South by Southwest's Interactive conference is a melting pot of ideas, startups and cutting edge technology. This mecca for tech geeks sees groundbreaking technology come to fruition and points towards upcoming trends. 2015 was the biggest yet and showcased how the planet's most forward-thinking companies are revolutionising the way we live and interact.
Live video streaming apps were the talk of the town, with Meerkat stealing the show. The two week old app had an incredible amount of buzz around it and despite its recent launch surpassed 100,000 users over the weekend. Hot on it's heels though Twitter has just bought a similar app called Periscope and Teleparty are also developing a similar service. It seems that 2015 will all be about streaming live video to your social networks.
And that was the only the beginning - from 3D printing flying robots to self driving cars, there were plenty of stand out inventions. So in amongst the stunts, talks, marketing campaigns and demonstrations - here are my top 5 pieces of technology that blew me away:
Flying Cars: By 2017 startup AeroMobil want to have flying cars operating much in the same way as Uber. Order one on your smartphone and it can take you plus three other friends to your destination. They even are working on a pilotless prototype, bringing new life to the term "auto-pilot".
Robot Rescue: SXSW robot petting zoo allowed you to poke, pet and program over 20 different robots. The McCaffrey remote controlled robot is designed to search dangerous sites like collapsed buildings and can operate on its front and back as well as survive falls of up to three storeys high.
Self Driving Cars: From Google to Mercedes, Uber to Apple, everyone is developing their own version of the self driving car. Of particular note Delphi announced that on March 22nd an automated car will drive across America from coast to coast. Clocking up 3,500 miles the Audi will set off from San Francisco and will self drive all the way to New York. Road trips are about to get a whole load more fun.
Sexy Textiles: Smart fabrics and e-textiles are coming into their own and Intimacy showcased their slightly racy take on it. They have created a dress that turns sheer when the wearer is aroused. Who in their right mind would ever want to wear this (a double dose of embarrassment anyone?), but great to see how wearable techs will begin to interact unconsciously with your body.
Living Organ Print-Outs: startup company BioBots was named "Most Innovative" as their desktop sized 3D printer can print out cells that form living tissues. At the moment they can 3D print 12 different cell types, but the long term goal is to be able to build replacement organs.