Imagine it: a humanoid (human-like robot) with soft skin and strong arms, which bathes your aged

mother in the frail-care centre, a self-driven car that drops your teenage daughter at a party and a domestic robot that teaches your son how to play

Far-fetched? No, its around the corner

chess, all while you make dinner. This is all not at all farfetched, because its all already happening elsewhere in the world, even if some of it is just in concept form and not yet commercialised. So what else does the future hold for us?

Essential
Google is investing heavily in an intelligent electricity network to manage the worlds energy in a similar way to how it, in effect, currently manages information. With the legion of mini powergeneration opportunities (wind, sun, air pressure, hydro and geothermal) there will be various sources that will generate power at different times, from different places

When we talk about the future, I always think of the science ction writer, William Gibson, who wrote: The future is already here its just not evenly distributed.

Martin Butler, senior lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch Business School

From 2015, robots will bring about a revolution in agriculture, in the restaurant industry, in patient care in hospitals and in old age homes. Japan is the most advanced in the development of sensory robots to take care of older people, particularly by lifting them from a bed or a chair

Work will become less structured: forget about sitting at the office from eight to ve. People are developing skills that equip them to be selectively productive. People reect on what they want to do with their time and will choose more satisfying work

A breathalyser test, similar to that used by traffic police to determine if someone is drunk, will be able to determine if you are sick and diagnose what you may be suffering from

Harvard University is currently developing nano robots that are so small they can identify individual cancer cells and attack them. They will be able to release anticancer medication no bigger than a molecule

Hybrid lorries will work with diesel and electricity and connect to overhead cables. Siemens has developed software that can determine if a highways overhead cables have electricity available, to then switch the vehicles engine from diesel to electric drive

Smartphones are helping with political reform in Africa thank to social networks, citizens have greater access to their governments actions and statements. The increase in transparency can help to combat corruption and poverty

A large-scale revolution in education is happening thanks to free, high-quality online instruction. Universities already offer excellent online courses, for example coursera.org. For school children there are websites such as khanacademy.org

Three-dimensional printers will become ever-more affordable and the materials than can be printed will become more numerous. The era of simply ordering the blueprint of an item, to then create that item at home on a 3D printer, is around the corner

Smartphones will shortly be able to conduct laboratory tests to check for various diseases. Using computer software, people in developing countries will have access to diagnoses that are accurate and affordable

Concept form

Reality

The walls of buildings may shortly supply them with power. Solar Ivy is made from small solar panels manufactured in different shapes and colours to match any architectural style. A revolution in smart synthetic materials is at hand. These materials will save energy, generate power, be very light and be stronger than steel

IBM predicts that within a decade people in call centres will be replaced with its Watson software technology. It will be able to recognise voices, answer healthcare questions and supply nancial and client services

Electric cars that supply electricity: In the evening you will plug your car in to recharge, but it will instead help to deliver power to the network through whatever charge may still remain in the battery, along with the power your wind turbine and solar panels generate. When electricity demand ebbs, your cars battery will charge again

Neuroscientists could predict what someone will do before they do it by studying blood-ow patterns to the brain (useful for people with articial limbs)

Adventure capitalists will drive a new era in space travel. Commercial launches will take space tourists, within a few hours, into earth orbit and to other continents

A remote control device that reacts to your voice has recently been announced by LG for its 3D television system. The device can recognise various languages and reacts to verbal commands

People will be living longer, thanks to medical technology that makes DNA therapy, stem cell therapy and the three-dimensional printing of organs possible. For those who have access to these technologies, 100 will be the new 60

A project to create virtual rats with simulated animal physiology is under way at the Medical College of Wisconsin in the US. It is part of a bigger project to create a virtual person

Luxury
Sources: World Futurist Society, The Futurist, WFS.org and Martin Butler, senior lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch Business School Photos: harvardmagazine.com, good.is, trendhunter.com, sxc.hu, popsci.com, engadget.com, sfari.org, documentcapture.co.uk, solarivy.com, Nissan, virgingalactic.com Graphics24