Well if you think of it, you can actually formulate your own ideas on what is going to be the next “big thing”. Personally, I would like to see those future cars in the movie, flying and having their hyper-drive. This might sound silly today but we might not know the possibility considering the evolution of today’s technologies.
Moreover, I also found out this interesting thread and selected some of Stefan Von Imhof’s answers on Quora, he said:
There’s nothing I love more than thinking, talking & writing about the future. Here’s a list of some things I’m excited to see develop in the near future & over the longer-term, along with my predictions for when each will start to happen.
Next 2-5 years:
- Augmented Reality I’ll start here because it’s the obvious choice. Google Glass, mobile apps, etc. A ton of chatter, but certainly also a ton of opportunity.
- Wireless Power We still have way too many cords, cables, and electronic devices that need to be physically plugged in or connected. This doesn’t need to be the case, and is a big enough pain in the ass that the market should step in soon. The technology already exists. I don’t know all the ins & outs, but this seems like a big opportunity not many people are talking about.
- Internet of Things: This is an old idea but it’s gained a lot of traction recently, because it’s a good one. Connecting & linking not just computers, phones and tablets, but all of our devices through the cloud. Fridges, remote-locking mechanisms, coffee-makers, etc. Most consumer products can be Internet-enabled for less than $20. The only thing holding it back is the fact that the management infrastructure is not in place yet. We’ll need ways to manage and utilize these networks of smart devices and objects that are in our homes and lives. This is an area that is very fragmented – yet any widely utilized application or platform will need to work across many different devices, platforms and suppliers. Many companies in the cloud storage/data management space are in a good position here.
~5-7 years:
- Graphene No nano-material is thinner or stronger than this stuff. We just need to figure out how to affix it to other materials and an entire new world opens right up.
- Mobile Payments I still can’t believe this hasn’t taken off in the US. With rapid evolution of mobile phones, there is such a big opportunity for replacing money transactions with either an existing, or a new form of electronic currency on a very wide basis. Of course there are lots of examples of both alternative currencies and mobile payment systems today – but they are all still based around credit cards, bank accounts, etc. What we need is a whole new protocol. No one seems to have hit upon a business model that is universal and popular enough to displace physical money. And whatever emerges could replace a lot of conventional advertising as well.
~7-10 years:
- Driverless Cars Plenty has been said about this already. The technology is already here, but it will take time to let the legislation/infrastructure/free market catch up.
- 3D Printing
Thank you for reading. If you wish to send us your ideas kindly comment below.