( CNN ) -- Forecasting future technology has never been easy . In the 1950s , scientists and technologists envisaged that by now the world would be free from disease , traversed by flying cars , and fueled by minerals from distant planets . Such visions , of course , have not come to pass . But then again , as recently as 10 years ago , few would have envisaged that 3D-printed food , bionic body parts and invisibility cloaks were just around the corner . So , in what areas will the next major breakthroughs occur ? Keeping in mind that prediction is more of an art than a science , CNN spoke to a host of design and technology experts -- from academics to magazine editors -- in search of what might well just be the shape of things to come . The Editor . According to Marcus Fairs , editor-in-chief of influential design magazine Dezeen , the most high-impact developments over the next decade will be primarily in the areas of manufacturing and wearable technology . `` New digital design tech , 3D printing , robotics and the emerging field of 3D scanning , plus exponential leaps in manufacturing -- together , they are putting really powerful tools into the hands of individuals , '' he says . `` In the same way that laptops revolutionized personal computing two decades ago and cheap video editing software did for film , so too there will now be a revolution in manufacturing . '' For Fairs , wearable technologies such as Google Glass point to another major evolution in design : the disappearance of objects altogether . `` The broader movement in design no longer asks 'is something a nice object ? ' but rather 'how can we get rid of this completely ? ' '' From wearable devices such as those being pioneered by sportswear manufacturer Nike , and Jawbone to digital tattoos and `` things that you can swallow that will check you out from inside , ( such as ) a project that adds an artificial organ to help the body use water more sparingly '' , Fairs believes the future could well be defined by objects almost disappearing entirely . The Curator . Deyan Sudjic , the director of the Design Museum in London , controversially selected a simple website as the winning entry in the 2013 design awards . The government site GOV.UK won , he said , because of its dramatic subjugation of form beneath function : `` The overall winner this year is very interesting . It is apparently very simple , but it works beautifully . I think there is nothing more irritating than design that does n't work . '' For Sudjic , the future of design is about how well an object fulfills its function , not just its aesthetic qualities . At the same time , Sudjic believes there is a revival of interest in physical objects , noting that 2012 was the first year in two decades that saw a rise in vinyl record sales . `` I see design trying to get to grips with both the longing people have for the physical world and those other more slippery digital developments . People are still interested in tangible experience ( ... ) You see that with the Makerbot , which is currently just making combs and shoehorns , but will soon be creating objects which are significantly more complicated . '' The Designer . Ross Lovegrove , an industrial designer whose work covers aviation , transport , timepieces , consumer electronics and everything in between , says that the future of technology requires complete understanding of material structure : . `` You have to understand materials at a deep scientific or nano level . Once you get to that level and understand ... you can reconstitute anything . '' Lovegrove points to the Nike Flyknits -- an ultralight shoe with a knitted construction -- as an example of how future design will draw heavily on the latest thinking in science , health and manufacturing . `` The way they are industrialized , the way they are woven . They put strength and structure where it is required . There are no aglets so they only need to be constructed with one material . They are so lightweight you hardly feel them . They promote ergonomic health in the way they adjust posture . '' The Academic . Professor Miles Pennington , Head of the Innovation Design Engineering programme at the Royal College of Art in London , thinks we are on the brink of huge technological change . `` Some people believe that there are no big leaps to come , but then people said in the 18th century that man could never travel more than 40 miles per-hour . '' Pennington predicts that the next decades will bear witness to significant change . `` We are within 20 years of developing an artificial brain capable of matching our own ... Material developments in the nanotech field are starting to bear fruit ... ( and so is ) the field of synthetic biology , which can produce artificial muscle . '' Is it possible to distinguish genuine technological contenders , from those that will only ever be the realm of science fiction ? Perhaps not . But Pennington suggests he will be able to `` answer that question in 50 years ' time , when I have got my feet up , sipping a cup of my GM tea grown in the Antarctic , in front of a fire powered by synthetic bacteria and hovering on a comfort-pad-chair using reverse-magnetic forces whilst reading a copy of Isaac Asimov 's latest novel ( written by a quantum computer-cloned version of the man himself ) . '' In the meantime , he suggests we all sit back and enjoy the ride .
CNN spoke to a host of design and technology experts to see what future holds . Key developments are in the field of wearable technology and 3D printing . Comment: Digital tattoos and mind reading headphones give flavor of things to come .