By CHRIS STASIOR
STAFF WRITER

We are living in very interesting times, to say the least. Technology is progressing at a rate faster than anyone has ever seen before in human history. So fast, in fact, that learning about the most recent advances in numerous fields of technology has become difficult for the general public. That’s where I come in. I’m here to help keep you guys informed about what I believe to be the most important technological innovations, what has recently become possible and what the future holds. And what’s a better place to start than telling you about the commercially viable matrix?
Well, not really “The Matrix,” but we’re inching our way there one day at a time and we’ve come a lot farther than most people realize. Today, using a head-mounted display, a company named Oculus VR is hoping to bring virtual reality to consumer’s homes by the end of 2015. The former independent company has been developing their product for a couple of years, but came across difficulties with funding and marketability. A problem no more, as Facebook announced last March that it agreed to buy Oculus VR for $400 million cash, plus four times that amount in Facebook stock. Oculus VR has been showcasing their prototypes at multiple tech-conventions in the last year and a half and has been receiving excellent feedback from gamers.
Believe it or not, there have also been recent advances with beer. To learn more about this, I sat down with brewmaster Ben Richards ‘15. During our conversation over a frothy delight, Ben explained to me that although the technology used for brewing hasn’t evolved much, the general public is beginning to see the benefits from variations in both the brewing process and the bottling of its end product. “One thing that I really think is changing rapidly in the craft brewing industry is the emergence of canned beer” said Ben, as he took a long sip from his own creation. “A lot of breweries are starting to can because it’s not only fiscally responsible, but environmentally responsible as well.” He added that because glass retains more heat, the flavor of the beer could be changed more easily, making cans a more reliable option for flavor.
Ben also discussed flash pasteurization, a growing trend for North American craft brewers. What this method of pasteurization does is use higher temperatures for shorter amounts of time in order to better maintain the beers color and flavor. The problem is that the process is particularly hard to master, as opposed to tunnel pasteurization, the most common method for bottled and canned beers. The good news is that companies today, such as GEA Brewery Systems, are developing innovative microbiological stabilization by flash pasteurization techniques to preserve the quality of a brew simply and efficiently.
Saving the crème de la crème for last, Mercedes has recently unveiled their F015, a self-driving luxury car. While the Google car has been automatically driving on/mapping streets for years now, a fully autonomous car has never been promised to consumers before. These vehicles operate by maintaining a constant exchange of information between itself and its environment, but here’s the kicker: they take in and process more information than humans, faster than humans and more accurately than humans. The Mercedes F015 comfortably seats four people and is said to be available for purchase in 2019. So, if you have the money (and I really do mean the $), you only need to wait four years to have the ability to pull out your smartphone and tell your car to pick you up and drive you home. That is, of course, after you’ve already had it drop you off and find a parking spot.
To sum up, expect to see our first step towards the matrix within the year and robotic chauffeurs within the decade. Also, buy your flash-crafts canned.