tech that will change the world

Robots, virtual reality, automotive tech are transforming our future

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — It’s well known that technology grows exponentially – but sometimes its development is unfolding right before your eyes and you don’t even realize it.
In 2015, new technologies and innovations will hit the market in the artificial intelligence, robotics, augmented reality, Internet of Things and 3-D printing spaces that could pave the way for a major shift in society.
These technologies have already started to be integrated into society, changing the way we drive our cars, operate our homes, do our jobs, communicate and consume. But with new innovations on the horizon, you may want to keep an eye on these next year.

Robots, virtual reality, automotive tech are transforming our future

Internet of Things: automated homes

The Internet of Things finally became dinner table conversation (well, sort of) in 2014 thanks to Google Inc. GOOGL, -0.11%  , which helped to mainstream IoT with a $3.2 billion purchase of smart home thermostat maker Nest Labs.
Home automation will continue to attract new attention next year and big players will continue to pour money into smartening up everyday items.
Ross Rubin, principal analyst at tech consulting company Reticle Research, said that while there is still a market for managed whole-home automation from companies such as AT&T Inc. T, -1.09%   and Vivint Solar Inc. VSLR, -0.08%  , individual smart products will likely storm onto the marketplace next year -- think of it like an army of puzzle pieces waiting to be snapped together.
“Smart homes get built piece by piece,” he said. “More smart home products such as connected doorbells, thermostats and lighting are being introduced as smartphone accessories.”
Ailing smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd. BBRY, +0.63%  last week said it planned to give insight into its future IoT plans at the Consumers Electronics Shows [CES] in Las Vegas the first week of January as it seeks to diversify beyond traditional BlackBerry products

Robots, virtual reality, automotive tech are transforming our future

Automotive electronics and driverless prototypes

With the Internet of Things also comes automotive electronics and, farther down the road, completely autonomous cars. Next year, auto makers will continue to integrate new technologies into vehicles, particularly among dashboard screens.
Synaptics Inc. SYNA, +0.06%   is one of these players. The chip maker’s CEO, Rick Bergman, told MarketWatch that the automobile market is Synaptics’ “next big growth area.” He says there are multiple areas in the near term for human interface improvements, such as replacing dashboards with more advanced touch solutions. Eventually, the company hopes to integrate its fingerprint scanning technology, which can be found on Samsung Electronics’s Galaxy S5 005930, -0.71%  , into cars for security and authentication.
Roger Kay, founder of tech consulting company Endpoint Technologies, imagines a world where the windows of a car are just 360-degree screens, enabling a person to watch movies as their robotic car chauffeurs them around. Stuck in traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike? Switch the screen to the Swiss Alps for some R&R, or stream a movie since your car will probably have its own broadband. Of course, that’s probably much farther down the road, likely 10 or more years, he said.
“Automobile companies are slow to move,” Kay said. “But every year they get a little closer to the real thing.”
Google announced it has built a fully functional driverless car that will likely hit the streets of Silicon Valley in early 2015. Of course, there are a number of legal hurdles that must be cleared before autonomous driving is the norm.

Robots and drones

This is an area that will surely see major shifts in 2015. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration started allowing some companies to use drones for commercial purposes this year, including certain Hollywood movie studios. There will likely be even more leeway in terms of drone regulation in 2015, even as Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -0.02%   threatens to take its drone testing elsewhere.
Better rules should entice drone manufacturers to build more capable machines and developers to build apps that make drones multifunctional across a wide range of applications.
“There will be more drones in the market, more consumers trying drones, more industries trying to get clearance to use drones, but there will also continue to be a struggle around them,” Kay said.
Meanwhile, Amazon, which is seeking approval to test its drone delivery services in the U.S., put to work tens of thousands of rolling robots in its distribution centers this year, which it said has greatly improved production. More automation in the workplace is inevitable.
And on a far creepier level, robots will continue to become more humanlike. SoftBank Corp. 9984, -1.02%   has unveiled a humanlike robot named “Pepper” that can seemingly sense, read and react to human emotions. This is seen as just the tip of the iceberg as research money pours into how to make machines more cognitive, like humans.
“There will be more [robots] that are more humanoid,” Kay said. “They’re already a little there. I think in 2015 they’ll be a little more there.

