The annual Five on Five gives IBM's predictions for the next five years. The predictions this year are thought provoking but one really caught our attention.

 

The hologram. As in the "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope," kind of hologram.

 

IBM Labs says the hologram will be a part of our lives in the next five years. You will be able to beam 3D images to people who can then talk with you as they walk down the street. It will be as if you are walking with them. 3D cameras will get more sophisticated and eventually small enough to launch holograms with a mobile device.

 

The other four predictions include:

• The emergence of "citizen scientists" who collect data from sensors in our cars or any physical device that will be added to massive data sets.

• Batteries that are powered by static energy or even the air we breathe.

• The heat from data centers may help power cities.

• Your commute will be personalized. Adaptive traffic systems will intuitively learn behavior.

• This is cool stuff. We just hope in six years that we may put our holograms on the dashboards of our flying land cruisers.