Celebrating The Next Generation

AS A TECHNOLOGY PUBLICATION, we’re used to seeing new gadgets, shiny distractions to our everyday lives that may or may not actually be useful in the long run. Remember when 3D was the next big thing for TVs? Or when modular smartphones were all the rage? Many of these technologies fell to the wayside simply because they were developed without real practical use, or were too expensive to become mainstream for the everyman.

While we do see constant improvements in performance for all our gadgets - processors are faster, graphics more realistic, displays brighter, images sharper, sensors more accurate and connectivity more seamless - I do genuinely get surprised at nextgeneration technology that’s already available and implemented in the real world. For this issue of HWM, we explore a collaboration between a local restaurant and a little known audio brand, at least to me in the consumer space, where audio immersion is taken to another level through a unique implementation of vibration transfer. Yes, sound, in general, is created through vibrations. So, the principle technology isn’t new. It’s the way these vibrations are used to make sound that’s innovative. And that is what makes it so impressive.

It may not be the next big thing. You probably won’t be lining up to replace your 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos speaker setup anytime soon, but I welcome these technological finds because it proves that there is room for real, practical innovation rather than the cyclical increments we normally give praise to.