Tech Savvy: Eyes on the future

The biggest untapped advancement in technology is in virtual reality and its near endless applications, Forestview Middle School students said recently.

A group of middle school students sat down with the Brainerd Dispatch to talk about their experiences with technology and where they think it's headed.

The students, in seventh and eighth grade, said they think companies will begin to invest more into virtual reality. Video games are especially going to start investing in a more robust VR experience for gamers, eighth-grader Ethan Hubert said.

"You'll be playing 'Call of Duty,' but you'll actually be running in place," Hubert said.

Virtual reality is going to immerse people more in the video game experience, eighth-grader Cameron Gliottone said. This might include wearing a special VR shirt, so if a gamer gets shot in the video game, they feel a physical response, he said. Video games using VR will focus on responses for all five senses, seventh-grader Barrett Rezac said.

Virtual reality could be applied in the medical world by letting students practice surgeries before performing them for real, Hubert said. Virtual reality could have extensive uses in the military when it comes to preparing soldiers for battles, eighth-grader Ashlee Adams said.

Companies aren't looking into VR as much as they could be, Hubert said, and much of the focus has been on using VR with smartphones.

"If you worked on it more, it could be incredible," Hubert said.

Wearable technology will become more advanced and more prevalent in people's lives, the students predicted. Hubert described a smartwatch with a keyboard that expands down the wrist, so users can type on their arms.

"Like a smartphone that's in your watch," Hubert said. "It's the size of a Fitbit that just projects onto your arm."

While Google Glasses didn't take off like the company hoped they would, Gliottone predicted computerized glasses would return. Wearers could project a map onto the lens, giving them easy directions, he said.

"You just begin walking or driving, and it would show you which way you have to go, how far you've got to go," Gliottone said.

Existing devices are going to stick around, Rezac said, but the technology in those devices is going to get smaller and more convenient. Users want portability, Adams said, but also high usability.

"If you make something too small, no one's going to be able to use it," Adams said. "And you're going to lose it really easily."

Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 is a sign Bluetooth, wireless headphones will become more popular, Hubert said. The wireless headphones require charging, but are more portable than wired headphones, he said, which tangle easily.

Gliottone predicted modular smartphones with attachments users can attach to their phones to enhance them. This could include a camera enhancer or a projector, he said. It could be like Star Wars, Adams said, and users could project holograms from their phones.

Drones used for delivery will become more common, Hubert said. It's still imperfect, Gliottone said, but the use of delivery drones won't be going away.

Eighth-grader Tyler Hootenakker said Tesla Inc. is going to keep pushing the envelope when it comes to electric vehicles. Gliottone said Microsoft is going to be at the forefront of technology innovations, because the company makes affordable products and software. On the other hand, Apple often prices its products too high, he said.

"It doesn't really seem like Apple is trying to invest in the future," Hubert said.

Electric cars in general are going to become more common, Gliottone said, out of necessity. Pollution and global warming will push society toward more renewable energy sources, he said.

The recently released Nintendo Switch has changed the idea of what a video game console is, Hubert said. Users can play the console at home or use its portability to play it wherever they want, he said.

Cable TV is going to have to adapt or risk being obsolete in a few years, Hubert said. Young people are watching YouTube much more than they're watching cable TV, Hootenakker said. Livestreaming is going to become much more popular, Gliottone said, and more platforms are going to introduce livestreaming options.

The science, technology, engineering and mathematics classes at Forestview have exposed students to technology they might not have used otherwise. Hubert said he enjoyed using the trackers, GoPro cameras and 360Fly cameras in the high-altitude balloon class. Eighth-grader Aleah Bauer has gotten to explore her interest in computer programming, she said, and hopes to take more STEM classes at Brainerd High School. The classes show students the highlights of STEM career fields, she said, as well as the challenges in those fields.

Middle school students don't have the money to buy the technology they use in class, Rezac said, so STEM classes gives them that opportunity. The classes open students up to a wide variety of careers in STEM fields, Gliottone said.

"It teaches us how precise we need to be in our measurements, in our calculations," Gliottone said. "One wrong move could jeopardize the entire project."

Hubert knows he wants to be an engineer when he grows up, he said, but he doesn't know what type. He's interested in civil engineering and likes building models.

A few of the students mentioned notable devices from their younger years, like the first video game console they had. Eighth-grader Ashlee Adams said the first video game console she had was a red Nintendo Wii, but the first console she bought with her own money was an Xbox 360.

Eighth-grader Aleah Bauer had different flip-style cellphones before she finally got her first smartphone. For Hootenakker, the iPhone 4 was his first smartphone.