This document provides an overview of emerging technologies from 2012 to 2019 and beyond by analyzing trends and research. It aims to help people envision where technology is heading so they can make better decisions. The document outlines key areas of technological development like artificial intelligence, interfaces, robotics, biotech, energy and materials. It also includes quantitative forecasts about topics like global online population and the number of connected devices during this time period.

1. Envisioning emerging technology Research & visualization
for 2012 and beyond
by Michell Zappa
mz@envisioningtech
Understanding where technology is heading is more than guesswork. Looking at emerging trends mz@envisioningtech.com
and research, one can predict and draw conclusions about how the technological sphere is developing, mz@envisioningtech.com
and which technologies should become mainstream in the coming years. Envisioning technology is meant
to facilitate these observations by taking a step back and seeing the wider context.
By speculating about what lies beyond the horizon we can make better decisions of what to create today.
ARTIFICIAL INTERNET INTERFACES SENSORS UBICOMP ROBOTICS BIOTECH MATERIALS ENERGY SPACE GEOENGINEERING
INTELLIGENCE QUANTITATIVE FORECASTS
Global online population: ± 2 billion
High-frequency Cloud Multi Depth Tablets Rapid personal Additive
2012 trading computing touch imaging gene sequencing manufacturing 2012 Connected devices: ±10 billion
World population: 7 billion
2013 Inductive 2013
chargers
Cyber- Gesture Near-field
2014 warfare recognition communication 2014
Software
agents Volumetric Self-healing
(3D) screens Appliance materials
robots Tidal turbines Global online population: ± 2.5 billion
2015 2015 Connected devices: ±15 billion
Speech Pervasive Sources:
recognition video Intel – http://intel.ly/pWbH04
4G capture
Flexible screens Telematics Fuel cells InternetWorldStats – http:/ /bit.ly/AKbO5
Organ Commercial Source: U.N. – http://bit.ly/7nqQkS
printing spaceflight
2016 2016
Natural language
interpretation Boards Graphene
Mesh
networking Augmented Biometric
reality Smart
sensors toys
2017 2017
Bio-enhanced
fuels
Photonics 4K Modular computers Robotic Synthetic
surgery blood
Smart
power meters
2018
Personal
fabricators
Virtual Biomarkers Pico-
Machine currencies Haptics projectors Self-driving Sub-orbital
translation vehicles Smart drugs Multi-segmented
smart grids spaceflight
2019 2019
Global online population: 4-5 billion
Connected devices: 30-50 billion
Machine Meta- Space
5G vision tourism $150 Hard disk: ±200 Tb
materials
Photovoltaic Standard RAM: ±750Gb
Powered glass
Procedural exoskeleton Sources:
storytelling Eyewear-embedded Intel – http:/
/intel.ly/pWbH04
screens Ericsson – http://bit.ly/avvVok
Alan Conroy – http:/ /bit.ly/pofHp5
2020 2020 FutureTimeline – http:/ /bit.ly/qz4ben
Personalized
medicine
Holography
Optical
invisibility cloaks Piezo- Weather
Context-aware electricity
computing engineering
In-vitro
meat
Reputation Commercial
economy UAVs
Computational
photography
Synthetic Petabyte storage standard
Fabric-embedded biology Carbon
screens nanotubes Source: http:/
/bit.ly/r9BYQc
VR-only Telepresence
lifeforms $ 1.000 computer reaches the
capacity of the human brain
(± 1015 calculations per second)
Stem-cell Vertical Source: http:/
/bit.ly/6MoQJc
treatments farming
World population: 8 billion
Interplanetary Reprogrammable Domestic Biomaterials Biomechanical Source: U.N. – http:/
/bit.ly/7nqQkS
internet chips robots harvesting
BRICs GDP overtakes the G7
Source: Goldman Sachs – http:/
/bit.ly/nc9Wqj
Sea-
Nano- steading
generators
Optogenetics
Gene therapy
Artificial
2030 photosynthesis 2030
Skin-embedded Molecular Terabit internet speed standard
screens Swarm assembler Source: http:/
/bit.ly/kPMKMb
robotics
Immersive
virtual reality
Desalination
Hybrid Lunar
assisted limbs Enernet outpost
Remote
presence
Retinal
screens
Exabyte storage standard
Nanowires
Source: http:/
/bit.ly/kPMKMb
Artificial Mars Carbon
retinas mission sequestration
Neuro- Thorium
informatics reactor
Embodied
avatars
Nanomedicine Climate
Exocortex engineering
Programmable Space
matter elevator
Machine-
augmented
cognition
Anti- Traveling
aging wave reactor
drugs
Utility
fog
Space-based Solar Arcologies
solar power sail
World population: 9 billion
Source: U.N. – http:/
/bit.ly/7nqQkS
2040 2040
BITS ATOMS
RELATIVE IMPORTANCE CONSUMER IMPACT CLUSTER OF TECHNOLOGIES
The node size indicates the predicted The outline of a node indicates a consumer A jagged outline indicates a cluster of
importance of a technology. impact larger than the technological novelty. similar technologies grouped together.
Last updated:
2012-02-10
BY SA