, scientists believe that nano-sized robots or nanobots will be injected into the
body’s bloodstream to treat diseases at the cellular level.
Nanomaterials. New materials will be made from carbon atoms in the form of nanotubes, which are more
flexible, resistant and durable that steel or aluminium. They will be incorporated into all kinds of
products, for example stain-resistant coatings for clothes and scratch-resistant paints for cars.
2. A
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the science of making intelligent machines and programs. The term
originated in the 1940s, when Alan Turing said: “A machine has artificial intelligence when there is no
discernible difference between the conversation generated by the machine and that of an intelligent person.”
A typical AI application is robotics. One example is ASIMO, Honda’s intelligent humanoid robot. Soon,
engineers will have built different types of android, with the form and capabilities of humans. Another AI
application is expert systems – programs containing everything that an “expert” knows about a subject. In a
few years, doctors will be using expert systems to diagnose illnesses.
3.C
Imagine you are about to take a holiday in Europe. You walk out to the garage and talk to your car.
Recognizing your voice, the car’s doors unlock. On the way to the airport, you stop at an ATM. A
camera mounted on the bank machine looks you in the eye, recognizes the pattern of your iris and allows
you to withdraw cash from your account.
When you enter the airport, a hidden camera compares the digitized image of your face to that of
suspected criminals. At the immigration checkpiont, you swipe a card and place your hand on a small
metal surface. The geometry of your hand matches the code on the card, and the gate opens. You’re on
your way.
Does it sound futuristic? Well, the future is here. Biometrics uses computer technology to identify people
based on physical characteristics such as fingerprints, facial features, voice, iris and retina patterns.
Adopted from the Richmond Times-Dispatch
4. E
Ubiquitous computing, also known as pervasive computing, is a new approach in which computer
functions are integrated into everyday life, often in an invisible way. Ubiquitous devices can be anything
from smartphones to networks, which allow information to be accessed anytime and anywhere – in other
words, ubiquitously. In the future people will interact naturally with hundreds of these smart devices
(objects containing a microchip and memory) every day, each invisibly embedded in our environment
and communicating with each other without cables.
5.D
In the ideal smart home, appliances and electronic devices work in sync to keep the house secure. For
example, when a regular alarm system senses that someone is breaking into the house, it usually alerts
the alarm company and then the police. A smart home system would go further, turning on the lights in
the home and then sending a text message to the owner’s phone. Motorola Homesight even sends image
captured by wireless cameras to phones and PCs.
Smart homes can remember your living patterns, so if you like to listen to some classical music when you
come home from work, your house can do that for you automatically. They will also know when the
house is empty and make sure all appliances are turned off. All home devices will be interconnected over
a home area network where phones, cable services, home cinemas, touch screens, smart mirrors and even
the refrigerator will cooperate to make our lives more comfortable.
Adapted from www.businessweek.com

C. Read the text again and answer these questions:

1. Which unit of measurement is used in nanotechnology?
In nanotechnology are used nanometers like unit og measurement.
2. What are the advantages of nanotubes over regular materials?
Nanotubes are more flexible, resistant and durable that steel or aluminium
3. What will doctors use expert systems for?
In a few years, doctors will be using expert systems to diagnose illnesses.
4. What features are analysed by biometrics?
Biometrics uses computer technology to identify people based on physical characteristics such as
fingerprints, facial features, voice, iris and retina patterns.
5. Which trend refers to computers embbeded in everyday devices, communicating with each other
over wireless networks?
 Ubiquitous devices can be anything from smartphones to networks, which allow information to
be accessed anytime and anywhere – in other words, ubiquitously.
6. What will the alarm system do if someone breaks into a smart home?
Alarm system usually alerts the alarm company and then the police
7. How will devices be interconnected inside the smart home?
All home devices will be interconnected over a home area network where phones, cable services,
home cinemas, touch screens, smart mirrors and even the refrigerator will cooperate to make our lives
more comfortable.

