What the world will look like in 50 years: Underwater roads, hoverboard quidditch and self-cleaning homes will all be part of normal life in 2069, experts predict

Samsung report marks the opening of the firm's new 'experience space' and retail store in King's Cross

It claims the futuristic developments will all become commonplace in our lives within the next 50 years' time

Predictions have been compiled by a group of academics and futurists from a variety of different disciplines 

Underwater highways, hoverboard-based sports and holidays in space are some of the upcoming revelations which will be commonplace in 50 years' time, a new report on the future of technology has predicted.

The report also predicts the mass-scale production of 3D-printed organs, implants to monitor our health and self-cleaning homes will be key parts of everyday life.

The predictions have been compiled by a group of academics and futurists, including TechUK president and co-chair of the Institute of Coding Jacqueline de Rojas, director of engineering and education at the Royal Academy of Engineering, Dr Rhys Morgan and food futurologist Dr Morgaine Gaye.

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Underwater highways, hoverboard-based sports and holidays in space will be commonplace in 50 years' time, a new report on the future of technology has predicted. Pictured: Concept images for flying buses

The report was commissioned by Samsung to mark the opening of Samsung KX, the technology firm's new 'experience space' and retail store in King's Cross, London, which will host tech tutorials, health and wellbeing sessions and other classes.

Called Samsung KX50: The Future in Focus, it suggests that by 2069 transport will have been revolutionised - with underwater tube transport systems in use between the UK, mainland Europe and other regions, where high-speed pods transport travellers between some countries in less than an hour.

Flying taxis and buses will also be used in urban areas to cut congestion, while more long-distance travel will involve reusable rockets flying in the upper atmosphere and at high-speed, cutting travel time between London and New York to under 30 minutes, the report suggests.

The report also predicts the mass-scale production of 3D-printed organs, implants to monitor our health and self-cleaning homes will be key parts of everyday life. Pictured: Underwater highway concept, complete with 'pod shuttles

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The predictions have been compiled by a group of academics and futurists, including TechUK president and co-chair of the Institute of Coding Jacqueline de Rojas, director of engineering and education at the Royal Academy of Engineering, Dr Rhys Morgan and food futurologist Dr Morgaine Gaye. Pictured: Another concept for flying buses

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The report was commissioned by Samsung to mark the opening of Samsung KX, the technology firm's new 'experience space' and retail store in King's Cross, London (pictured) which will host tech tutorials, health and wellbeing sessions and other classes

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Called Samsung KX50: The Future in Focus, it suggests that by 2069 transport will have been revolutionised - with underwater tube transport systems in use between the UK, mainland Europe and other regions, where high-speed pods transport travellers between some countries in less than an hour. Pictured: A concept image for a space hotel

TOP PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE BY TECH EXPERTS 

1 - Underwater highways - A subsonic tube transport system will be created as a sealed tube system that is travelled using pods, enabling connections between the UK and mainland Europe as far as Scandinavia in under an hour

2 - Underground skyscrapers - So-called earthscrapers, inverted skyscrapers, which burrow downwards for many storeys into the ground, enabling the withstanding of earthquakes.

3 - Self-Cleaning homes - At the press of the button, homes will 'self clean' when you leave the house or while you are sleeping

4 - Space hotels - Holidays to space, in which space hotels orbit the Moon or other planets, generating their own gravity

5 - 3D printing of organs - Providing replacements for people in need or organ transplants or to improve performance, giving night-vision or super-speed

6 - High street insect-burger takeaways - Insects at set to become one of our main food protein sources.

7 - Flying buses and taxis - We'll be stepping into the nearest available 'air taxi' as a high power drone-copter will fly us above the traffic to speed us to our destination

8 - Body implants that monitor our health and translate any language - A digital companion that gets to know us and our health over our lifetime, which keeps track of our health needs

9 - Quidditch-style aerial sport matches on hoverboards - We'll be cheering on our favourite sporting teams as they fly around the stadium on hoverboards, in Quidditch-style four-dimensional sport matches

10 - Interactive movies, physically taking part in what we watch via VR - When it comes to watching films at home, affordable, refined haptic suits that create sensations of touch, which will fool all five of our senses, allowing us to physically feel the film or video game

Flying car prototype tested in Japan and hovers above ground

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In health, virtual companions and carers will become common, tracking a person's health status throughout their life and able to translate symptoms and conditions into any language.

