Every year at CES you are guaranteed to see the latest TVs and gadgets for your home. The 2017 edition was no exception, with the expected emphasis on virtual reality, high dynamic range displays, and voice controlled assistants.

The scenario that shopping without checkout lines has been described multiple times since the introduction of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and many people believed if that could come true, it must be RFID that enables it. However, Amazon Go will demonstrate to us that other emerging technologies are going to realize it first, due to the significant improvement of deep learning, computer vision and sensor fusion, as announced on 5th December 2016. This leads us to consider which technology will be the future in the retail industry: computer vision, or RFID?

Alternatives to silica aerogel panel and blanket composites are beginning to gain traction. Silica aerogel granule and powder products are becoming more pronounced as progressively more companies emerge. Meanwhile polymer aerogels are a different class of the material, which can have the potential to act as interesting alternatives to traditional plastic and composite products.

These past 12 months have seen numerous celebrity deaths, athlete drug scandals and the end of Brangelina however, it was also the year Tesla announced fully automated cars, Alexa became part of the family and Leicester City won the Premier League. As we plan ahead for 2017, IDTechEx analysts have taken a look back over the past 12 months and picked out the most impactful technology launches, acquisitions and products from 2016. Happy New Year from all at IDTechEx!