This is a list of emerging technologies, which are in-development technical innovations that have significant potential in their applications. The criteria for this list is that the technology must:

Exist in some way; purely hypothetical technologies cannot be considered emerging and should be covered in the list of hypothetical technologies instead. However, technologies being actively researched and prototyped are acceptable. Have a Wikipedia article or adjacent citation covering them. Not be widely used yet. Mainstream or extensively commercialized technologies can no longer be considered emerging.

Listing here is not a prediction that the technology will become widely adopted, only a recognition of significant potential to become widely adopted or highly useful if ongoing work continues, is successful, and the work is not overtaken by other technologies.

Agriculture

Emerging technology Status Potential applications Related articles Agricultural roboticsA review of automation and robotics for the bio-industry. Journal of Biomechatronics Engineering Vol. 1, No. 1, (2008) 37–54 Research and development, trial projectsAutomation of agricultureAgricultural drone Agrivoltaics Research, demonstration projects, and early commercial deployment Dual use of agricultural land for solar photovoltaic generation, crop production, grazing, or pollinator habitat Solar farm and Sustainable agriculture Closed ecological systems Research and development,NASA – Investigation of a Closed Ecological System. nasa.govBen Armentrout, and Heidi Kappes. Studies in Closed Ecological Systems: Biosphere in a BottleFrieda B. Taub Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics Vol. 5, (1974), pp. 139–160 working demonstrators (e.g. Biosphere 2) Agriculture, scientific research, space colonization Greenhouse, Eden Project, Bioshelter, Seawater greenhouse Cultured meat Research and development, trials Humane, resource-efficient, healthier, and cheaper meat New Harvest Atmospheric water generator Working prototypeAgriculture in semi-arid landDesorption Vertical farming Research, development, experiments, and diffusion Space-efficient farming and space travel applications

Construction Emerging technology Status Potential applications Related articlesActive structureResearch, development, commercializationAdaptive structures that respond to different conditions, or supermassive buildings and infrastructure (e.g. space fountains)ArcologyResearch, development, commercializationDomed cityPlanned feature for Mall of the WorldWeather-controlled city, colonization of other celestial bodiesEarthscraperDemonstrationSmart environmentResearch, development, commercializationAutomated, safer, energy efficient environmentsSmart city, Building automation, Home automation, Fourth Industrial Revolution

Economy Emerging technologyStatusPotential applicationsRelated articlesCryptocurrencyDiffusionPayment, Digital currencyBitcoin, EthereumDigital walletDiffusionPayment, Digital currencyGoogle pay, Apple PayCBDCDiffusionPayment, Digital currencyDigital Rupee, Digital Euro