The large-scale 3D printing of vital organs will offer instant replacements to those who need them and insects will have become a key protein source, the report claims, with kitchens of the future equipped with counter-top growing pods and tools to harvest the insects produced.

Ms de Rojas, who co-authored the report, told MailOnline: 'The next 50 years will bring the largest technological changes and innovations we have ever seen in our work and leisure. 

'The Digital Revolution, just as the Industrial Revolution did 250 years ago, is challenging all our assumptions about how we shall lead our future lives.'

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Flying taxis and buses will also be used in urban areas to cut congestion, while more long-distance travel will involve reusable rockets flying in the upper atmosphere and at high-speed, cutting travel time between London and New York to under 30 minutes, the report suggests. Pictured: A concept image for a Quidditch-like hoverboard sport

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In health, virtual companions and carers will become common, tracking a person's health status throughout their life and able to translate symptoms and conditions into any language. Pictured: The new King's Cross Samsung retail space

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The large-scale 3D printing of vital organs will offer instant replacements to those who need them and insects will have become a key protein source, the report claims, with kitchens of the future equipped with counter-top growing pods and tools to harvest the insects produced/ Pictured: A concept image for Samsung's connected living space

The report also asked Britons which of the predictions they would most like to see become a reality, and 63 per cent of those surveyed said self-cleaning homes, powered by robot technology would be their top choice, followed by implants to monitor health stats and flying taxis and buses.

Tanya Weller, director of Samsung Showcase, KX, said: 'Fifty years ago we could have never predicted such changes to the way we live, work, travel and eat. 

'Samsung has always been a future-facing company, we exist to create human-driven innovations that defy barriers to progress.

'As a brand, we're not just about making products that embrace the future, we want to help prepare people to navigate the future with confidence. 

'As the new Samsung KX destination opens in Coal Drops Yard, we're excited that our guests will have the opportunity to discover a range of new, one-of-a-kind tech innovations, powered by Samsung technology.'

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Ms de Rojas, who co-authored the report, said: 'The next 50 years will bring the largest technological changes and innovations we have ever seen in our work and leisure. The Digital Revolution, just as the Industrial Revolution did 250 years ago, is challenging all our assumptions about how we shall lead our future lives.' Pictured: The new King's Cross retail space

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The report also asked Britons which of the predictions they would most like to see become a reality, and 63% of those surveyed said self-cleaning homes, powered by robot technology would be their top choice, followed by implants to monitor health stats and flying taxis and buses. Pictured: A concept for a flying vehicle's cockpit

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Tanya Weller, director of Samsung Showcase, KX, said: 'Fifty years ago we could have never predicted such changes to the way we live, work, travel and eat. Samsung has always been a future-facing company, we exist to create human-driven innovations that defy barriers to progress.' Pictured: Concept images for a new urban skyscraper, with underground area

Ms Weller added: 'As a brand, we're not just about making products that embrace the future, we want to help prepare people to navigate the future with confidence'. Pictured: An annotated concept image of an underground skyscraper

'We’re living in a microwave’: Some US cities want to keep 5G further from their citizens as debate over the tech's health effects rages on

• Telecom companies are rolling out the latest 5G technology 
• Its already been implemented in parts of California 
• There will need to be an estimated 80,000 more 'small towers' closer together 
• Some studies suggest higher frequency cell radiation may be linked to cancers 
• Other experts dismiss the risks 
• Cities in California and New York have tried to pass ordinances to put more distance between citizens and new cell towers  

As telecom companies roll out the next wave of 5G cell towers, some families want their cities to turn down the latest, fastest service due to cancer fears. 

Over the next 20 years, an estimated 800,000 additional mini 5G cell towers will be needed to serve Americans. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and providers like AT&T and Verizon insist that the radiofrequency radiation the towers emit is perfectly safe - but some experts warn otherwise. 

And in cities like Sacramento, California, where the smaller, new-generation towers have already been installed, scientists have even told some homeowners that the poles just outside are not safe.  

The city council of Mill Valley, California, passed an urgent ordinance to attempt to regulate the placement of new towers after citizens expressed concerns. 

Similar moves are being made by San Francisco and Syracuse, New York, among others across nation, where local governments and health experts are often divided over the potential health effects of 5G.  

