- Martin Cooper thinks future phones will have a “distributed” shape on our bodies
- Now 94, he created the first laptop in 1973
- His prediction may be partly correct
While the main players in the mobile industry gathered at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the one who is considered the father of the mobile phone gave an interview to the Associated Press. During it, he talked about the bad sides of technology, his optimism, but also how he imagines the phones of the future.
Now 94, Martin Cooper worked at Motorola when he designed the very first mobile phone in 1973. Then, for 10 years, he worked on bringing the technology to market. While acknowledging issues such as lack of privacy, access to inappropriate content for minors, and concerns about smartphone addiction, Cooper is still optimistic. “It’s going to be solved, but not easily”did he declare.
Otherwise, he also explained, in this interview, how he imagines future phones. According to Martin Cooper, telephones could evolve into a “distributed” form on the user’s body. He also imagines sensors that will measure health permanently. And for the battery, the father of the mobile phone thinks that it could one day be replaced by a human body.
“The human body is the charging station, isn’t it? You ingest food, you create energy. Why not have this receiver for your ear embedded under your skin, powered by your body?”he also said, according to the Associated Press publication.
Martin Cooper, “father of the hand-held cell-phone” on the 50th anniversary of its introduction in 1973. #GTWN #MWC2023 pic.twitter.com/DieeVwmhEq
— Rebecca Enonchong, FREng (@africatechie) February 27, 2023
What will replace smartphones?
When Martin Cooper made the very first call with a cell phone, he was using a brick weighing over 2 pounds. Compared to very old portables, smartphones of our time are extremely compact. And these always carry more innovation, each year.
But at the same time, some companies are already looking to the future, imagining what smartphones will be replaced by.
What an honor & pleasure to joke around with Martin Cooper the inventor of the cell phone when he was at Motorola. His 1st prototype weighed 2.4 lbs measured 23×13″ & had 30 mins of talk time & took 10 hours to re-charge #xMed #5G #mobile #wireless #tech #innovation #MWC #MWC20 pic.twitter.com/GwDWNgrSbr
—Jim Harris #NextMedHealth (@JimHarris) November 7, 2019
For example, Meta (ex-Facebook), Mark Zuckerberg’s company, believes that augmented reality glasses will replace smartphones within a few years. But more ambitious companies, like Neuralink, are imagining even more futuristic technologies.
Founded by Elon Musk, Neuralink is developing a chip to be implanted in the brain that will allow technology to be controlled by thought. Meta has also developed a thought control system for machines. However, it is not a chip embedded on the brain, but rather a sensor that fits on the wrist.