Robots, virtual reality, automotive tech are transforming our future

Wearables

Google may have sprung the modern-day market for wearables to life when it unveiled Google Glass in 2012, but the market has been sputtering to attract widespread adoption. Today, high-tech fitness bands such as FitBit continue to win over consumers who want an easy way to track their calories, but Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.07%  and Sony Corp. SNE, +0.70%   are among the companies hoping to make wearable waves in 2015.
“Wearables will see strong growth with the entry of the Apple Watch and refined offerings from other players,” said Ross Rubin.
Apple will start selling its much-anticipated Apple Watch in the first half of next year. It will be interesting to see whether the tech takes off (it is Apple after all), or if consumers determine that a smartwatch is not the solution they need after all. One thing is for certain, sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Gear have been a disappointment.
That brings us to our next slide: augmented reality.

Robots, virtual reality, automotive tech are transforming our future

Augmented reality

Augmented reality, or technologies that enhance the regular world around your eyes with visuals, continues to attract the interest of developers. In 2015, it will be adopted into more commercial applications.
Intel Corp. INTC, -0.15%   and Google recently announced a partnership that replaces Intel’s chips with Texas Instruments’ TXN, +0.06%  as the brains of Google’s next-generation Glass. The two said they plan to promote Glass to companies such as hospital networks and manufacturers. Google has teamed with developers to build apps specific to the workplace. Augmented reality can also be used for training purposes, such as in emergency situations or during space or air travel.
Sony unveiled a Google Glass-like headset at the giant Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year that can be affixed to a person’s regular lenses and superimpose high-resolution OLED images, videos and text in front of a person’s eye. Sony reportedly plans to start mass producing the smart eyewear later this 2015.
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Robots, virtual reality, automotive tech are transforming our future

Virtual reality

Facebook Inc.’s FB, -0.14%  Mark Zuckerberg joined virtual reality fans this year in imagining a future where people can completely escape the physical world and become fully immersed in a digital dimension.
Facebook bought virtual reality headset maker Oculus in March for $2 billion, betting that virtual reality becomes the future of communication and entertainment. Zuckerberg believes virtual reality will one day stretch beyond entertainment. He envisions a future where students learn in virtual classrooms or doctor’s check up on patients through virtual meeting places with the help of complex sensors.
Meanwhile, Sony, Google and Samsung have all expressed interest in conjoining with Hollywood to make virtual reality a, well, reality. New Deal Studios and other boutique movie studios have recently started to develop 360-degree films designed specifically for virtual reality headsets.

Robots, virtual reality, automotive tech are transforming our future

3-D printing

The ability to print out real-world in-demand objects will become even easier and more applicable in 2015. Just last week, an astronaut on the International Space Station used a 3-D printer to make a socket wrench in space, which marked a major step forward for the potential of interstellar manufacturing that is both more affordable and less time consuming.
Made in Space, the company that built the zero-gravity 3-D printer, plans to launch a larger commercial printer in 2015. The European Space Agency has also said it plans to launch its own 3-D printer as well.
This compliments strides 3-D printing manufacturers are making on Earth’s crust as they introduce faster, smaller and more affordable machines that can print anything from food to organs

Robots, virtual reality, automotive tech are transforming our future

Mobile

One of the most practical trends of 2015 will be the continued rise of mobile. This past year marked the first time ever people spent more time on their phones than their PCs, and the first time more people browsed retail sites on phones rather than on PCs.
Mobile payments will likely continue to advance in 2015 with the help of Apple Pay. Apple Pay saw its share of mobile payments jump to 1.7% from zero in its first six weeks on the market. Further adoption is expected to amplify in 2015, particularly once PayPal EBAY, -0.94%  gets fresh legs following a spinoff from eBay Inc., more Apple users upgrade to Apple Pay-compatible smartphones and small merchants adopt Square Up at the register.
Kay said he predicts an “acceptance of mobile commerce” next year. Rubin said Apple Pay has raised the bar for ease-of-use and vendor support for smartphone transactions.
“It’s going to grow significantly in 2015 and we’ll see competitors such as Google and Softcard redouble their efforts,” Rubin said. “Mobile commerce takes off,” he predicted.