15 Tech Innovations We Want But Can't Have Yet

Wearable computing is all the rage right now, but the next big things in technology will barely be visible.

That's according to self-proclaimed futurologist Ian Pearson who says the tech of the future will blend so seamlessly with our minds and bodies, we'll barely notice the video tattoos or 3D contacts transforming our world. In Pearson's future, women will wear makeup only lovers can see, and homes will adjust their temperature using biomorphic skin. It's fantastic, and not too far off.

We spoke with Pearson to get a sense of these advancements, and did some research of our own to determine the next big things we want but can't have yet. We can't promise they'll look as cool as Back to the Future, but rest assured you'll find out soon enough.

Pedometers are nothing new, and athletes have been syncing their iPods with Nike running shoes for a minute.

But our sneakers will be smarter than that in the future. They'll provide feedback to help us train better and harder, and offer more comfort as well.

Active monitors might help tennis players improve their swing, while running shoes will track how fast you're running and what happens when your feet hit the ground.

Remember the Charlie Kaufman film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? Soon we might be able to erase painful memories, just like Jim Carrey's character Joel did in the film.

"A lot of people go, 'Oh, I wish I was so-and-so,'" says Pearson. "Imagine if you could increase your IQ, replace memories or download a personality." Sure you might cease to exist as an individual and tick off your kids when you obliterate memories of your ex after a nasty divorce, but hey, at least you'd be able to move on.

Someday you won't even need your credit card or debit card to make payments, writes The Telegraph's Jessica Winch.

Consumers would simply shop like normal, then walk out the door without paying the old-fashioned way. They'd definitely be charged, but rather than paying for the products via a debit or credit card, the items would be charged to a mobile device, with loyalty points added automatically, says Winch.

Contactless technology has been around since 2007, when it first appeared in the U.K. Since then, consumers have been testing out contactless cards, "where consumers wave their debit or credit card reader over a card reader," Winch says.

Here in the states, consumers are beginning to see plastic-free methods such as PayPal's digital wallet, Apple's Passbook and American Express' Serve. But for now at least, consumers can rest easy that they won't have to ditch their wallet, as adoption is far from widespread, writes American Banker.

For couples craving even more intimacy, shared dreams might be the next frontier, says Pearson. And it just might arrive by the year 2030.

All we need is a set of pillows with conducting fibers in the fabric that can monitor the brain’s electrical activity. From there, couples will be able to see what their partners are dreaming, and even interact (with permission, of course).

Google wants to do away with typed passwords, that much we know. But did you know the search giant is working on the project right now, creating rings that will double as log ins for computers and online accounts?

Users would just have to plug the USB key into their device and their credentials would sail right through. MIT Technology Review writes the slim token instantly “proves its validity by correctly responding to a mathematical challenge posed by the online service it is being used to log into, in a way that doesn't produce any information that could be used to log in again.”

The technology will become so seamless, you'd be able to plug it into a computer at a friend’s house, like swiping a debit card at an ATM.

Like flexible phones, self-driving cars should be available soon, or within the next five years, as Chris Urmson, an engineer for Google's Self-Driving Car Program, told USA Today earlier this month.

According to The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, which sponsored a recent panel on Capitol Hill, there are plenty of benefits to developing “intelligent transportation systems” like self driving cars: reduced fuel consumption, increased safety and mobility for those who can’t drive normally.

The cars also make better use of road space, since having fewer drivers on the road makes it safer to drive closer together, which cuts down on travel time too.

Currently, the two biggest hurdles to getting the car on the road are the law—which still requires a licensed driver behind the wheel in many states—and cost. The latest version of Google’s driver-free car will set you back $150,000.

This invention will arrive in stores soon, but LG has said it doesn’t plan to ship its first batch of flexible displays until later this year, and we doubt the phone will make our bendy dreams come true immediately.

More than anything else, these devices will be marketed as unbreakable, if not thinner and lighter than their rigid counterparts, which is fine, but not exactly what we want. What we want: A phone that can touch its toes and respond eagerly when you twist and bend it.