Electronics, IT, and communications

Emerging technology Status Potential applications Related articles6G cellular communicationsConceptualMobile phonesArtificial general intelligenceHypothetical, experimentsCreating intelligent devices and robots; AI can counsel (or even take charge) in scientific projects, government, army, corporate governance, film and books creation, inventions etc.Progress in artificial intelligence, technological singularity, applications of artificial intelligenceBiometricsDiffusion, commercializationBlockchainDiffusion, commercializationFinance, digital currency, identity (social science), Web3.0, Smart contractsBitcoin, EthereumCarbon nanotube field-effect transistorResearch and developmentFuture miniaturization of transistorsCashierless storeLimited commercializationCivic technologyResearch and development, projectsSmart cities, more responsive governmentSmart city, e-democracy, open data, intelligent environmentDigital scent technologyDiffusionSmell-O-Vision, iSmellDNA digital data storageExperimentsMass data storageElectronic noseResearch, limited commercialization Detecting spoiled food, chemical weapons, and cancer Emerging memory technologies (T-RAM, CBRAM, SONOS, RRAM, racetrack memory, NRAM, phase-change memory, FJG RAM, millipede memory, Skyrmion, programmable metallization cell, ferroelectric RAM, magnetoresistive RAM, nvSRAM)In developmentEmerging magnetic data storage technologies (SMR, HAMR, BPM, MAMR, TDMR, CPP/GMR, PMR, hard disk drive)In development (HAMR, BPM); diffusion (SMR)Greatly improved storage density compared to current HDDs, can be combined5D optical data storageResearch, prototypesExtremely compact, long-lasting information storage E-textiles Research, diffusionWearable technologyExascale computingProjectsExocortexDiffusion of primitive amplifications; working prototypes of more; Hypothetical, experiments on more substantial amplification Flexible electronics Research, development, prototypes, limited commercialization (e.g. Samsung Galaxy Fold) Flexible and/or foldable electronic devices, and flexible solar cells which are lightweight, can be rolled up for launch, and are easily deployable Nokia Morph, Flexible organic light-emitting diodeFourth-generation optical discs (3D optical data storage, Holographic data storage)Research, prototypingStoring and archiving data previously erased for economic reasonsBlu-ray Disc, Optical storageLi-FiDemosLaser communication in spaceMachine visionResearch, prototyping, commercializationBiometrics, controlling processes (e.g., in driverless car, automated guided vehicle), detecting events (e.g., in visual surveillance), interaction (e.g., in human–computer interaction), robot visionComputer vision, pattern recognition, digital image processingMagnonicsResearchData storage Memristor Working prototype Smaller, faster, more energy-efficient storage, analogue electronics, programmable logic, signal processing, neural networks, control systems, reconfigurable computing, brain–computer interfaces, RFID, and pattern recognitionMetaverseExperimentsVirtual reality, Augmented reality Molecular electronics Research and developmentMultimodal contactless biometric face/iris systemsDeployed at various airports and federal security checkpointsUnimodal facial recognition scanners Nanoelectromechanical systems Research and developmentNanoradioResearch and development, diffusionNeuromorphic engineeringResearch and developmentOptical computingHypothetical, experiments; some components of integrated circuits have been developedSmaller, faster, lower power consuming computingQuantum computingExperiments, commercialization, early diffusionMuch faster computing for some kinds of problems, chemical modeling, new materials with programmed properties, Hypothetical of high-temperature superconductivity and superfluidityQuantum cryptographyCommercializationSecure communicationsQuantum radarPrototypesRadio-frequency identificationDiffusion of high costSmartstores – RFID-based self-checkout (keeping track of all incoming and outgoing products), food packaging, smart shelves, smart carts. See: potential usesSoftware-defined radioDevelopment, commercializationCognitive radio, Mesh networks, Software defined antennaGNU Radio, List of software-defined radios, Universal Software Radio Peripheral Solid-state transformer Development, prototypesSpeech recognitionResearch, development, commercialization Spintronics Working prototypes Data storage, computing devicesSubvocal recognitionResearch, development, commercialization Thermal copper pillar bump Working prototypes in discrete devices Electric circuit cooling, micro-fluidic actuators, thermoelectric power generation Ultra high definition holographic disc, Metal–insulator transition Three-dimensional integrated circuit Development, commercialization Memory and data processing Twistronics Development

Entertainment Emerging technology Status Potential applications Related articles4D FilmCommercializationFilmsCloud gamingCommercializationHandheld game consoles, Mobile gaming, Real-time ray-tracingGoogle Stadia, GeForce Now Immersive virtual reality Hypothetical, limited commercialization An artificial environment where the user feels just as immersed as they usually feel in conscious reality. Virtusphere, 3rd Space Vest, haptic suit, immersive technology, simulated reality, holodeck (fictional) Synthetic media Research and development Films, photos Deepfake, StyleGAN, DeepDream, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, Sora

Optoelectronics Emerging technology Status Potential applications Related articles Laser video display Limited commercialization (e.g. Mitsubishi LaserVue TV in 2008) Displays with a very wide colour gamut Laser TV, Comparison of display technology Holography (holographic display, computer-generated holography) Diffusion Optical transistor Some prototypes Screenless display (Virtual retinal display, Bionic contact lens, Augmented reality, Virtual reality) Experiments Virtual tools and entertainment in a real-world environment, aids for the visually impaired Head-mounted display, Head-up display, Adaptive optics, EyeTap, Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLens, AR cloudVolumetric (3D) displayResearch, working prototypes, commercializationTelevision, computer interfaces, cinemas, 3-dimensional imageryAutostereoscopic display, stereoscopic display, volumetric display, Holographic display, Light Field display, Nintendo 3DS, Swept-volume display

Energy