Embedded intelligence

81.jpgAudi is experimenting with fingerprint technology to adjust seat settings, temperature control and radio settings. It doesn’t open the doors or start the engine, but it could. Other ‘intelligent’ features already include tyres that tell the driver when they’re getting flat or engines that tell you when they need a service. The McLaren F1 supercar even calls the factory when it realises something is wrong, so that the factory can dispatch a mechanic with the necessary spare parts (they already know where the car is via GPS). Is this all a sign of things to come? Probably. We’ve already got cars that talk to the driver (badly) so cars that talk to the manufacturers and each other can’t be far away.

Low cost

7.jpgtravel.JPGIn 2003 low cost operators were responsible for 23% of all US air traffic. However, discount carriers are now finding that they are having to compete on more than just price as customers are demanding higher levels of comfort and entertainment. This has led to the ‘discount diva’ — a customer who has sophisticated tastes in relation to airport and in-flight services, but expects bargain basement prices too. An example of this is Virgin Blue in Australia (a low cost airline) which offers low cost travellers access to exclusive Blue Room pay as you go airline lounges.

Luxury travel

5.jpgAs low cost services spread across the world, so too does the appeal of the opposite: high-cost, high touch exclusivity and personal pampering. For some, low cost fares leave extra cash to splash out on expensive hotels, while for others business and first class cabins are the new hotels. Hence we’ve now got business class only planes and business class only air terminals. And, of course, the more travellers get used to luxury, the more of it they want, which leaves them with something of a dilemma. How to set yourself apart from everyone else when almost everyone else seems to have exactly the same idea?

Planned spontaneity

6.jpgTravellers are taking advantage of the plethora of no-frills airlines, affordable hotels (also booked at the last moment) and last-minute/find-and-seek websites to increasingly act on a whim. Thus making spontaneous decisions to go somewhere is becoming the norm, especially for the Internet generation who do everything at Internet speed.

Growth in numbers

4.jpgAccording to the World Tourism Organisation, there will be 1,500,000,000 airline trips made by the year 2020. That’s a lot of airmiles. Of course, a big rise in fuel prices could put an end to this since nobody has yet discovered a serious alternative for jet fuel. Equally, another outbreak of SARS or another (successful) 9/11 style attack could also move the numbers in the opposite direction.

Parasite singles

70.jpg56% of men and 43% of women aged 18-24 still live at home in the US. In Japan young adults that won’t leave home are called parasite singles (because they pay little or no rent) while in Australia they’re called boomerang kids (because you throw them out but they keep coming back). The high cost of real estate and student loans means that this trend will accelerate causing all sorts of social problems including young adults with no independence or initiative. The trend is also fuelling growth in so-called ‘Third Places’ (places that are in between home and work).

Gadget taxes

73.jpgWill people watch TV in the future? The answer, I suspect, is yes but it depends on who you talk to. What does appear to be true is that younger generations have got a huge number of alternative choices targeted to their particular interests. As a result we would expect to see the TV licence in countries like the UK withdrawn and replaced by a computer tax within the next decade or two.

…at home

74.jpgCompanies want to cut costs and use technology instead of people and real estate wherever possible. This means that things like hospitals, libraries, post offices, schools and universities will all be trying to locate themselves in your home in the future. The argument is that this saves you (and them) time, which in turn makes things cheaper. This is rubbish. Few, if any, of the cost savings are passed on to end users and such moves ignore the simple fact that people like to deal with people face to face. However, one area where having it ‘under your roof’ might work is aged care.There is already a trend called Extended Financial Families where two and even three generations of a family live under one roof. This does indeed save money but also improves the level of personal care in some instances.

Urban living

71.jpgTwenty years ago everyone seemed to be moving out of cities which were full of grime and crime. These days everyone seems to be moving back in because that’s where everything seems to happen. However, the high cost of real estate in most cities will mean that cities become ghettos for gays, the rich, singles and childless couples. Everyone else will be in gated suburban communities or cheap housing. BTW – Scary stat: ratio of mobile homes to houses in gated communities in the US is 1:1.