From RFID to micro fuel cells, several technologies are gaining increased visibility as they broaden their reach. Explore seven that will be newsmakers in the coming months:

Several technologies will be attention-getters this year as they move toward wider adoption (radio frequency identification), start to appear in laptop computers (the automatic speech translator), and account for a growing portion of semiconductor chips (90 nanometer process technology). Here are seven technologies that will make news in the year ahead:

Automatic Speech Translator

People who speak different languages will soon have a way to understand each other. Researchers at IBM have built a working prototype that automatically translates spoken words from English to Mandarin Chinese and vice versa. Here’s how it works—a laptop computer turns spoken words into text using speech recognition software; next, advanced translation algorithms translate the text into a second language; and finally, the computer utilizes text-to-speech technology to “speak” the translated words. While the team behind the technology—the human-language technologies group at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center in New York—hasn’t used the technology on other languages aside from English and Mandarin, the technology can be quickly applied to any two languages. The system could be featured in laptops or personal digital assistants by mid-year.

Micro Fuel Cells

The potential of fuel cells to power cars has captured our imagination, but they are first expected to make an impact on portable consumer electronic devices, powering gadgets like laptops, cell phones and personal digital assistants. And even more near-term is their appearance in industrial applications such as barcode scanners and handheld data collection devices. Fuel cells will provide such portable devices with increased power—in an even more convenient form than batteries—and allow them to run longer and to gain functionality. “Micro fuel cells make the wireless revolution truly wireless,” says Bill Acker, CEO of MTI Micro Fuel Cells, a New York-based developer of direct methanol fuel cells for portable electronics and military devices. “With fuel cell-powered devices, you’ll no longer be tethered to the wall because you’ll never need to charge a battery.”

Nanomaterials

The tiny science of nanotechnology—the study and manipulation of individual atoms and molecules to make new materials—has been a headline grabber for years—at least seven, actually. But it’s in the coming months that we’ll start to see the impact of nanomaterials on a wide range of market segments. Among them are high-density data storage media for the electronics industry, medical diagnostic tools, transparent sunscreens, enhanced paper and ink, and highly cost-efficient coatings. Just last month, the industry drew a lot of attention when President Bush signed a law authorizing federal research and development subsidies of $3.7 billion over four years, starting in October. The Freedonia research group expects the U.S. market for nanomaterials to explode, topping $1 billion in 2007 from only $125 million in 2000. For example, PolyOne Corp. has launched Nanoblend Concentrates, a new class of materials that can enhance fire-resistance while reducing weight and improving stiffness. And that’s just one nanomaterial to watch.

Ever Smaller Die Sizes

Miniaturization has long been a key trend in the electronics industry. Now, chipmakers can print features on chips with geometries as diminutive as 90 nanometers (a nanometer or nm is a billionth of a meter). While the biggest semiconductor manufacturers—including Intel, Infineon, Samsung and IBM—started building semiconductors on 90 nm process technology last year, the technique only accounted for a small percentage of chips. Most chips were still made on 0.13-, 0.18- and 0.25- micron process technologies. In the year ahead and in 2005, however, a growing portion of chips will be built on 90 nm technology. Among the first chips made on this new generation of semiconductor process technology will be leading edge logic parts such as microprocessors, system on chip devices and digital signal processors. Indeed, chipmakers can boost chip functionality, reduce cost, fit more chips per wafer and accelerate chip speed by shrinking the width of the circuits on a die.

More Affordable Magnesium Sheet

Because of its high strength, light weight and recyclability, magnesium has long been a coveted material. For years, research teams have rushed to develop affordable technologies to manufacture flat-rolled magnesium conveniently and economically. Now, a team from Australia’s largest scientific research agency may have achieved success. The group of researchers led by Daniel Liang has produced the world’s first production-ready, inexpensive magnesium sheet—a development that has implications for the automotive and telecommunications components industries. Planners of advanced materials in these industries have long asserted that magnesium sheet could be an alternative to aluminum and steel—a possible substitute that is lightweight, stiff, strong and machinable.

RFID

Widespread adoption has eluded RFID (radio frequency identification), but the technology could make significant progress in the coming months. For starters, Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense have both set 2005 deadlines for top 100 suppliers (in Wal-Mart’s case) and ALL suppliers (in the case of the DoD) to adopt the technology, which promises to track products through every stage in the supply chain. RFID labels or “smart tags” can carry large amounts of useful information including product identity, where the product has passed, its current location, and how it’s been handled. Even the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suggested in a report that the technology could be a viable preventive measure against drug counterfeiting. What’s more, RFID tags and readers (the devices that pick up the information tags carry) are getting cheaper. The RFID market will likely reach $3.1 billion by 2008, with asset and supply chain management application accounting for 48% of this projected market, says New York market research firm Allied Business Intelligence. In short, “anyone who uses barcodes now should be looking into RFID,” says Rich Hardt, vice president of technology services at Yellow Technologies, a subsidiary of major trucking company Yellow Corp. of Kansas.

Sourcing Optimization

Corporate sourcing leaders are starting to prove the viability of a new type of solution—highly configurable decision-support tools that pair applied mathematics with considerable computing power. These applications solve complicated sourcing problems, taking into account huge sets of interdependent variables. They can figure out things such as the appropriate level of standardization and the optimum number of suppliers, while considering factors such as suppliers’ leadtimes and delivery capabilities. For example, Sourcing Portfolio by Massachusetts-based Emptoris lets buyers compare bids using price and non-price factors. And the answers that the software comes up with could be unexpected. “For example, one of our clients found that, for an additional $25,000, they could place $2.8 million worth of business with two suppliers instead of six as they had originally planned, which would be less expensive in the long run,” says Kevin Potts, director of product marketing for Emptoris. “The surprise was that the two suppliers were entirely different from the suppliers who would have won the business under a six-supplier scenario. Without the optimization analysis, the client would never have seen this possibility.”