Advanced science and computing technologies hold the promise of letting people live longer while saving the environment and changing the way business is done.
Speaking at Thailand Tech Show 2017, Narong Sirilertworakul, president of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), highlighted the top 10 technologies that will have an impact on people's lives over the next 5-10 years.
According to Mr Narong, such technologies bear keeping an eye on as they develop.
For instance, phytonutrients can generate functional foods and lead to a bioeconomy that adds value to agricultural products, he said.
Phytonutrients or phytochemicals are chemicals produced by plants that help prevent disease and keep the human body working properly. They can take the form of supplemental food instead of purely chemical supplements.
Cellular agriculture is the production of agricultural products from cell cultures, a technology that could yield meat without killing animals.
"The technology is still in the lab, but once it is industrialised, it will remove the need for animal farming, so waste and the greenhouse effect can be very much decreased," Mr Narong said.
Cellular agriculture will be commercialised by 2021, he said, adding that King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi has educational programmes in tissue science.
The third technology, air-to-chemical bacteria, is under study by the University of Minnesota. The process produces two types of bacteria from carbon dioxide that can be used to produce ketone, a substrate of organic compounds and diesel oil.
"Thailand has a great deal of microorganisms, the world's eighth most in fact, first in Asean and fourth in Asia, and can leverage this biodiversity for economic benefit," Mr Narong said.
The fourth tech is edible packaging -- a new type of packaging made from agricultural products instead of plastics or polymers. In Thailand, C.O. Suan Srakaew Co already makes this sort of packaging.
The fifth tech is agricultural non-wovens, a kind of cover material that lets air through, is absorbent and has a certain transparency. The NSTDA and Naresuan University are co-developing non-wovens for agriculture.
The sixth is a medical nano-robot that helps produce drugs for killing cancer without affecting other cells. This could lead to more personalised medicine within the next decade or so.
The seven tech, nano needles, can be applied to insulin injections for diabetes treatment.
The eight is blockchain for health. Blockchain offers a promising new framework to support integration of healthcare information. In Thailand, a local startup called Block MD Co has introduced blockchain technology for use in electronic health records, improving communication among hospitals.
The ninth tech, dubbed "brain gym", uses sensors and powerful computing hardware to simulate brain function in milliseconds. This can aid stroke patients, the aged and those with Alzheimer's disease. The National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre is working with the medical and engineering faculties of Chulalongkorn University to provide pilot services for cognitive training at Chulalongkorn Hospital.
The 10th tech is functional 3D printing that provides composite materials for a variety of functions.
