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It’s sometimes crazy to think that a simple gadget can completely alter someone’s life. However, you only need to consider the smartphone to realize just how effectively that can happen. Before smartphones, people needed all of their tech services on their computer which was usually stationary in their homes.

After smartphones, people are able to work wherever they want and can look up information at any given moment. It has completely transformed lifestyles from just two decades ago. The smartphone certainly isn’t the only tech that’s on the verge of changing life as you know it. Here are a few pieces of tech that are coming to a future near you that could change your life.

1. High-Rise Farms

It isn’t exactly easy to picture a farm with grazing cows and bustling chickens on the top of a skyscraper, but that may be very well where you are headed. With demands for living space ever increasing, many farms are being forced to sell their land to make room for new subdivisions. Without these farms, the country could see food scarcity. A way that researchers and scientists and engineers are all working together to solve this problem is with the concept of high rise farms. As its name might suggest, deep in the bustling city, these farms may be situated on top of roofs of selected buildings. Grass, livestock, and other farming requirements may be present. This could completely change the skyline as you know it.

2. Solar Energy

Solar energy has become more and more popular as the years have gone by. With the technology involved with solar energy continues to be innovated, the technology is becoming more affordable than ever. As such, the number of people installing solar panels on their homes has increased. For many, the idea of net metering is a solid benefit for why they made the change from fossil fuels to renewable energy. So what is net metering? This involves the process of having a surplus of power that feeds into the grid. This surplus can then be sold to the power company, and you can make a nice little sum that didn’t cost you anything. It could be a nice way to pay off those solar panels if you needed to lease them.

Either way, solar energy will likely be used more and more as the years pass. With more people concerned about the state of the climate and taking proactive steps, it likely won’t be long before you see solar energy powering everything from motorcycles to high-rises.

3. Lab-Grown Meats

While the idea of meat coming from anything else but an animal may seem ludicrous, it’s actually already happening. Experts have started to grow meat in labs that look, smell, and taste just like the real thing. This is an effort to reduce the ecological impact that meat eating has on the planet. Many of the problems arising from global warming can be traced to the meat farming industry. As a means to step away from slaughtering cows and other animals and still provide tasty meat to those carnivores out there, researchers are continuing to develop their lab-grown meat. This can prove helpful both from an ecological point of view but also for those who choose not to eat meat for ethical reasons.

4. Touring Space

With Elon Musk’s SpaceX and many other private companies researching space travel, it won’t be long before space tourism becomes a real thing. If you’ve ever wanted to travel the stars and lay down roots elsewhere, discover beautiful new landscapes, or perhaps even meet new life, then your dreams may just be coming true sooner than you realize. This means that efforts to colonize other planets are just around the corner. After all, if you’re going to tour the stars, you likely need a place to stop and stretch your legs, right? While tourism likely won’t take place until after trained professionals have made some new homes on other planets, you can be sure that the common man won’t be far behind to experience some new adventures.

5. Robots

A lot of focus is turning to the development of robots, too. With the rise of automation, many people will likely lose their jobs. However, this shouldn’t give too much cause for despair. While robots take over the more mundane jobs, the globe will have to consider a basic world income that sets a flat amount of money that everyone receives. You can still have an income except now you don’t have to work for it. You can find new hobbies and share in adventures. That’s not too terrible of a robot takeover now, is it? These inventions alone are sure to change everything.

About the author

Kevin Faber is the CEO of Silver Summit Capital. He graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in Business/Managerial Economics. In his free time, Kevin is usually watching basketball or kicking back and reading a good book.

Follow him on Twitter: @faber28kevin

Featured image via Unsplash.