This document discusses the past, present, and future of communication technology and its applications. It covers the evolution of technologies like cloud computing, smartphones, and their increasing role in business, education, and warfare. The document predicts that by 2022, cloud computing will be ubiquitous and power most computing needs. Mobile devices and wearable technologies of the future will be more integrated into daily life and enable new forms of communication and connectivity.

1. Communication Technology
2022
Kaden J. Jacobs

2. Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going
In the not so distant past, technologies we take for granted
today, didn’t even exist yet. For example:
Solid State Memory
Broadband Internet
Smart phones
High Definition Television
WiFi
As we progress towards 2022 and beyond, technology will
continue to grow in ways we cannot imagine.
Most spectacularly, technologies we couldn’t dream of today,
will be commonplace for our children.
My first smartphone circa 2005

3. Cloud Computing Today
The concept of “cloud computing” was introduced in the 1960s
by psychologist and computer scientist, J.C.R. Licklider.
Licklider’s intention was for information to be accessible to all
people at all times, from anywhere on Earth.
Today, cloud computing is a growing
trend at home and in business.
Smartphone users can sync data
through the cloud to multiple devices.
Business can use cloud based documents to work on a project
simultaneously.

4. Cloud Computing Tomorrow
By 2022, the functionality and security issues associated with the cloud will have
been solved.
Cloud computing will remove the need for offices to have servers, as all
computing will be done using ThinClient type software.
The cloud will eliminate the need for portable memory, decreasing the amount
of electronic waste put into the environment.
The technology will allow for schools to more effectively educate our children,
while allowing business to occur in a real-time environment, boosting efficiency
and economic impact.
Cloud computing will be the lynchpin technology for future innovation in the
technology industry.
Moore’s Innovation Adoption rate will have completed it’s cycle, and the
“laggards” will have been forced to adopt the technology due to it’s
widespread use in everyday life. The beginning stages of the cycle are at work
right now, as I believe we are in the “early majority” phase of it’s adoption.

5. Technology and the Warfighter Today
As our dependence on technology increases, our future warfighting
capabilities will further depend on our ability to use technology in
offensive and defensive capacities. Communication is a key
component of executing a successful mission.
Currently, all branches of the US Military utilize state-of-the-art
communication technologies onboard all warfighting platforms.
Specifically, the US Navy has reduced the amount of personnel
necessary to operate a Littoral Combat Ship by increasing the number
of automated systems on board responsible for “life support
systems”. This includes the ability for these system to communicate
to one another and to the Captain of the ship.
This technological innovation in warfighting is just another step in the
evolution of warfare, moving from the backpack radios of the
Vietnam era to the integrated helmet communication systems of
today.

6. Technology and the Warfighter Tomorrow
Ergonomics, in the sense of man and machine working as one, will become a
critical component of the communications technology of the future.
Programs like the Navy’s “Gunslinger” program will work with the sailor,
soldier, or marine on the ground to communicate effectively the composition of
the battle space environment.
This includes integration of aerial sensors, with communication devices built into
uniforms and gear, while also relying on future security technologies to ensure the
stream of information cannot be interrupted.
Communication technologies in the future will help the United States to
effectively wage war, or maintain peace, in hostile environments because of the
commitment to communication innovation and technologies.
The US military will also be on the cutting edge of technology, representing the
early adopters, and will help spread the technology into the civilian population
through the Critical Mass Theory.
Specifically, uniformed service members using technologies in the field will want to
bring those technologies home, helping spread its use and supporting it’s growth.
This can be seen today through the widespread growth of recreational drone
technologies.

7. Mobile Devices Today
From it’s meager beginnings, smart phones
have become a ubiquitous sight in our
everyday lives.
Mobile devices connect us, as a society, in
ways our parents or grandparents could
have never imagined.
Simply consider that the phrase “Where are
you?”, would never have needed to be
uttered on landlines phones. In order to
contact the person, you’d have had to have
known where they were.
The ability to be reached from anywhere,
gather information from anywhere, and
find your way anywhere is a technology we
are all used to at this point, but it will only
continue to grow as we move into the
future.

8. Mobile Devices Tomorrow
Due to the Uses and Gratification theory, the ability for users to seek
out specific media will only increase as we move into the future.
Mobile devices of all kinds will be essential in this quest.
The mobile devices of the future will have unlimited cloud
connectivity and will be able to accomplish the same tasks as a
desktop computer.
The high powered capability of the devices will enable people from
across the globe to work, play, and communicate in ways we cannot
conceive currently.
Devices will be thinner, lighter, more portable, and may be
integrated into our everyday clothing.
Wearable technologies are already starting to be implemented, but
mobile devices one day may be able to detect health issues before
the occur, remind you about a meetings, and possibly protect you
from adverse environments.

9. References
Doughty, J. (n.d.). Woman Dialing Rotary Telephone Stock Photo 133441045. Getty
Images. Retrieved August 10, 2014, from
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-dialing-rotary-telephone-royalty-
free-image/133441045
First Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone in US. (2005, September 17). First Windows
Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Phone in US. Retrieved August 10, 2014, from
http://phys.org/news6576.html
Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), United States of America. (n.d.). Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
Retrieved August 10, 2014, from http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/littoral/
Mohammed, A. (2009, March 1). A history of cloud computing. A history of cloud
computing. Retrieved August 10, 2014, from
http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/A-history-of-cloud-computing
NSWC DAHLGREN DIVISION. (n.d.). Bringing technology to the warfighter. Retrieved
August 10, 2014, from
http://www.navsea.navy.mil/nswc/dahlgren/Warfighter/GS/default.aspx
Rogowsky, M. (2013, June 6). More Than Half Of Us Have Smartphones, Giving Apple
And Google Much To Smile About. Forbes. Retrieved August 9, 2014, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2013/06/06/more-than-half-of-us-have-
smartphones-giving-apple-and-google-much-to-smile-about/
Steddum, J. (2013, June 4). A Brief History of Cloud Computing. SoftLayer Blog.
Retrieved August 10, 2014, from http://blog.softlayer.com/2013/virtual-magic-the-cloud