Just how far will technology take us in 2016?

From microwave ovens to smartphones, technology firms have been attempting to profit by changing the way we live since the Industrial Revolution. And we let them win every time.

They sell us products we didn't know we needed and, after a short learning curve, many couldn't imagine living without their new electronic friends.

As the world enters 2016, idea-loaded IT companies are ready to repeat their successes all over again, bringing virtual reality goggles, artificial intelligence robots and self-driving cars out of their box of tricks.