The Human and the Technology?A Complicated Marriage

This book offers a quantitative overview of key trends in modern technology. The development trends of computers and solid-state micro/nano-technology are extended as a strategic forecast based on methods proven over a quarter of a century. A new analytical approach to patent dynamics is presented, revealing the active state and principal directions of technical progress. In this course, it depicts the general patent dynamics for the entire history of patent law and a specific in-depth analysis of the leading fields of the technologies advancing into the nano-scale, as well as strategic software trends. The Topics of the Trends’ Analysis and specifically related fields include: Nanotechnology, Great Unification of the Technologies, Atomic Scale, Social-Economic Interaction in IP dynamics, Computer, Transistor, Semiconductors, Integrated Circuits, Memory, Nanodevice, Quantum Devices, Nanomechanics, Biotechnology, Software, Web, Wireless, Scanning Microscopy, Holography, Coherent Optics, Photonics, Synergy, Nanocomposites, Nanomaterials, Nanoparticles, Graphene, Smart Materials, Supramolecular Chemistry, Self-Assembling, Inflatable Structures, Smart Structures, Phase Transitions, Percolation, Space Exploration. The current general landscape is depicted based on 10,000 patents. Special chapter "Soft Globalization" reveals in specific quantitative details the dramatic changes repeatedly occurring in the patent dynamics over the last three years--signifying new role of software in general progress of 'intellectual product' as well as in both virtual and real economy. First in the history of patent law, one field dominates the entire patent dynamics. Further, the book leads along such new vectors of exploration as the most challenging trends in multifunctional integrated systems MEMS & NEMS and space technology, reviewing over 110 cutting-edge patents including all patents for functionally tunable phase transitions; it further extends this field of modern applied physics to synergistic systems of phase transitions bringing ‘smart’ functionality to large structures. The system approach to phase transitions opens window for an emission-free, mass-conservative and energy-saving base for numerous useful functions and various technologies. On the verge of fundamental changes in the world of common things and potentially—humans themselves, technological trends become inseparable from the primary source of technology and cannot be properly understood when separated: technological progress is a continuation of natural evolution. The last three chapters suggest “technological journeys” into the remote past—pre-historical, pre-human and pre-biotic, thus exploring the natural origin of human technology and control of fire, information “technology” of the biosphere, and perpetual “nanotechnology” generating organic matter in the Universe. Newly evolving complex dynamics creates a new kind of problems—equally for professionals, investors, and in education. Contrarily to the past, when academic studies were the best and everlasting investment in a future professional career, this is not exactly true at the present time. There is no solid base of academic knowledge creating a sufficient foundation for a future career. An understanding of intrinsic laws of technological progress and the ability to overview the actual state of technologies of interest and leading trends of their further development in “real time” are needed to guide people along the entire future professional career. This is the Book of Trends, which may be interesting for a broad audience and practically useful for professionals and students, inventors, investors, patent professionals. Includes 66 pages of content-rich high-resolution full-page illustrations.