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As telecom companies roll out the latest 5G wireless network technology in the US, more cell towers - like these, already installed in Germany (fiel) - are cropping up closer together, and that has some cities and experts worried 

When a small 5G cell tower went up next to Aaron and Hannah McMahon's Sacramento home, they quickly felt concerned and suspicious of it, they told CBS Sacramento.  

The couple has two young daughters, aged six and three, and wonder what the effects the constant cell transmissions might have on the girls' growing bodies and brains.  

In fact, the McMahon's were so concerned that they had inspectors come out and check their home for radiation.  

'We had a few experts come out and told us we were living in a microwave,' Hannah told CBS Sacramento. 

'They can’t tell me that something that’s fairly new, and relatively untested, is not gonna be harmful in 10-15 years.'  

The problem is that no one can say beyond a shadow of a doubt whether or not radiation from these towers could cause harm eventually. 

RADIATION CAN CAUSE CANCER - BUT NOT ALL RADIATION IS CAN CAUSE CANCER 

Technically, they're not living in a microwave, as microwaves a different form of radiation from radio frequency radiation. 

Radiation like X-rays, and UV rays can corrupt DNA and trigger cancer. But radiation exists on a spectrum, and these three categories of radiation are higher frequency than radiofrequency, meaning they transmit more energy. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has deemed radiowave radiation only a possible carcinogen - whereas UV and X-ray radiation are both known carcinogens. 

The FCC considers the levels of radiation emitted by cell towers safe, and its regulations around cell phones are to protect against dangers presented by overheating phones more than any potential carcinogenic effects. 

Observational studies have found similar rates of cancer among people exposed to higher and lower levels of radiation. 

In recent years, however, an major NIH-funded study, as well as a second large study, both found links between cell phone radiation and some cancers, including certain brain and heart tumors. 

In their wake, experts and health officials have become starkly divided on the issue, with some asserting cell phone and tower radiation is safe and others insisting it isn't.  

Even within the lower frequency radiowave category of radiation, there is variation, including between various generations of cell network technology. 

The 5G technology being rolled out currently uses higher frequency radiation than its predecessors - and that has some experts concerned. 

Higher frequency means greater levels of potentially damaging energy, and the new smaller towers being rolled out for 5G need to be closer together, which could increase overall human exposure. 

CITIES ARE DIVIDED OVER WHETHER TO EMBRACE 5G OR BLOCK IT AMID CITIZEN'S HEALTH FEARS  

Citizens in Mill Valley, a small town outside San Francisco, were concerned, too, and voiced those worries to the city council. 

In September 2018, the council passed an ordinance requiring telecomm companies to apply to place new towers, antennas or boxes in the city. 

Although the ordinance has been called an effective block against 5G, senior planner for Mill Valley, Danielle Staude, says that's not the case. 

Instead, it lists the cities 'preferences' for how additional cellular tech be implemented. If carriers describe an acceptable implementation strategy, the city will approve it and 5G can be implemented.    

But the FCC has given the go ahead and also required cities to move faster on their end of the implementation of 5G. 

'I think these citizens are right and the FCC has clearly over-stepped its role and [behaving as though it is] blind to the potential health effects of 5G and 4, and others,' says Dr Joel Moskowitz, a UC Berkeley public health researcher. 

On the other hand, Dr Jerrod Bushberg, a radiology expert at UC Davis says it's much ado about nothing. 

He says that although it is higher frequency, 5G 'doesn't travel very far,' and that, although radiofrequency is technically radiation, it doesn't hve the same chemical effects as gamma or X rays. 

He says that it is not powerful enough to force electrons to peal away from atoms or molecules, a force that causes cancer. 

'But people hear "radiation" and see the box and imagine it's something much worse than it is,' he told DailyMail.com. 

Dr Bushberg - who was consulted by the city of Sacramento on the safety and potential health effects of 5G networks - says the uptick in fears over the technology has more to do with its increased visibility than the tech itself. 

'It happens a lot in our society - it happened when locomotive trains were introduced, many people were afraid to travel on them because they thought human bodies were not meant to move at those speeds,' he says. 

'But we need continued research, we never know all the answers about anything.' 

And while that research is being done, cities in California and New York will continue to try to rein in or slow the implementation of the 5G technology for which Dr Moskowitz as said humans are the 'guinea pigs' of safety testing.