From video conferencing to smart watches, one cartoon from the 1960s truly made audiences sit back and say ‘hooba-dooba-dooba’. Today, we allow The Jetsons to guide us through the 2019 Connected Tech Predictor.

Between 1962 and 1963, and then 1985 and 1987, the animated classic The Jetsons wowed audiences of youngsters with their futuristic gizmos and gadgets, veiled robot racism and talking dogs. For many, the escapades of George Jetson, Jane (his wife), daughter Judy and his boy, Elroy, sparked an interest in what the future may hold, especially given the technological developments on display.

Interestingly, despite being a cartoon designed to humorously suggest extreme examples of where we were headed as a society, the show actually predicted a number of technologies that have since come to the fore:

• Robot assistants
• Roombas
• Holograms
• 3D printed food
• Drones
• Smart watches
• Video conferencing
• Talking alarm clocks
• Flat screen TVs
• Digital newspapers

All of these now-common (or soon-to-be common) technologies were all staples of the show.

So, it’s fitting that this year we are looking back to The Jetsons as the inspiration for the 2019 Connected Tech Predictor.

As usual, we have asked a number of leaders from the industry to put together their predictions for the next 12 months, to hopefully give you an idea of what to look out for in your business. What do you need to be aware of for the next 12 months?

Of course, the predictions made in the coming pages are simply educated guesses as nobody can predict the future.

Unless, of course, your name is Elroy.

The predictions

• To see David Meyer’s predictions for 2019, click here.
• To see Alan Chow’s predictions for 2019, click here.
• To see Ben Green’s predictions for 2019, click here.
• To see Rich Green’s predictions for 2019, click here.
• To see Ian McMurray’s predictions for 2019, click here.
• To see Paul Skelton’s predictions for 2019, click here.