The recent rise in technological developments has everyone’s attention, but a select few of these technological advances are true milestones. Let’s review some of the breakthrough developments of 2014 that truly highlight technological evolution of the near future.

Mind Reading & Memory Recording MRI Scan

2014 witnessed the release of the first ever MRI brain scan that has been designed for the purpose of recording memories and thoughts for future playback. This technology lets you preserve your thoughts and memories to be reconstructed in the future. The process is called ‘thought identification’ or ‘reading’. The visual reconstruction of these memories is crude at present, but the information extraction has proven successful; so it’s only a matter of time before the idea is refined enough to record the information visually.

Smart Contact Lenses

Google developed a smart contact lens in January that is capable of monitoring the glucose levels for those who suffer from diabetes. These lenses contain chips and sensors of very small size that monitor the glucose levels in your blood; they are able to analyze the levels of substances in your bloodstream through your tears. This could be the best way to crack the mystery of tear glucose and measuring levels with optimum accuracy.

Camera That Records the Movement of Light

Researchers in Japan invented a camera that is capable of capturing light at 4.4 trillion frames per second, setting the world record for the fastest camera ever invented. High-speed photography can be a great tool for enhancing studies of the super fast dynamics in spintronics, phononics, photochemistry, fludics, and plasma physics.

Invisibility Cloak Created With Laser Stitching

The scientists at the University of Cambridge have successfully developed an innovative method to produce invisible “metamaterials” with the use of lasers, opening the doors to the possibility of invisibility cloaks. This new method of manufacturing “metamaterials” can easily pave the way for the future of cloaking devices. An unfocused laser light is used to stitch the gold particles together, creating a material that is capable of reflecting light through the process of inverse refraction which makes the objects appear invisible.

Solar Panel Windows

Windows that can double as solar panels have been developed by research scientists at Los Almos National Laboratory. Quantum dots are embedded into the glass to create solar cells that are transparent. The biggest accomplishment here is the demonstration of large scale luminescent solar concentrators that are capable of using a new generation of specifically-engineered quantum dots.

Smart Glasses for the Blind

Researchers at the University of Oxford were successful in creating smart glasses that could assist the partially sighted or blind. The camera in the glasses separates and highlights any objects ahead and presents them on the lens so that the vision of the wearer is maximized. These glasses are expected to be available for commercial purchases by 2016 and are touted as one of the biggest technological achievements of 2014.