Living in the 21st century, a century I once thought was a distant future, how does it feel to see the technology I dreamed of become a reality?

Survey of 120 engineers

e4ds.com conducted a survey (July 7-21) targeting engineers who are actively working in their fields.

A total of 118 engineers who participated in the survey were asked which of the technologies they imagined as children have actually been implemented, as well as which technologies would be most likely to be commercialized quickly and what factors are holding them back from commercialization.

First, when asked what technology (product) among the future technologies you dreamed of as a child is currently realized or visualized?

22% of respondents chose drones.

It seems to be an imaginary example of a drone that can fly freely anywhere and take photos. It seems that this is not unrelated to the reason why toy drones are currently in the spotlight as toys for adults.

Following drones, robots (including AI-powered robots) accounted for 13.6% of the technology that has become reality. Robots are now used in a wide range of industries and have become a familiar term, to the point where vacuum cleaners are even called "robots." The mere fact that a robot, once a cartoon character, has stepped out into the real world and begun speaking to humans is considered a tremendous technological advancement.

Following robots, self-driving cars (12.7%) and mobile phones (including smartphones, 12.7%) were chosen. This is likely due to the influence of foreign dramas popular among engineers during their childhood, such as "Operation Blitzkrieg Z."

It is the original intelligent car that runs to help the protagonist when he calls. Although fully autonomous vehicles have not yet been realized, rapid technological advancements have resulted in a significant number of commercially viable technologies.

He responded that the fantasy of a mobile phone, a portable telephone, and even a smartphone with computer functions has become a reality. He said he dreamed of having a large phone and TV in his hand, and now it's become a reality.

Other technologies that engineers cited as becoming reality included 3D printing (11%), wearables (6.8%), home automation (5.1%), IoT (4.2%), navigation (3.4%), holograms (2.5%), and virtual reality (2.5%).

IoT and 3D printing have great potential for commercialization.

Meanwhile, engineers selected the Internet of Things (IoT, 24.2%) as the most rapidly commercializable technology among emerging technologies. They followed with 3D printing (21.4%), wearables (16.5%), drones (16.1%), healthcare (13.7%), and automotive (7.6%) as high-value business technologies.

Additionally, engineers cited market formation (29.9%) as the biggest reason why these technologies are not quickly becoming a reality. For a technology to be commercialized, a sufficient market must be opened, but this is a different issue from the evolution of technology.

Next, issues related to regulations and policies (26.8%) were also identified. Drones and autonomous vehicles were identified as prime examples of areas where regulations and policies lag behind technology.

In addition, issues such as lack of capital (8%), lack of technology (17.4%), lack of manpower (11.2%), and lack of information (6.7%) were also selected as tasks that need to be solved.