A Glance at the Future: A Day Made of Glass 2

Corning, the maker of Gorilla Glass display coverings for smartphone and tablet touchscreens, wants you to picture a future in which interactive displays cover nearly every surface.

In January, Corning announced an even more durable and lightweight second-generation of Gorilla Glass, but the company also has some ambitious visions of possible innovations. Showcasing some of its stunning, futuristic concepts, Corning on February 3 released a gorgeous video titled "A Day Made of Glass 2," a sequel to its equally impressive viral video "A Day Made of Glass," posted last February.

Both videos feature a family of four going about a "normal day," aided by glass-pane tablets and touchscreen walls. But the latest video reveals an even broader view of the role specialty glass could play in the "near future," reaching out of the home and into hospitals, schools, even parks.

In a release accompanying the video on the company's website, Corning explained the role that custom-made glass products might soon play in high-tech daily life:

Glass is the essential material enabling this new world. The displays and touch surfaces of the future will require materials that are tough, yet thin and lightweight; that can enable complex electronic circuits and nano functionality; that can scale for very large applications, and that also have a cool, touch-friendly aesthetic.

With these materials, the wall-sized interactive displays, multitouch work tables, paper-thin readers, and electrochromic windows shown in "A Day Made of Glass 2" could be available in homes, classrooms, hospitals -- nearly everywhere else.

The FAQs Corning made available on its website, as well as the "Unpacked" version of the video, featuring a narrator who guides viewers through the products shown, make it very clear that much technological development is still needed before we can reach the far-off, futuristic world of "A Day Made Of Glass 2."

Aside from that expected obstacle, according to Mashable, the company may also encounter trouble with "lower LCD glass prices, higher corporate tax rates and declining equity earnings, which have combined to lower Corning's profitability." However, Corning does expect a growth in sales to $10 billion by 2014.

While we wait to see how Corning fares in the years to come, at least we can enjoy this fascinating look at a potential future. Check out "A Day Made of Glass 2" (below):