Corning's mind-blowing concept of a glass future
February 5, 2012 11:52 AM PST 
One day we could have high-tech walls made of touch-sensitive architectural display glass.
(Credit: Corning)"Gorilla Glass" could one day become a household phrase, but Corning has even larger ideas.
"A Day Made of Glass 2" is a montage of "how highly engineered glass, with companion technologies, will help shape our world," according to Corning. It is mind-blowing to imagine everyday objects suddenly having rich, interactive displays and multiple functionalities.
After watching the video, I began to think about how intelligent glass, installed on a broad scale, could change the world. There are two key integrations: in the education and medical fields.
Education: the final frontier.
(Credit: Corning)In the video, kids sit in rows of workstations in a classroom with a large, interactive touch-screen display and a teacher. Computers show only what is on the main display with no distractions. The menu system and interactive features, combined with a teacher's expertise, compel the kids to pay attention and learn. I certainly feel this is what education could be, and should be. Just seeing the purported UI reminds me of how it is sad that we'll see something like this in a mobile device before we see it integrated into our schools.
Full-scale wall projections could change the way we look at glass.
(Credit: Corning)There's also a portrayal of a hospital full to the brim with fancy futuristic Corning glass setups. Aside from the expected tablets for carrying around information and vital stats, there's a suggestion for an all-glass room. The clip shows a doctor video-conferencing with another doctor thousands of miles away. It's surreal to see them work together on charts through a massive, ultracrisp glass touch screen. Will we really have wall displays that show another room perfectly?
Sign me up, but please don't show me the bandwidth bill.
The psychics at Corning also suggest that hospital rooms in the future could be made entirely of high-tech specialty glass that could offer antimicrobial qualities that "inhibit the growth of microorganisms."
There are many more examples that we could speak about from this video. Which one is your favorite? If you want more, check out the PR-heavy expanded version.
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