Harald Neidhardt – Lifestyle of Mobility

How often have you bumped into someone, because you’ve been looking down at your smartphone? Enjoy those awkward moments, because soon, according to Harald Neidhardt, this will be a thing of the past. The sight of people walking ‘heads down’ will decrease as we enter what he calls a ‘heads up economy’.

In his talk at NEXT Berlin 2012 he explained this scenario by presenting the latest developments in mobile technology and ventures further glimpses into the future.

Due to the exponential growth of both popularity and computing capacity of smartphones, they will soon become our central computer. They will be able to receive data from different exterior sensors (e.g. our hands or brain) and present them on a screen possibly integrated inro e.g. glasses. So you can use your mobile phone while looking straight ahead.

Mobile will thereby become the driving force for future developments leading to a paradigm change. “The computer will not only be a tool and prosthetic device, but become an embodiment of our information flow”, Neidhardt explained.