IBM Reveals Five Innovations That Will Change Our Lives within Five Years

1. People power will come to life

Advances in renewable energy technology will allow individuals to collect this kinetic energy, which now goes to waste, and use it to help power our homes, offices and cities.
Imagine attaching small devices to the spokes on your bicycle wheels that recharge batteries as you pedal along. You will have the satisfaction of not only getting to where you want to go, but at the same time powering some of the lights in your home.

Energy Harvesting shoes that could produce about 10 watts per shoe while walking are expected to become commercialized in 2014

Instepnanopower is the company that has been formed to commercialize this technology
Energy harvesting from MEMS devices will also power various sensors.

2. Biometric sensors will be used instead of passwords
3. Mind reading no longer science fiction

Scientists in the field of bioinformatics have designed headsets with advanced sensors to read electrical brain activity that can recognize facial expressions, excitement and concentration levels, and thoughts of a person without them physically taking any actions.
Within 5 years, we will begin to see early applications of this technology in the gaming and entertainment industry. Furthermore, doctors could use the technology to test brain patterns, possibly even assist in rehabilitation from strokes and to help in understanding brain disorders, such as autism.

4. The Digital divide will cease to exist

There are 7 billion people inhabiting the world today. In five years there will be 5.6 billion mobile devices sold – which means 80% of the current global population would each have a mobile device.
As it becomes cheaper to own a mobile phone, people without a lot of spending power will be able to do much more than they can today.

NBF - This is a powerful trend that is already well underway. It is a pretty slam dunk and safe prediction. However, another trend that is well underway is the emergence of the global middle class. This is where China, India, South East asia, South America and parts of Africa are getting wealthier.
The global middle class will be about 3 billion people at the end of 2016
In 2010, 1.8 billion people in the world are middle class, or 28 percent of the global population. About half of these people live in developed economies, with another fifth found in Brazil, Russia, India, and China – the so-called emerging BRIC economies. Less than 2 percent of the world’s population is rich by our definition; a significant majority, 70 percent, is poor. 2022 marks the first year more people in the world are middle class than poor.
This Brookings Institute analysis from 2010 uses the World Bank 2005 PPP figures which probably understate China's PPP GDP by 27% versus updated Penn World Tables 7.0 numbers and India's by 13%.Correcting the PPP GDP figures would mean more people in China and India are middle class already and more will become middle class earlier.
5. Junk mail will become priority mail.

In five years, unsolicited advertisements may feel so personalized and relevant it may seem spam is dead. At the same time, spam filters will be so precise you’ll never be bothered by unwanted sales pitches again.