(Image courtesy of Worth1000.com; thanks David for the heads up!)

More thoughts on the Swiss Army Knife of the Future:

Lee Shupp sez:

“For me, it’s not so much a Swiss Army knife as a next generation iPhone, with new features like:

• Air quality monitor that lets me know if I’ve come across major toxins, viruses, or biowar;
• Auto translator so I can communicate easily across cultures;
• Built in survival beacon if my plane/boat/4 wheel drive goes down;
• All my contacts with location of those who choose to give me access;
• Voice recog so that I don’t need keyboard or dial buttons;
• Built in digital assistant who tells me details I need as I need them;
• Crime database that alerts me if I’m entering someplace sketchy;
• Electronic ID that I can use for any legit purchase I don’t mind being tracked;
• Barometer or other weather devices to know when weather will be changing;
• Auto Myers/Briggs eval or some similar way of determining optimal communication strategy for different learning/com styles;
• Everything securely and privately backed up in the cloud, so that this device can actually be many devices in myriad forms as context changes.”

Steven Devine wrote in via Bruce Sterling’s post, with this suggestion:

“In 20-50 years, my Swiss Army Knife will include:

• It will run Linux.  Ubuntu version:  Zooming Zooplankton.  (Your first warning.)
• Ten meters of one ton test buckyfiber.  I will not be able to afford the auto-spooling grapple-hook, but it will slice an engine block in half if I pull really hard, only not on new cars.  Lord only knows what those are gonna be made out of by then.
• It will connect to my bluetooth earpiece, my tv glasses, and whatever wi-fi-like stuff is available.  I will try to download an illegal applet that can spoof spime chips.  It will inform on me and get me arrested, processed, fined, and sentenced in ten seconds flat.  Dadgum Swiss….
• A very sensitive removable microphone+camera capable of broadcasting back to the main unit (500m range).
• 10 m fiber optic probe with patented Gecko-Grip ™ Dandelion Tip.
• A scanner that can determine the dimensions and structure of an object and order a duplicate from an online fabricator.  IP surcharge added automatically if object is still under patent, copyright, trademark, or whatever the heck else they think up by then.  Dadgum Swiss….
• It will accept snap-on attachments for additional functions — upgradable on-the-fly.
• It will be able to tell if I am dead, alive, asleep, incapacitated, or by interrogating gait analyzing surveillance cameras, if I am too wasted to drive.  Dadgum Swiss….
• It will be able to remind me to take my meds, whatever the heck those are gonna be by then.
• The Medic-Alert applet will inform emergency responders that I have an account with Alcor, so get my carcass on ice, pronto, I already paid!
• It will contain a credit card-like device, a UPC code scanner, and a database of my belongings, along with what insurance policies (like theft, breakage, loss, or obsolescence) I have on each one.  Hurray for the Dadgum Swiss!”

Note: this is a follow-up to this post, where I invoked the power of the Lazy Web to consider the future of the world’s most famous tool.

Originally developed in 1897, the Swiss Army Knife (SAK) is an icon of design and a brand legend. It’s one of those rarified objects that have reached metaphorical status, crossing cultural divides to become a euphuism for utilitarian dependability. Although the SAK is best known for its array of handy tools, perhaps its most useful function is as a barometer of societal change, a steel-forged mirror reflecting how our technology, economics and politics have evolved over the last century.

 Over the last 100+ years the Swiss Army Knife has morphed with the times, adjusting to the shifting needs of both the modern solider and the weekend warrior. When it was first introduced the inaugural SAK featured the essential tools of the 19th century day:  a cutting blade, a screwdriver, a can opener and a punch.  The latest high tech version (circa 2007) features a laser pointer, a digital clock, an LED light and a USB flash drive. A commemorative version issued in 2006 is a portable encyclopedia of a century of human technological progress: appropriately called The Giant, it’s nearly 9 inches thick and has 85 features (see this LunchOverIP post for the complete list).  

More than a tool, the SAK is also a pocket-sized victim of globalization, a cross-cultural artifact of the global economy. Since its inception the SAK has been produced exclusively by Swiss companies. But in 2007, when the Swiss government was looking to commission more knives for the Swiss army, it was required by WTO rules to open the bid to companies around the world, not just the two native Swiss manufacturers. 

One thing that hasn’t changed is Swiss nationalism.  The iconic logo represents the enduring Swiss values of neutrality and practicality (leave it to the Swiss to develop a weapon that at its core is militarily benign - not many brigades have surrendered under the threat of a pocket knife siege- and yet universally practical).

As a harbinger of social and technological change, what can we expect from the Swiss Army Knife of the future?  What features will it incorporate in 25 or 50 years that will be indispensible to soldiers and citizens of the future? I posed this question recently to a handful of colleagues; here are their responses:

Paul Saffo:

“I’d assume access to ultra-compact high-density power supplies, so consider a Swiss Army Knife with a built-in plasma torch. Also a retractable reel of carbon nano-fiber cablewith tiny motor drive for emergency building descents a la McGyver. Oh, and a built-in sdr (software defined radio) to call the paramedics when one accidentally slices off their fingers with the nano-cable.”

Randal Moss, CEO, The World’s Most Dangerous Company:

“The SAK will follow the ultra personalization trend that everything is going towards. SAKs will first off be custom manufactured to meet specific needs and more importantly fit perfectly in your hand. Forget the features - it is all about YOUR KNIFE. Using biometrics your hand size will go into the SAK manufacturing database and they will select blade size and handle contour to fit you like a glove. SAKs will have a bio lock preventing anyone other than you from opening it and accessing the features. SAKs will be wimax linked devices and carry internal flash memory to hold and disburse select data. SAKs will carry eHealth records, as well as come with options to record and catalog certain biological metrics.

The knives will forgo steel and instead employ ceramic polymers for ease of use when traveling, as well as saving weight. Leather punches will be replaced with laser pointers, and heat sources (think flameless lighter). The magnifying glass will be replaced with an optical scanner that can access databases via wimax to identify millions of objects and present data about them to you via onboard speaker, or save the data for future access.

An on board microphone will link into a global system of language translation programs and provide near simultaneous translation, as well as reverse translation. Of course each SAK will also come with a GPS geo-locater to tell you, and whom ever else you want to know exactly where you are, and give directions on demand.

Marcus Barber:

 ”Water purification/’lab on a chip’ tester; Cholesterol and blood sugar check; Language decoder (for those of us westerners who think it’s everyone else’s job to learn to speak English).”

Bob Treadway, futurist:

 ”Truth detector; Adjustable laser instead of metal knife, pliers, file, etc.; Locator and emergency communicator for those lost in the wilderness; Zero point source or high efficiency solar power supply; Cloaking system to allow it to be carried past the TSA-equivalent of the future.”