Jetsons Moments: Fast Forward

Wi-Fi in the Sky

Innovation: Wireless broadband from blimps and gliders
Location: York, England
Available: 2011

David Grace has spent six years trying to convince the world that the future of wireless technology relies on blimps. Don't laugh. The world is starting to listen.

Grace is lead scientist at Capanina, a research consortium that has set out to prove that high-altitude platforms (HAPs)--blimps and gliders cruising in the stratosphere--can deliver wireless broadband access anywhere in the world. "The first type of missions will be disaster relief," he says. "Short-term work over areas hit by tsunamis, earthquakes, or other natural disasters." Ultimately, though, HAPs could provide wireless access to places with no existing infrastructure, such as rural communities and underdeveloped nations.

Capanina claims that HAPs cost one-tenth as much as satellites and could support 1,000 times as many users. Flying above the weather, HAPs could be powered by solar cells and left in the air almost indefinitely, occasionally returning to earth for updates and maintenance. Are Grace and his colleagues dreaming? In August, Capanina successfully tested the concept in Sweden, sending data 37 miles.

No Dryer Needed

Innovation: Waterless, detergentless washing machine
Location: Singapore
Available: 2008, if they're lucky

Wendy Chua and Gabriel Tan, industrial-design students at the National University of Singapore, share a dark vision of laundry yet to come. "We hypothesized a future where we lead extremely fast-paced and potentially stressful lives," says Chua. "[Where we] have an obsession with hygiene and personal well-being [and] face a water-scarce earth."

Their solution: Airwash, a waterless, detergentless washing machine that uses negative ions to clean clothes. The device scours dirty duds with high-pressure blasts of charged particles. (Used in air purifiers, negative ions are known for their ability to clump dirt and bacteria.) Add some suction, a HEPA filter, and a hint of antibacterial deodorant, and you've got clothes that are deep-down clean--and no ring around the collar.

Or at least you've got a sleek prototype. Designed to look like a waterfall (nature's negative ion generator), the Airwash is currently no more than a breezy fantasy--and the winner of Electrolux's Design Lab Award from among 3,000 student entries last fall. Its commercial prospects? "Almost all the technology is available today, with [some] needing more research and development," says Chua. "We believe the challenge lies in putting all this technology together." In other words, physics isn't an issue, but money might be.

Genetics on the Fly

Innovation: Rapid DNA testing
Location: Rochester, New York
Available: Over the next five years

CSI and Jerry Springer would have us believe that DNA is good for answering only two questions: "Is that the bad guy?" and "Who's the real father?" But scientists may soon use DNA tests to rapidly identify airborne infectious agents, diagnose viruses, and even peer into our future.

Thermal Gradient, a startup in upstate New York, has designed a device that cuts the time required to perform a test by 80%--to less than 15 minutes--by repeatedly heating and cooling a sample to replicate the DNA. What's so important that it can't wait another hour and 15 minutes? Ask the Department of Homeland Security, which is working with Thermal Gradient to develop a system that would allow police officers to quickly distinguish a dangerous substance like anthrax from any other suspicious white powder.

Physicians might also use the technology to test for HIV or hepatitis by scanning patients' blood on a molecular level rather than checking blood samples for antibodies. Thermal Gradient's device--no bigger than the fingernail on your pinkie--costs only about a dollar to produce. That's cheap enough to make possible incredibly sensitive, yet affordable, blood analyzers--all-in-one machines that could perform dozens of simultaneous molecular blood tests. Such technology could identify minor mutations in our DNA, giving early warning if our genetic code holds a propensity for cancer or Alzheimer's.