Future History (2011): 2010s

== The Timeline ==
Welcome to the 2010s - Future Timeline Events
=== 2010 - International Year of Biodiversity ===
*Scientists create synthetic life
*Haiti is struck by devastating earthquake
*One fifth of Pakistan is flooded
*China becomes largest energy consumer in the world
*Localised renewable energy is becoming affordable
*Apple debuts the iPad
*Augmented Reality is entering the mainstream
*Macular Degeneration is curable
*The first demonstration of solar sail technology
*Speech-to-speech translation is common in mobile phones
*Major breakthrough in robotics
=== 2011 - Welcome To Our Brand New Year ===
*The Space Shuttle fleet is retired
*The web has a greater reach than television
*Multi-touch surface computing is available to the mass market
*The first open petaflop supercomputer comes online
*Batteries recharge in seconds
*22 nanometer chips are in mass production
*USB 3.0 is available
*Consumer-level robotics are booming
*Completion of the International Space Station
*World's first commercial spaceport
*China's Three Gorges Dam is fully operational
=== 2012 - Now ===
*Economic growth remains sluggish in many markets
*Windows 8 is released (P)
*OLED screens are becoming widespread
*Brain-computer interfaces allowing the paralysed to walk again
*A cure for baldness
*World's first 1-Gigawatt offshore wind farm
*Mars Science Laboratory explores the Red Planet
*Mass hysteria grips the world as the Mayan calendar reaches the end of its current cycle
=== 2013 - Still Alive ===
*Iran carries out its first nuclear test
*Solar flares are disrupting the Earth's magnetosphere
*3D technologies are widespread
*The first products to use memristor technology are becoming available
*Full-body scanners are mandatory in US airports
*Direct high-speed rail from London to Frankfurt and Amsterdam (P)
*The 4G standard is finalised
*India launches its second lunar exploration mission
=== 2014 ===
*The James Webb telescope is launched
*Personalised DNA sequencing for less than $100
*Internet "lifecasting" enters the mainstream
*16 nanometer chips are in mass production
*Terabyte SD cards are available
*Robotic pack mules are entering military service
*MAVEN probe arrives at Mars
*Rosetta deploys its lander on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
*Most phone calls are made via the Internet now
*Increased automation in retail environments
*Brazil hosts the FIFA World Cup
=== 2015 ===
*Worldwide PC use reaches 2 billion
*Lifesaver water filters are spreading to many developing countries
*The first climate change refugees
*3D printing enters the consumer market (P)
*New Horizons probe arrives at Pluto
*Dawn probe arrives at Ceres
*Voyager I enters the heliopause
=== 2016 ===
*The US military withdraws its last remaining troops from Afghanistan
*US vehicles are becoming more fuel-efficient
*The first space hotel
*Laser guns are in naval use
*Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) replaces Blu-Ray
*Sony launches the PlayStation 4 (P, 2013, not 2016)
*The Strait of Messina Bridge is completed
*Rio de Janeiro hosts the Olympic Games (P)
=== 2017 ===
*Total solar eclipse in the USA
*The Gotthard Base Tunnel is completed (P)
*Electronic paper is seeing widespread use
*Portable medical lasers that seal wounds
*Teleportation of simple molecules (P)
=== 2018 ===
*The European Extremely Large Telescope is operational
*Ubiquitous internet nodes connect appliances, vehicles, etc.
*Crossrail opens in London (P)
*Robot insect spies are in military use
*Russia hosts the FIFA World Cup
*Consumer devices with 100 Gbit/s transfer speeds
*Anti-fat drugs are available
*The last of Nigeria's rainforests have disappeared
=== 2019 ===
*Acute spinal injuries are fully treatable
*The ITER experimental fusion reactor is switched on
*Computers break the exaflop barrier (P)
*Bionic eyes are commercially available
*Automated freight transport (P)
*The Aral Sea disappears from the map
*Global oil demand exceeds 100 million barrels per day
=== Some final uncertain events... ===
*British forces withdraw from Afghanistan (2011-2015)
*Virtual Reality makes a comeback (2015-2019)
*Tigers are going extinct (2015-2019)
*Somewhere between 2010 and 2037, a devastating earthquake hits California
See you in the future...
== See Also ==
*Next: 2020s
Category:Future History (2011)
Category:All Future Histories