Wild Cards contributed by Cornelia Daheim
Collapse of European Transport System
The increasing dependence of travelers and logistics - particularly freight traffic by road - on electronic route optimisation creates an overload in the system. A breakdown of the European transportation network ensues and im...
"Labs-on-a-chip" have been introduced for time-saving and automatic diagnosis and detection of diseases. These new forms of diagnosis are comparable to ticket machines which are located in all areas of daily life such as superm...
Revolutionary findings mainly in biotechnology not only understand, but also impede mental and physical ageing. The impacts on human society are immense, individually and structurally: e.g. people are confronted and overstraine...
Due to the increasing negative impacts of fossil fuels on climate change, e.g. CO2-emissions, clean combustion engines based on innovative technologies and alternative fuels are being developed and implemented in all kinds of a...
Risks due to Virtual Simulation of Aircraft Navigation
Virtual human models in R&D do not represent real humans. Risks in labs are being underestimated and simulated movements or postures are used for the cockpit design and construction although there is room for misinterpretation.
Automatic Guidance System for Vehicles
An automated guidance system for vehicles revolutionises traffic. People agree to less driving pleasure and freedom to introduce this new system that completely avoids fatalities and is much more efficient as it avoids traffic ...
New technologies such as smart high lift devices and flow control systems enable noiseless aviation. The air traffic rises, especially in urban areas, due to deregulation of airport restrictions such as the ban on night flights...
Higher moral standards prevail and induce the end of animal experiments for pharmaceutical as well as for cosmetic products in the EU.
Employees or e.g. international migrants are being "brain tested" by companies, if they have "good" (long life, good memory) brains. Bad brains are being discriminated against. Even school kids are being placed according to the...
Big cities and urban areas work on new types of health care management, such as disease management and care/treatment management. They actively intervene in public health and thus in national competencies. This particularly aff...
Quantum leaps in artificial intelligence and cognitives sciences result in a new species: The Robo Sapiens. The species develops self-awareness and intelligence equal to that of humans. It is acknowledged and receives human rights.
Europe-Wide Traffic-Control System for Individual Transport
A digital communication network seemlessly integrates traffic information and creates an efficient, accident-avoiding transportation system in Europe, particularly in transboundary agglomeration areas; traffic jams are avoided....
Autonomous Passenger Aircrafts
All airlines worldwide introduce autonomous passenger aircrafts that fly completely via autopilot and do not have a pilot on board anymore. Automated services furthermore replace flight attendants. This development might be, fo...
A Medi-Bank has been established. In this bank, individuals can invest money for future medical treatments. A client could for example, invest in a particular savings plan for spare organs in case of an illness or accident.
International Cross-Linked Medical Database
An efficient collecting and sharing of medical data, i.e. of research projects and results, in common data bases is increasingly practised and might lead to one international, comprehensive and fully cross-linked database.
Through enhanced materials and coordination techniques flights are conducted without anxiety even in the worst flying conditions. In conjunction with innovative condition-based maintenance surveillance technologies, which do no...
Uniform Road Surfaces across Europe
In those areas in the EU, where the contribution of road surface to road safety has been recognised for years and skidding resistance policies are already applied (as e.g. in the UK), the lowest numbers of accidents are recorde...
Flights in Extreme Weather Conditions
Primarily new composite materials are used in aeronautics. These are fully resistent against atmospheric hazards such as hail, hurricanes and thunderstorms and on the other hand are extremely aerodynamically efficient. In conju...
European E-Systems Network on Multimodal Public Transport Co ...
Wide-scale e-systems support multimodal planning and route optimisation for highly mobile travellers using public means of transport. Indiviudally requested or automatically provided real-time information and suggestions for al...
Global Society due to Total Mobility
Increased migration and an increase of mobile lifestyles result from ease of mobility. Regional background, national identity and language lose their importance. A global society emerges
Implementation of Civil Planes Powered by Hydrogen Engines
Research is conducted on hydrogen turbofan for civil planes which are able to reach velocities up to 6000 km/h (Mach5). This follow-up of the Concorde using ramjets instead of turbofans reaches hypersonic and enables antipodal ...
New techniques of brainscanning are introduced and are able to read people´s minds and intentions. The scanners are introduced for security reasons, e.g. at airport security checks.
Collapse of Transport Infrastructure
New, efficient car engines create low transportation costs. Individual traffic increases immensely and overburdens the existing traffic infrastructure.
Vast Side Effects of Intelligent Safety Transport Systems
A driver´s attention and ability of driving is decreased by the technological support such as electronic lane keeping systems, collusion avoidance systems or fatigue warning systems. The number of car accidents increases rapidly.
All buses in the EU are imposed to be propelled by CNG (Compressed Natural Gas)-engines. Cleaner environment increases the quality of life. Cheaper fuel allows cheaper bus tickets and increases public transportation and reduces...
European Integrated Railway Signaling System
Due to an EU-wide transnational railway signaling system, the likelihood for railway accidents decreases. Mobility gets safer and faster due to less delays.
A pan-European public transport system run by a single European provider leads to a high level of mobility within Europe. Thereby, the familiarity within the EU rises and further solidifies the EU.
Due to a breakthrough in the stemm cell therapy, a cure for different kinds of cancer is developed. Longer life expectancy and higher quality of life is reached. Thereby the aging of the population is taking place even faster. ...
New forecast and manipulation systems allow to control the weather. The weather planning system is used by governments to improve e.g. agriculture, but also misused: the era of "weather wars" between states arrives.
New Diseases Caused by Environmental Pollution
Environmental pollution rises immensely due to a higher energy production relying on conventional technologies such as coal-fired power plants. Moreover, the traffic volume grows while sticking to the combustion motor. New life...
Undesired Effects of Nanotechnology
Loss of faith in research and nanotechnology promises. Corporate responsibility leads to increased regulation, far more rigorous testing procedures, and improved checks of possible long-term effects.
Breakthrough leads to the development of a cure for HIV. The impacts are vast, especially in Sub-Sahara Africa where HIV/Aids was one of the major challenges. Life expectancy rises rapidly. Positive impacts on social and econom...
Due to tremendously rising demand for oil, prices for fuel rise enormously. Driving cars and flying will only be affordable for the rich. Costs for public transport rise as well, such that mobility decreases.
Non-Verbal Language Established
Due to a new language, communicating becomes possible without words. Migration rises worldwide as there are no longer language barriers keeping people from moving and scientific progress is accelerated.
Tests on Children for New Drugs
Pharmaceutical tests on children create more solid data on experimental medicines; however, great public backlash ensues when test procedures leak to the public.
New Diseases Caused by Tissue-Engineering
Standardised transplantations of tissue-engineered organs lead to new, unexpected diseases and physical disfunctions.
New Vaccines Cause New Diseases
New promising vaccines turn out to cause new kinds of new diseases/long-term effects, which is a huge setback for the scientific community. Millions of people are infected.
Besides personal data, the electronic European Health Card saves all different kinds of medical data that were included in patient files before (anamnesis, diagnosis, therapy, etc., possibly even the genotype). The Health Card ...
