2014 TOP TECH TO WATCH

A lire sur: http://spectrum.ieee.org/static/2014-top-tech-to-watch/

We predict the technologies that will make headlines this year so you'll never be surprised

Introduction

NEWS COMES UNEXPECTEDLY, unless it’s tech news. Most project information dribbles out over long periods, draining the surprise and delight from the event by the time it occurs.

It’s like watching a recorded football game when you already know the result. So we at IEEE Spectrum have trained our critical eye on the top 10 headlines of the next 12 months. These include a superfast wireless system, Chinese space launches, eerily silent electric race cars, and that recurring chestnut of tech news, the jet pack. By giving you the surprise and the delight now, we allow you to show the proper degree of detachment later on.

Drones

Would You Shoot Your Neighbor’s Drone?

As civilian UAVs take to U.S. skies, they’ll face pushback—and perhaps a few shotguns

Gaming

Oculus Rift Takes Virtual Reality Mainstream

Start-up Oculus VR’s affordable headset incorporates smartphone technology

Telecom

LTE-Advanced Is the Real 4G

More network capacity, faster data speeds, and better coverage will come from LTE-Advanced mobile technologies

Cars

Formula E Cars Race for All-Electric Glory

High-wattage EV racing will come to cities around the world

Biomedical

The U.S. BRAIN Initiative Boldly Begins

Big science takes on the human brain

Space Exploration

China: The Next Space Superpower

A lunar rover, a crewed space station, and new rockets top China’s space agenda

Robotics

DARPA’s Rescue-Robot Showdown

Robots face off in first phase of DARPA’s Robotics Challenge

Satellites

Introducing Solara, the Atmospheric Satellite

Titan Aerospace’s high-flying drones could deliver satellite services without leaving the atmosphere

Aerospace

NASA Readies Orion for First Test Flight

The Apollo-inspired crew capsule carries NASA’s hopes for revival

 

Semiconductors

Chipmakers Push Memory Into the Third Dimension

Companies like Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix bet that transistor redesigns and chip stacking will make memory smaller and faster