Tech
The weirdest tech innovations we don’t really need…at all
Don’t get me wrong, these things are all impressive in their own right. However, we just do not need them at all.
Usually, we’re conditioned to look at tech innovations as brilliant things. The world goes crazy for the latest tech trend or invention, providing us with new and convenient ways of doing things.
In truth, there are plenty of fantastic innovations from the last few decades that have transformed our lives – many of which we take for granted. Just look at the technology in smartphones; it took a lot of research and trial and error to develop processors small enough to fit in handheld phones, yet as powerful as some computers.
The beauty of technology is that it plays a role in so many different aspects of our lives. You’ve seen tech explode onto the scene to improve our safety – particularly when in cars.
There’s also technology that helps us use less energy, as well as innovations that make life so much more convenient and can cut costs for businesses. In fact, tech inventions and innovations are so highly sought after that the government genuinely hands money back to companies that discover them.
There are loads of R&D tax credit examples that show how new tech discoveries are rewarded by the government. As a result, companies and individuals are always super keen to come up with the next big thing.
Unfortunately, this means we often end up with some inventions or innovations that are just plain weird. There’s some interesting technology behind them, but when you take a step back and look at these innovations, you realize we genuinely have no need for them at all…
Do you want to see some of these whacky and weird ideas? Well, keep on reading!
Ring by Logbar
Rewind to 2015 and the world was going through a mini phase where wearable tech was becoming a huge thing. We saw smartwatches start taking off and doing really well, prompting people to think of different wearable tech we could utilize.
Amongst the many ideas, we came across a few tech rings. Now, some of these are genuinely useful – like the Oura Ring that offers very accurate sleep and activity tracking.
Nevertheless, there was one innovation that wowed a lot of people, despite being utterly useless. The Ring by Logbar was an invention that promised to transform the way people gave presentations.
You put it on your finger and could use gestures to flick through slides and do…well…all the things you can do with various other devices that are far less weird or expensive. Seriously, you can use Bluetooth remotes to go through presentations, or even your phone. So, why would you need this ring?
The weirdest thing is, it actually won an award at CES in 2015 for being so innovative. Sure, it’s a pretty innovative bit of tech, but do we really need it? The fact that probably none of you has heard of this shows that it’s not something we need at all.
Ray-Ban Stories
Still on the wearable tech trend, and this product is created by one of the most iconic sunglasses manufacturers in the world. Basically, you have some run-of-the-mill smart glasses. Now, smart glasses are perhaps the most useless tech invention of the modern era.
The complete and utter failure of Google Glass should’ve been enough to turn tech developers off this trend. For whatever reason. Ray-Ban decided they’d make their own pair of smart glasses. To make matters worse, they teamed up with Facebook to do so.
Yep, the same Facebook that’s been in the news for privacy issues for years. Do you really think people are going to pay £300 for some glasses that can record videos using technology from Facebook? Some people must be buying them, but what’s the literal point?
There’s no scenario where it is more convenient for you to use your glasses to take videos or photos than it is to use your phone. Unless you’re a spy and trying to maintain a low profile, any type of smart glasses is just completely useless for the average human being.
Humanoid Robots
This might cause some debate amongst you reading this, but humanoid robots are a tech innovation that the human race really has no purpose for. Yes, they are really cool and the technology behind them is immeasurably impressive. However, you have to think of why they might be useful.
What will they do, other than taking jobs away from real people? This is something I often think about – do tech developers realize the consequences of their actions sometimes? Yes, having robots perform tasks can be more efficient than getting humans to do them, but at what cost?
It could mean millions of humans are left jobless, changing the entire global economy. Oh, and there’s also that slight fear that they gain sentience and take over the world. So, yeah, not the greatest tech invention in terms of convenience.
Other types of robots – like ones in the medical field – are definitely useful and worth developing. But do we really need to spend billions trying to make robots as human-like as possible?
Smart Fridges (Well, some of them)
The temptation to make everything smart has gripped the biggest tech developers across the world. Some things are worthy of this, but other objects are best left as they are – like the fridge.
Smart fridges can be pretty amazing, depending on what they do. Ones with cameras inside to help you see your fridge when you’re out shopping are brilliant – as are ones that can tell you when you’re low on certain things.
However, fridges that can connect to the internet and play music are an absolute waste of technology. Why do you need this? A fridge is a fridge – it doesn’t need to browse the web or let you tweet things while you cook. We have phones and tablets for this – and even smart speakers! For me, most smart fridges should be gone, or we should at least reimagine the concept of them.
There you go, some weird tech innovations and inventions the world could do without. Don’t get me wrong, these things are all impressive in their own right. However, we just do not need them at all.
Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
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