Integrating technology with the human body

Abstract

The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis was to research advanced smart technology that could one day become a permanent part of human biology. It contains deeper studies about integration, virtual reality, and augmented reality, including different use cases for these technologies. The main inspiration for this thesis were the projects in this field. The smart contact lens of Mojo Vision and HoloLens by Microsoft, the latter being the only project of these two that got to the point of being sold to the public. Both projects are of interest to many and studying them more closely is the key to future development. The main goal of this research was to find out which one of the following scenarios is the most likely to happen in the future. Whether humanity is heading toward a cyborg society with technology integrated into the body, for example, neural implants; or is humanity going to keep using wearable devices, for example, a head-mounted display, without biologically integrating with them. The results of this research give an idea of what the future will look like, revealing short-term and long-term possibilities for humanity's advancement in the field of integrated technology. The results indicate that, for the future closer to today, humanity will stick to wearable devices when advancing with technology. In the longer term, it seems likely that the technological advancements and extensive research will pay off and humanity will be capable of operating a cyborg society.