Opening our eyes to future

With ideas like internet connected specs and talking wallpaper, professor Kaku has an eye for the future

Internet glasses and talking wallpaper may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but they will be with us in just a few years, says Michio Kaku, a physicist and author

Internet glasses

"In the future, you will blink and you will be online," Mr Kaku said.

He was speaking in the literal sense: Mr Kaku predicts that, within 15 years, contact lenses will be embedded with chips that will beam the internet straight into our eyes.

That will allow us to see a world of "augmented reality" - with online information such as maps, Facebook profiles and historic information overlaid on images of real life.

This will be preceded by internet glasses, serving a similar function, which Mr Kaku forecasts will be available within a few years.

Microchips for a penny

Such innovations will be made possible by cheap microchips, said Mr Kaku. "A bubblegum wrapper will cost more than a chip," he said.

That will lead to what he calls "scrap computers" that we dispose of like paper. Newspapers of the future could be displayed on such screens - but they will have to offer compelling content.

"Newspapers are going to have to provide something different - and that is wisdom," Mr Kaku said.

Talking wallpaper

You can't get this in Ikea yet, but Mr Kaku says talking wallpaper will be commonplace in the future. Cheap microchips mean that whole rooms could be turned into giant interactive screens, he said.

The experience will extend into your car, he predicts, with in-car screens for entertainment and advertising.