‘Rocket trip from London to New York will take 30 minutes in2069,’ say futurists

Six British futurists sponsored by Samsung Group have published the “Samsung KX50: The Future in Focus” report that predicts how the world will change 50 years later. The writers of the report, including TechUK President and co-Chair of the Institute of Coding Jacqueline de Rojas and Dr. Rhys Morgan, director of Engineering and Education at the Royal Academy of Engineering, released the report in celebration of the opening of the Samsung King's Cross (KX), Samsung Electronics’ large-scale experience-based store in London.

The British authors projected that space rockets will be able to take passengers from London to New York in about 30 minutes in the year 2069, which is only one-fourteenth of the time it currently takes by airplane – seven hours. The current fastest record – three hours – crossing the Atlantic Ocean was set by the Concorde, which discontinued its operation in 2003.

The futurists also expected that underwater highways, resembling exhibit tunnels in aquariums, will be built across Europe. “The underwater highways will connect the U.K. and Scandinavian countries, including Norway, in less than one hour,” said a member of the electronics giant.

The report also predicted that Quidditch-like sports, which appear in the famous fantasy novel series “Harry Potter,” and drone-style air taxis and buses will become available. Other potential developments mentioned in the report include space hotels to stay a night in the outer space; self-cleaning homes thanks to the help of robots; chips insertable in the human body to translate all languages; and the technology to connect the human brain and the Internet. In addition, robot friends and helpers equipped with artificial intelligence, appearing in movies through virtual reality technology, and robot doctors will become part of daily life 50 years later.


Keun-Hyung Yoo noel@donga.com