As tech innovation continues to race ahead, we hear more and more about the growth of artificial intelligence and automation, and the different world they will create – with everything from driverless cars to deliveries by drone.

But behind the headlines and the hype, what will this year bring us in terms of new useable tech?

What will really change, and what promises to make a genuine difference?

Smart tech and health

Increased human longevity and tightened government budgets mean state-run health services are turning to technology wherever possible.

A telecare trial in Britain, led by PA Consulting, helps elderly and vulnerable adults lead independent lives, while allowing hospital patients to return home quickly thanks to 24-hour monitoring.

Home sensors check who has not got into bed at their usual time, while door sensors can help protect residents with dementia.

The local authority saved £4.7m in three years and improved the lives of 7,000 residents during the trial. One user’s GPS-enabled pendant monitor even saved her life when she fell into a river after an epileptic seizure.

3D-printed body parts

Source Shutterstock

Doctors in the UK announced a baby girl born with a rare heart defect had successfully undergone an operation to put the organ inside her body.

Doctors said: "In the future we may be able to put in some internal bony protection for her heart – perhaps using 3D printing or something organic that would grow with her."

Studies at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre in the United States, show it is possible to create and print body parts that in future could be used in a range of reconstructive techniques and some human trials have already taken place.

Experts predict larger-scale trials will be taking place within 10 years.

Synthetic foods

Synthetic foods may not sound terribly appetising but Investors – including Google – take it seriously.

Since 2014, Google has made two investments in synthetic biology start-ups including one in Impossible Foods.

This develops meat products from plant material and uses heme, which makes meat red, produced from genetically engineered yeast. It had received $258 million dollars of funding by August 2017.

Though describing the Impossible Burger as having a “wheaty” aftertaste, one food reviewer noted: “Given the option of a regular burger or an Impossible Burger, I'd choose the latter 8 out of 10 times – because it's that good to my palate and it's that good for the planet.”

In a world where people increasingly fight for space with nature and agriculture, synthetic foods may be part of the answer.

Deep learning

There are several types of AI and rules-based programs, such as those for autonomous cars, and so-called “deep learning”, that can interpret unstructured or confusing data.

One thing deep learning is good at is facial recognition, and in China technology developed by Face++ is being used for everything from initiating payments to ride-hailing companies and money transfers to hunting criminals by searching the country’s database of ID photos.

Deep learning also drives consumer recommendation apps, and is used for medical services and research, and could be used to improve online dating services.

The global AI market is expected to be worth $60 billion by 2025, so developments are likely to be rapid.

Agri tech

Many farmers are turning to high-tech methods to increase productivity and crop yields.

Drones can spot irrigation problems, pest and fungal infections invisible at eye level, and reveal potential problems and opportunities.

And better use of data can help with almost everything, from monitoring a herd of cows to reducing and targeting fertilizer use and helping plan for climate change.

As a combination of technologies, agri tech has the potential to be hugely transformative in a world whose population is likely to reach 10 billion by 2050.

Hot solar cells

Developing solar panels more efficient than current models is likely to be key to reducing fossil fuel use.

Source: Shutterstock/ Milos Muller

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing a solar energy device that turns sunlight into heat, then back into light, allowing more of the sun’s energy to be captured.

They are also working to store heat and say prototypes could have double the efficiency of current solar cells. They hope the system will eventually “deliver clean, cheap – and continuous – solar power”.

Neural prosthetics

Scientists are experimenting with electrodes that could overcome spinal cord injuries. In one experiment in Cleveland, Ohio, electrodes were implanted in a man unable to move anything but his head and shoulder. The implants allowed him to open and close his hand and to raise a cup to his lips.

While tests are still in their early stages, scientists say that such “neural prosthetics” they may be able to reverse blindness with chips placed in the eye, and perhaps restore the memories of Alzheimer’s sufferers.

As with so many of the technologies mentioned here, this type of research is in its early stages and the hope is that further trials will bring benefits that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.