Whitespace: Three bold ideas for the next three yearsIssue 78: October 2011 Ubiquitous smartphone 'swipe and pay' transactions, creative and healthy food that's 'printed' at home, computer games that make the world a better place: if the trendwatchers are to be believed, the near future looks more like a Star Trek episode than many of us could possibility have imaged. To keep you up to date with the possibilities, this month's Whitespace looks at three bold ideas that are on the horizon and set to make an impact by the start of 2015. Your wallet is history The concept of a digital wallet is of great interest to financial institutions. Rather than having consumers rely on a physical credit card, they see a future in which all transactions are carried out by swiping a smartphone across a dedicated reader at the point of purchase. This process is achieved as a result of near field communication, technology that enables the secure transmission of data across short distances. But the action of swiping a smartphone instead of fumbling around with a card is just one aspect of this innovation. Not content with dominating your online world, Google is taking the lead in this area with the launch of Android smartphone technology that aims to combine all of a consumer's credit cards in the one app. This development isn't just about added convenience for consumers. Google Wallet also has the potential to help retailers encourage in-store visits by displaying product information, loyalty programs and online daily deals via its app. The app is already available in the US; expect to see a local version soon as the race between Google and financial institutions to establish the dominant digital wallet service hots up. Everyone's a manufacturer The concept of 3D printing takes the world into science fiction territory with an innovation that enables everything from car parts to food stuffs to be 'printed' layer upon tiny layer using 'inks' made of plastic and natural materials. Currently used by industrial designers to create prototypes, 3D printers are set go mainstream as a result a recent price drop. Beyond its novelty factor 3D printing is gaining attention due to its potential to turn every consumer into a manufacturer and in the process dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example, being able to make or recycle household items, say new cutlery, children's toys or even the parts required to build another 3D printer, dramatically cuts carbon emissions and much of the waste involved in mass manufacturing. 3D printing is also tipped to shake up food as we know it. By placing edible ink cartridges in a 3D printer it's possible to create new food shapes, flavours and textures. And rather than creating new versions of fast foods, scientists claim 3D food printing will deliver healthier options as the technology is tipped to make good food taste even better by altering its chemical makeup. Gaming for good Once the sole domain of teenage boys, the appeal of gaming continues to broaden with a number of designers claiming it can be a force for good by accommodating a new breed of social network games. A good example of the trend is Microsoft Xbox 360's Gaming for Giving and Good, which calls on gamers to complete with each other to raise money for local hospitals. Free Rice takes a more educative approach to social gaming by offering quizzes on English, maths and geography. When the user gets a question right 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Programme. Nissan also offers another idea that promotes friendly competition: its Leaf electric car in Japan rates drivers across the world in terms of their carbon emission savings. Companies are also using gaming for good as a CSR and employee engagement tool. US retailer Walmart has launched an internal social network game that encourages staff to compete with each other to achieve organisational and personal goals that include everything from giving up smoking to reducing stress, saving water to building new skills. Want to know more? Here are three videos that illustrate the potential of all three bold ideas: Google Wallet 3D Printing Gaming for Good
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