Like the biomorphic home, other green homes of the future will produce their own power. As Reynolds, the home improvement reporter, points out, ideally that means storing a mixture of solar power and fuel energy to access when needed, while batteries will store power for other times and the rest will be sent to the grid.

Some homes, like The Stamp House in Far North Queensland, Australia, already exist, but the concept is by no means widespread. Still, The Stamp House is a great model to go by. Comprised of new and mixed concrete, the home manages to keep a near-constant temperature, and relies on solar panels backed by a solar generator, which removes any need for fossil fuels whatsoever.

Our faces won't be the only thing we can change on a whim in the future, says Pearson. Electronic clothing will too.

"If you can do it on a sheet of paper, it's not difficult to do on a thin sheet of polymer paper, like a temporary tattoo," he explains. In fact, the clothing would actually be a polymer display that you print right off a computer.

Electronic clothing already exists, but it doesn't exactly look seamless or even high-tech. The hardwiring and gadget-y add-ons seem fake, and only a few garments like MIT's Kanjun Qie's Soundie, a hoodie that changes pitch depending on touch, are actually raising the bar in terms of clothing and skin integration.

Everyone wants a Pebble wristwatch, but what will really stand the test of time is a device that does one thing exceptionally well.

"People are going back to the idea of a wristwatch as a special device for only telling time," Pearson says. "They want something that's a demonstration of the best a watch can do and that is far more accurate than a quartz watch."

Whereas people prided themselves for years on gadgets that innovate, nowadays we're more impressed by what other people can do.

"All parts of a watch are capable of being functional and that's a good thing," Pearson says, pointing to the wristwatch strap, which doubles as a display area. But more than anything, we want to invest in something that makes us feel good about being human.

Tattoos of the future won't be static images but videos, and the same might be said of makeup, which will change on demand and only take seconds to apply, says Pearson.

"You could push a button and your face would look like a model's on TV," he predicts. All you'd need to do is overlay all the different areas with a thin, visible layer of electronics. "The makeup could change according to who you are, how you feel, what you’re doing, and how stressed you are."

E ink is one such technology that can change on demand, explains Chemists Corner. "Consumers could apply the makeup, then use a electrical field wand to blend to the perfect color. And if they are unhappy with the result, they could simply reset and start over."

It sounds like something out of a Tom Cruise movie, but biomorphic homes could revolutionize how we live.

According to home improvement writer Cormac Reynolds, the biomorphic homes of the future will come equipped with organic skin that adjusts to the weather outside to keep its inhabitants cozy.

When it's chilly outside the home will heat up accordingly, and cool down as temperatures rise. Such a home could also turn tinted to block out harmful light, and store rainwater in its interior on dryer days.

The home pictured here was conceived by Pavie Architects & Design, who envision an elegant adornment to the world outside. Beyond a Miami Beach-meets-spaceship vibe, the home features a hydrogen powered PEM-Fuel-Cell generator that'll keep the lights on.

Companies have been developing paperless business cards for years, but consumers need look no further than their hands for the future of this standby.

In coming years, a handshake might be all it takes to transmit a business card, says Pearson. "It isn't hard to print electronics onto the surface of skin," so the information would just glide from hand to hand via a signal.

People in a club could use it to exchange numbers without having to make awkward conversation. Or they might send flirtatious messages with the tap of a shoulder.

Despite their small size, contacts offer plenty of room for innovation. "Sixty-four billion bytes of information could easily fit inside," says Pearson, "and it could have as good a resolution as your eye."

Pearson says several prototypes are in development, including at the University of Washington, where researchers are testing virtual reality lenses, as Discovery's reported. Not only are the lenses fully transparent and hands-free, they can deliver high-resolution experiences that give the illusion of 3D, full HD and panoramic images—perfect for gamers.

On the medical side, researchers are developing lenses to monitor vitals like blood sugar. As part of a joint research project, Microsoft Research and the University of Washington developed contacts equipped with a glucose sensor to monitor and transmit data wirelessly, says Discovery.

Expect to see the technology in the next two years, if not sooner.