Optical computing.<p>Quantum ICs attract billions in research dollars. With cybersecurity perhaps being the key industry driver. But recent materials and design advancements in "electronic-photonic" interfaces have yielded incredible boosts to matrix multiplication and FFT calculation. And the temptation to create machine learning and AI capable mobile devices may speed adoption of a new generation of photonics.<p>Lightmatter, a startup using light to accelerate artificial intelligence, wins the 2017 MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition<p><a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lightmatter-a-startup-using-light-to-accelerate-artificial-intelligence-wins-the-2017-mit-100k-entrepreneurship-competition-300460259.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lightmatter-a-startu...</a><p>Light-Powered Computers Brighten AI’s Future<p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/light-powered-computers-brighten-ai-rsquo-s-future/" rel="nofollow">https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/light-powered-com...</a>
This is asked and answered many times on Quora...take a peak there and you will find plenty of answers.<p>Here is a similar question for example:
<a href="https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-top-10-emerging-technologies-in-the-next-5-10-years-2020–2025" rel="nofollow">https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-top-10-emerging-technolog...</a>
Wireless charging on a level not seen yet. The idea might be for a wireless charging network similar to what we already have for cell phones, so each tower has a 3 mile or so radius. You’ll never be without power in a sense that you’re not, most of the time, without cell coverage.<p>This would help a lot with the limits we are approaching with batteries, as well as the environmental effects associated with their production.<p>Long term, people are proposing the collection of solar energy in space, and the resulting energy beamed down in microwaves to the “cell towers” so described above.
Solar. AR/VR. AI. IOT. Blockchain. Robotics. I think we're at the cusp of a platform explosion. I honestly wonder if we even have enough engineers to fully explore all these burgeoning fields.
Blockchain.<p>While it may not fit some people's definition of emerging I think we will see implementations outside of cryptocurrency. I know some clearing companies (related to the stock/futures/etc markets) are interested in it and so are banks. I can see them having something implemented in the next 3 years, even if it is just something that does a very small share of their business. I'm very excited to see applications of blockchain outside of cryptocurrency!
I have a somewhat darker view: I expect we will see an increase in more flexible, more robust equipment as climate stresses increase... At least the emergence of that sort of a market. I bet a lot of people, after those hurricanes, would be interested in phones that still work in emergencies.
Haskell. There is a clear advantage in having a strong type system that lets you develop in userland what can only be language features in lesser languages. And language features means wait for it to be developed.<p>Also the compile time certainty that things line up is hard to live without.