Graphene

Back in 2004, the first sheet of graphene was produced. Ever since, scientists have been trying to figure out a way to mass produce it. Why? Because it’s going to make everything better. It could give us much faster internet. It’s 100 times stronger than steel so naturally it’s going to be awesome for building anything. We could use it as a filter for water and scrub the oceans clean of toxic waste. 

Artificial Intelligence

You’ve seen the movies about it but could it actually exist in our lifetime? The answer is yes, it very well may. If you’ve seen the famous robot designed by IBM that schooled everyone in Jeopardy then you’ve already seen the kind of progress we’ve made in artificial intelligence. 

5G mobile data

Yes, I know we just now got 4G under control here in the United States and many places in the world are still stuck on 3G. Technology doesn’t stop just because we’re behind on our infrastructure. Currently 5G is in the research phase but the phrase has been increasingly tossed around. 

Wireless energy transfer

There are already examples of this out in the wild. The Qi Wireless charging dock allows people with some smartphones (generally newer ones) to charge their devices without the use of cables. This is a big deal because wireless energy transferring has a lot of applications. When electric cars are a bigger deal, you’ll be able to just park on top of a charging center and your car will charge. 

Biofuels and renewable energy

The people alive right now know one thing for certain. We will be the last living creatures who considered fossil fuels as the only source of energy available on this planet. Within the next few decades, huge strides are expected to be made in solar and wind energy. People are exploring potential fuel sources from everything from wheat to algae. 

Robots will be everywhere

Huge strides have been made in robotics in the last ten years and more are expected to be made in the coming decade. We’re not talking fully intelligent robots (yet) but definitely ones that are stable and reliable enough to start working. It’ll likely start with places like assembly lines and work their way into other facets of manual labor that humans don’t want to do. 

Digital downloads will kill physical objects

The end of owning physical copies of a video game are upon us. Popular computer gaming platforms like Steam and Origins have already begun distributing video games digitally without a disc or a cartridge. With the plummeting prices of flash storage (like you find on smartphones) and the increasing stability and speed of the internet, 

Universally available services

This may sound complicated but it’s really not because services like this exist. You may have heard of Uber. Uber is a taxi service that you can access pretty much anywhere where Uber has drivers. It’s in the U.S. and Europe with more places being planned. What makes Uber unique is its ability to be a universal service. 

Brain-Computer interfaces

These actually already exist to a degree. Quadriplegics have been using them for years to talk through a computer. The technology isn’t as refined as it could be but it’s well on its way. That means there could be a point in the future where you don’t need a mouse or a keyboard anymore. 

Screenless displays

Screenless displays are pretty much what they sound like. Displays that display things but without a screen. This technology has apparently come a long way in the last two years and is expected to make even more strides in the coming years. Things like holograms won’t be science fiction anymore. 

Virtual reality gaming

You game nerds out there prepare yourselves. Many gaming fans already know of the Oculus Rift which is a VR headset that plays video games. It was recently bought by Facebook that is actively working on turning it into a social device as well as a gaming device. 

Wearable electronics

With the aforementioned Google Glass and smartwatches, we’re already seeing this to a degree but it’s going to get way more crazy than that. Smart glasses and smart watches are social devices that connect you to the outside world. There are other wearable electronics in the works that connect you to your body. We’re talking ear buds that measure heart rate,

Smart data

More and more things are becoming automated these days but there are things we still have to do manually. Like adding someone to your contacts list on your phone or in your email. Things like this are probably coming to an end soon. In the video above, a company called RelateIQ is already working on turning your relationship management into an

Smart glasses

We’ve seen this already a little bit with Google Glass but that’s just the beginning. Despite getting a lot of press and controversy, Google Glass is a very young product. In fact, all the pairs that are out now are beta test units.

Smart houses

Once again, this is a thing that is right on the brink of being a real thing. We already have smart appliances such as refrigerators that will tell you when you’re low on a certain food item or an oven you can control with your smartphone.

Google Driverless Car

I could still remember the day I watch the iRobot as a teen, and being skeptical about my brother’s statement that one day, the driverless car will become reality. And it’s now a reality, made possible by… a search engine company, Google.

Parallella

Parallella is going to change the way that computers are made, and Adapteva offers you chance to join in on this revolution. Simply put, it’s a supercomputer for everyone. Basically, an energy-efficient computer built for processing complex software simultaneously and effectively. Real-time object tracking, holographic heads-up display, speech recognition will become even stronger and smarter with Parallella.

Project Fiona

Meet the first generation of the gaming tablet. Razer’s Project Fiona is a serious gaming tablet built for hardcore gaming. Once it’s out, it will be the frontier for the future tablets, as tech companies might want to build their own tablets, dedicated towards gaming, but for now Fiona is the only possible one that will debut in 2013.

Firefox OS

iOS and Android are great, but they each have their own rules and policies that certainly inhibit the creative efforts of developers. Mozilla has since decided to build a new mobile operating system from scratch, one that will focus on true openness, freedom and user choice. It’s Firefox OS.

Firefox OS is built on Gonk, Gecko and Gaia software layers – for the rest of us, it means it is built on open source, and it carries web technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3.

SmartThings

The current problem that most devices have is that they function as a standalone being, and it require effort for tech competitors to actually partner with each other and build products that can truly connect with each other. SmartThings is here to make your every device, digital or non-digital, connect together and benefit you.

Eye Tribe

Eye tracking has been actively discussed by technology enthusiasts throughout these years, but it’s really challenging to implement. But Eye Tribe actually did this. They successfully created the technology to allow you to control your tablet, play flight simulator, and even slice fruits in Fruit Ninja only with your eye movements.

Leap Motion

Multi-touch desktop is a (miserably) failed product due to the fact that hands could get very tired with prolonged use, but Leap Motion wants to challenge this dark area again with a more advanced idea. It lets you control the desktop with fingers, but without touching the screen.

Oculus Rift

Virtual Reality gaming is here in the form of Oculus Rift. This history-defining 3D headset lets you mentally feel that you are actually inside a video game. In the Rift’s virtual world, you could turn your head around with ultra-low latency to view the world in high resolution display.

Form 1

Just as the term suggests, 3D printing is the technology that could forge your digital design into a solid real-life product. It’s nothing new for the advanced mechanical industry, but a personal 3D printer is definitely a revolutionary idea.

Google Glass

Augmented Reality has already gotten into our life in the forms of simulated experiment and education app, but Google is taking it several steps higher with Google Glass. Theoretically, with Google Glass, you are able to view social media feeds, text, Google Maps, as well as navigate with GPS and take photos. You will also get the latest updates while you are on the ground.