Game-changers: 15 technologies that could change your life

3D printers If you thought "Made in USA" was cool, wait until you see "Made in Your Living Room." MakerBot's Replicator 2 has been dubbed the "Macintosh" of 3D printers. (MakerBot)

Graphene This wonder-material made of pure carbon arranged in one-atom thick hexagonal sheets (pictured) has the potential to help produce faster processors, more efficient solar cells and even help desalinate water. (Alexander Aius)

Gesture control Microsoft's Kinect gaming device was just the beginning. Soon we'll be gesticulating madly at all sorts of electronics, from our TVs to our phones. (Microsoft)

Cognitive computers Artificial intelligence that thinks more like us thanks to advances in neural networks that have been in development for decades. Now supercomputers like IBM's Watson can not only understand human language, they can even beat us at Jeopardy. (AP)

Electric cars For the first time ever, the best car was an electric one. Tesla's Model S was Motor Trend's car of the year. (Tesla)

Facial recognition Our cameras already know where to focus and Facebook knows where to tag your photos. In the near future, we'll never have to memorize a password again. (Face.com)

Smart TV The TV that's also a computer has been a long time coming but it's finally here. (Intel)

Voice recognition Though it's been around for years, large advances in recent times has helped morph the tech from cute gimmick to official iPhone app. (Apple)

Drones Employed mainly by the military, these autonomous robots are making the transition to civilian life. Soon, they'll be everywhere. (University of Alaska Fairbanks)

Smart watches The next generation of portable devices will build an ecosystem around the computer we're already carrying in our pocket (our smartphone). Like the Pebble watch, which allows you to check calls and texts with a twist of your wrist. (Pebble)

Virtual reality sex The Occulus Rift virtual reality helmet is already being described as the most immersive VR helmet so it's only natural that a new startup (Sinful Robot) is developing xxx titles for the unit. (Sinful Robot)

Instant translation With DARPA and Google racing to perfect instant translation, it won't be long until your smartphone speaks Chinese on your behalf. (DARPA)

Cancer-killing nanoparticles Swarms of drones killing humans might leave a bad taste in your mouth but what about swarms of nanoparticles killing cancer cells? (MIT/Gary Carlson)

Self-driving cars We're not very good drivers: in 2009, nearly 100 people were killed on U.S. roadways each day. So why not give the robots a try (wonders Google)? (AP)

Ultra high definition TV Get ready for the world of higher def. Normal HDTV comes in at 1080p, but new 4K sets (like the Samsung S9 UHD pictured) are 2160p, while 8K TVs are a whopping 4320p. (Samsung)