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Notes -
Motion tracking got much better, I think. That and the VR improvements might just be due to cheaper hardware related to phone tech? I’m not really sure.
Drones (consumer or otherwise…) advanced a lot in the same period. Everything from cheap commercial filming to light shows to endpoint package delivery. This is some combination of software + control hardware + insane battery developments, which are in turn related to the adoption of electric cars. Compare also the advances in prestige robotics, like BD’s Atlas and Spot.
Related, computer vision looks completely different than it did when I was in school. Even excluding AI!
Additive manufacturing has taken off. Prototyping, obviously, but also aviation and electronics fab. It’s become vastly more accessible to hobbyists, too.
Video calling exploded for obvious reasons. I think it had the opportunity to catch up with other advancements in streaming video. Speaking of which, social media accelerated a lot in the late 2010s. TikTok launched in 2016; all the American tech companies joined the party.
Oh right. Commercial spaceflight.
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