D. Find words in the text with the following meaings.

1. a microscopic robot, built with nanotechnology - nanobot
2. a robot that resembles a human – android(not like operating system but like robot) or maybe Humanoid
Robot(Caraulan said)
3. biological identification of a person - Biometrics
4. integrated; inserted into – embedded
5. electrical devices, or machines, used in the home appliances

2. RFID TAGS

A. Listen to Sarah Wood, an ICT teacher, giving a class about RFID tags. Which definitions (a-
c) best dercribes RFID?

A technology that uses radio waves and chip-equipped tags to automatically identify people or things

B Listen again and decide which answers (a or b) are correct.

1. RFID stands for
a. Radio Frequency Identification
2. Radio tags
a. can be attached to or embedded into products, animals and humans.
3. Active RFID tags
a. have a communication range of several hundred metres.
4. RFID chips
a. will help us track ordinary objects like car keys or books.
5. Radio tags may be implanted under the skin
a. to give doctors’ istant access to a patient’s medical history.
6. According to consumer organizations, RFID tags
a. could be used to track consumers or to steal a person’s identity.

C. Think of how secure, in your view, RFID is. Do you agree with the consumer organisations or
the manufacturers? Give reasons for your answers.(5 lines)

I do not agree with the manufacturers and I am sure that RFIDs are not yet secure enough to be
used widely. it is a very innovative technology but it is quite young, which represents a danger
 for the user. Any hacker could gain access to personal information and can harm our security.
I consider it too early to use them.

3. LANGUAGE WORK: FUTURE FORMS

A. Look at the HELP box and then choose the correct words in brackets to complete these sentences
1. In the future, I hope we ‘ll have robots in the home to help us with the housework.
2. Hey, Nick, be careful, you ’ll spill that coffee on the computer!
3. It’s John’s birthday next week. We ’re going to give him a mobile phone.
4. – My laptop has crashed!
- Don’t worry. I ’ll lend lend you mine.
5. The Internet is probably going to change the publishing industry in the way that TV changed the movie
industry.
6. Futurists predict that smart technology will be incorporated into fabrics, so you’ll be able to email from
your coat!

B. Complete these sentences with the correct future form of the verb in brackets. Use the future
continuous or future perfect
1. Thanks to ICT, by the year 2030 we will have found cures for the major diseases of our time.
2. In twenty years’ time, some people will be living in space, perhaps inside a computerized colony.
3. By this time next week, I will be working for IBM.
4. By this time next month, I will have bought that BlackBerry that I’ve been wanting to buy for
months.
5. Scientists predict that in twenty years ‘time nearly everyone will be living in smart houses.

C. Study these predictions. Do you agree or disagree with them? Give reasons to your answers. Look
at Useful language box to help you.
1. Some day, we’ll be talking to computers naturally, like
friends.

I agree with this statement and I think it's already

happening, using virtual voice assistant like Siri or
Alisa, I can say that I talk with the computer like a
friend.
2. Microchips implanted in our arms will serve as ID
cards and contain our medical records.
I also think that it is a truth, because there are
already chips that are implanted in your hand and
you can pay for shopping or open the door.

3. Robots will learn to build themselves, without human

help.
This statement is a fantasy for the moment, because it
will takes a long time to create artificial intelligence.
4. Smart homes will be voice-activated.
This is already happening, also using virtual voice assistant like Alisa we can control our smart
house with only voice
5. Computers will be ubiquitous and almost invisible,
embedded into our homes and integrated into our lives.

Also I think that this is an utopia to the next 20-30 years

4. MAKING PREDICTIONS

Write your own predictions about these topics


Work/job
Example: By the year 2030, human labour in industry will have been replaced by robots.
Your prediction:
By 2040, all taxi drivers will disappear, they will be replaced by autopilot

Money
Example: Cash will be replaced by electronic money.
Your prediction:
Paper money will be considered rarity and will be
collected

Education
Example: By the end of this century, every student in every school will have a PC.
Your prediction:
By the end of the century, education will remain at the same level as 100 years ago


The Internet
Example: People in every country will have high-speed access to the Internet within five years.
Your prediction
People in every country will have high-speed access to the Internet within two years thanks of
Elon Musk project Starlink.