Next World

Learn about the technologies that will usher in a whole new way of life: we will live in floating cities, fly to work and travel in cars capable of operating underwater. And, with new technologies, humanity will find new ways of protecting and conserving resources to meet the needs of a growing population by using renewable sources of water, food and electricity. The era of smog-filled skies will be over, because fewer of us will be driving cars. Where we're going, we won't need roads. We'll be piloting environmentally friendly personal vehicles between cities and under the seas. And the good news is we'll never be lost, thanks to new advances in GPS-driven virtual mapping. Then again, with the ability to teleport our presence anywhere on Earth, we might not have to travel at all. And, best of all, we'll all have more time to enjoy the astounding advances of our near future, because we'll all be living longer. A lot longer.

Catch a first-time glimpse at smart technology that will put android helpers in the home, network commuters and entire cities to the Web, and bring us entertainment systems that can virtually make dreams come true. Advances in artificial intelligence are creating machines with near human-like mental agility. Intelligence will be embedded everywhere -- even in our clothing, thanks to smaller, more powerful computers.

Get in the driver seat of the fastest, smartest and most high-performance cars of tomorrow. See the supercars that will reach speeds unimaginable with today's technology. They will operate on voice command and drive without a drop of gas.

Venture to the farthest edges of science, where invisibility, teleportation and super-strength will give us seemingly impossible powers and capabilities.

Future Superhuman explores how the coming convergence of bio-engineering, genetics, and microchip informatics will result in a new human body of the future. One that will allow us to grow back limbs, manufacture organs, attain the mental powers of a super-genius and live to 150 and beyond.

What's in store for future air travel? This episode reveals the latest in secret military aircraft, shape-shifting planes, craft with self-healing wings and a future in which just about every one of us has a personal airplane.

If you think you've already seen every way a boat can move across the water, think again. "Future Ships" goes inside invisible aircraft carriers, mega-yachts, personal submarines and craft capable of changing appearance on the high seas.

Go inside the networked intelligence of tomorrow's urban transportation systems. We'll examine personal rapid transit, stackable cars and underground automated highways.

The world of tomorrow holds many new dangers that will threaten our lives: population explosion will stretch our natural resources, creating food and water shortages on a global scale; terrorism will reach new levels that will test our security systems like never before; and even technology designed to help us could end up hurting us, when machines reach human intelligence levels and begin to think for themselves. From robot revolutions to asteroid attacks, we'll need a whole new arsenal of smart tools and strategies to battle these deadly threats. Technology is already evolving to address our most terrifying future fears.

Most people think of the train as a 19th century relic -but for visionaries around the world, the potential of trains is unlimited, and may be the key to solving our most stubborn problems. New designs and technologies will bring us trains that travel at jet speed, that float above tracks made from pure air, and that tunnel right through the planet. Meet the innovators who are creating hydrogen-powered trains, magnetic levitation trains, fluffy tracks, and tubular rails. And in the distant future, you may even ride a gravity train that cuts though the earth to get you anywhere on the planet in under an hour.

In the future, will the Earth become one giant city? By the year 2050, it's projected that 75% of the population will be living in urban areas. And that number will go up further. But these future megacities will be radically different. They will generate their own power locally, without burning fossil fuels. Sky Farms will feed the urban population. And building surfaces will become digital, becoming a new form of interactive media. Roads and structures will be paved with miniature networked sensors, creating a city alive with computer intelligence. New construction techniques will allow instant cities to spring up where none existed before. We'll even develop entire cities that can float on the seas. But perhaps the biggest megacities will be the ones inside our computers, as more people commute to work in the Virtual World.

In the future, technology will transform our homes into dynamic living spaces that adapt to our every need. Intelligent home managers will monitor everything from the children to the morning traffic. The mailbox will screen your incoming packages, and your fridge will reorder its own groceries. You'll never have to worry about cleaning the floors or even cooking a meal, because robots will do it for you. Worried about the environment or economy? Green homes will purify their own air and generate their own power. Future homes will be marvels of design, constantly adapting to your life in motion.

The future is going to be fun. An explosion of new forms of entertainment is on the horizon, from virtual vacations to supercharged thrill rides. You'll watch television in three-dimension, or step into a holodeck, where you'll participate in movies alongside digital actors. You'll play games using your brainwaves and step into virtual worlds that will feel just as real as you want them to. But your fun won't only be digital. New technologies will let even ordinary people explore the sea floor or climb the worlds' highest peaks. You'll even be able to check into a space hotel and watch zero-gravity sports.