Engineers have played a major role in building the society that we are living in and they are doing their job in shaping the future. Most of the technology and infrastructure on which our society is dependent is built by engineers. In any field or industry, you will see the role of engineers and how engineers were able to make everything so simple and streamlined with their inventions. Whether it is the healthcare industry, business industry, or finance industry, engineers have made things much simpler for all of us and, still, they are not finished yet.

Engineers are constantly trying out new products so that they can come up with inventions and advancements that will make our society even better. Technology is advancing so rapidly that it is becoming difficult to keep a track of everything but one thing is certain, engineers will always play an important role in shaping the society and future. To highlight the importance of engineers, we will be discussing some of how engineers are shaping the future:

Energy Harvesting

The first way in which engineers have shaped the future is by developing an energy harvester that can convert low-frequency vibrations into electricity for wireless sensors. In 2016, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was able to develop an energy harvesting device that can convert low-frequency vibrations such as those from a bridge or from people walking, into electricity for wireless sensors.

This was a major step forward in energy harvesting because it made it certain that energy harvesting is indeed possible. It is a microelectromechanical system that is able to convert low-frequency vibrations and low-power energy sources from the environment into electricity for wireless sensors. Wireless sensors are used for multiple purposes such as in home-automation systems, in industries & factories, at security facilities, etc. This device ensured that in the future energy harvesting will be possible and humans would be able to generate energy from multiple sources without damaging the environment.

Social Media

Social media has also been a great invention by engineers, the computer and software engineers per-se. There was a time when the only way of communicating with someone around the world was through a landline phone and now we have technologies and platforms like WhatsApp, Skype, Omegle, Zoom, etc available through which we can instantly video chat with someone from around the world.

There was a time when social media was used for socializing and interacting with your friends & family and even with strangers on platforms like Chatroulette but now, it is used for various purposes such as marketing, generating leads, selling your products, and also as a source of income. Social media is such a powerful tool because it has got everyone connected in a virtual global village. The future of social media seems bright and we will be seeing different ways how humanity will use social media to its advantage.

3D Printing

3D printing is an amazing discovery that has made things easier for the engineering labor force as they can get everything that they want in just a few moments. The first documentation of a 3D Printer goes back to 1981 but it was only a few years ago that this technology became popular worldwide. And what’s even more exciting is that there have been breakthroughs in the field of 3D printing that have made it possible for 3D printers to create things apart from plastic ware. 

3D printers have become so powerful that you can create different things like solar panels, houses, and even synthetic human organs without going out of your budget. For the future, it is a great invention that will completely change the way how different appliances, instruments, and things will be made.

Self-Driving Cars

There was a time when the idea of self-driving cars seemed impossible but now it is closer than ever to becoming a reality. We are seeing more and more top automotive companies like Ford, Honda, and Totoya coming up with their self-driving, autonomous cars and the advancements made by Tesla and Google in this field have turned this dream idea of self-driving cars into a reality. 

It is expected that in the coming 2 decades, we will be seeing a majority of traffic on American roads consisting of autonomous, self-driving cars. New technologies like vehicle-to-vehicle communication are being tested in this field to make it possible. With this technology, each vehicle can broadcast its position, steering-wheel position, speed, brake status, and other data to nearby cars, making a future for humanity in which self-driving cars will take over the roads.